Tyra Banks

Tyra Banks was born on December 4, 1973 at Los Angeles, California to a very loving and caring family. Her parent got separated when she was six years old and she had to face all the torture of her brother Devin, but as a whole Tyra’s childhood was nicely supported. As a child Tyra was a tall, very thin and awkward and therefore her brother and classmates constantly teased her. Very often she used to run home crying to her mother for help.

But it all changed late in her high school career when she began to work hard trying to shed of her skinny frame and finally decided to become a model. With lots of determination and courage Tyra has achieved her goal.

She had to struggle initially when four modeling agencies did not show any interest in her as they thought her face was not photogenic. But luck finally smiled on Tyra as she at last signed a contract with the Elite agency. At that time she was only 17 years old. Therefore instead of attending Loyola Marymount College, Tyra went to Paris for a year. There she appeared in fashion big names including 'Ralph Lauren' and 'Chanel'. Then she returned back to the United States and continued modeling there.

Tyra then appeared in a small part in the British television movie, 'Inferno' as a supermodel, and then on Will Smith's 'Fresh Prince of Bel-Air' in an interesting supporting role. But Tyra's first big break came in John Singleton's 'Higher Learning' where she played Omar Epps' girlfriend and though it was not a big role, the intensity and delight she presented in the character impressed every critics. Her performance really speaks about the volumes of talent she possesses.

To present her character perfectly she trained herself in running long distance. As the film got to the theaters, she was offered numerous movie roles but Tyra was very selective in her approach. She continued her modeling career by appearing on the covers of several noted magazines. Tyra made history as the first African-American woman to appear on the covers of GQ magazine, the Victoria's Secret, and the well known Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. She was named in 'People Magazine's '50 Most Beautiful' list twice. Then she wrote an autobiography 'Tyra's Beauty Inside & Out' about her life.

She was rumored to have a few high-profile relationships with John Singleton, pop singer Seal, Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods and Mark Messier.

Tired of all this constant scrutiny about her life and celebrity relationships, she went back to her high school 'sweetheart', hoping to find some peace. But it was not to be as new rumors started to develop linking her with LA Lakers Kobe Bryant, Rick Fox, and even Teresa Witherspoon, who plays for New York in the WNBA. However Tyra often discloses about her desire to find a 'Normal Guy', about 5'11' one day.

Tyra continued with her movie roles but her real breakthrough came in Hollywood with a small part in 'Love Stinks'. In the year 2000 she played a supporting role in the popular independent film 'Love & Basketball', and a starring role in the TV Disney movie 'Life-Size'. In this movie she was a doll who was brought to life by a wish.

But she came into the spot light appearing for 'Coyote Ugly'. Here she plays the character of a wild bartender. This is very ironic because she does not drink alcohol.

She also starred in movies like 'Disney's Honey Thunder Dunk' (also produced). She is now believed to be one of the wealthiest supermodels in the world with her wealth more than 8.8 million dollars.

Her liking for food such as barbecued ribs, fried chicken wings, ice cream and fast-food is tremendous. Tyra has also expressed her love for Ketchup packets.

Therefore to stay fit she enjoys a lot of sports mainly basketball and tennis and also exercises a lot.