Tyra Banks

Supermodel Tyra Banks was born December 4, 1973 in Inglewood, California. Her mother was a fashion manager and photographer who helped influence Bank's decision to become a model.

Tyra Banks first began her modeling career when she was a junior in high school. When she went to Paris for modeling, the designers there became enthralled with Tyra and she was immediately booked for 25 shows. This was an unprecedented amount for a new model. It didn't take long before Tyra Banks was working for the major campaigns in the business such as "Cover Girl", "Dolce & Gabbana", "Donna Karan", "Tommy Hilfiger" and many more. She appeared on covers for esteemed fashion magazines like Elle and Vogue. Banks also became the first African American woman who appeared on the cover of men's magazines GQ and the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue and for Victoria's Secret.

Despite her quick and major success in modeling, Tyra Banks retired in 2005 in order to pursue other endeavors. She made her debut into acting on the TV show "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" as Will Smith's childhood friend. She was also in several other TV series with guest roles. She decided to be the executive producer of her own show and began to host America's "Next Top Model". Banks also is the host of "The Tyra Banks Show" which is a talk show that premiered in 2005. Tyra Banks also had appearances in several films but her movie career did not ever take off. She did appear in many music videos for top musicians though.

In 2004, Banks decided to make her own music and her first single was called "Shake Ya Body". The song was a complete failure and Tyra spent the next six years trying to create an album. However, it was clear that music wasn't her forte and she quit before the album was released.