Tyra Banks - Supermodel to Multi-Media Star

Say what you will about Tyra Banks as a TV host, reality-show judge, recording artist, or humanitarian. One thing is for sure: She is smokin hot. Being smokin hot is how she makes her living, really. She s a supermodel. It s a prerequisite for the job. Her modeling career was launched in Europe in the 1990s, initially to pay for college tuition. Quickly thereafter, she became a worldwide phenomenon. She has appeared on the covers of countless magazines, making history by becoming the first African-American woman to be featured on the cover of GQ, the Victoria s Secret catalog, and the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue and calendar. Countless men devote countless hours to staring at her photos in magazines or the internet, as she continues to rate in the top 10 most searched personalities online. Banks always had ambitions beyond just modeling, however. She appeared in several episodes of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air in 1993 and went on to do guest spots on other TV shows, including Just Shoot Me and Felicity. She co-starred in several lousy movies, too: Love Stinks, Coyote Ugly, and Halloween-Resurrection, none of which should be watched without close friends and couple glasses of wine. Savvy businesswoman that she is, she rode the wave of a great idea with America s Next Top Model, a reality show that premiered on UPN in 2003 and promptly received the young network s highest ratings ever. Banks is the show s host and main judge, as well as one of its executive producers. Tyra parlayed the success of that Top Model into her own talk show in 2005, where with grace, wit and humility, entertains a wide range of guests, some famous some not, on topics ranging from movie releases to breast cancer. The main thrust of the show features regular people and their regular issues -- like Oprah, only, you know, hotter. Banks made news in early 2007 when she re-created her 1997 Sports Illustrated swimsuit photo shoot -- complete with a bikini that demonstrated how much larger her body had gotten since then. She told People magazine that she s 30 pounds heavier now than she was in 1997, but that she feels comfortable with her body and no longer wishes to (or has to) starve herself to succeed. With her talk show aimed at ordinary American women, it seems only right that she s not so supermodel thin that ordinary women can t relate to her. Tyra Banks is a breath of fresh air. While many of her supermodel colleagues have a haughty, diva-like, self-important persona, she is the opposite of those things. Her work with TZONE helps empower young girls, and her reality show, America s Top Model launches careers. It s also a blast to watch. And unlike many of her peers, she has genuine talent beyond the runway -- she hasn t modeled since 2005 -- and cares about the world around her in more than just a superficial way. She puts the super in supermodel. And did we mention she s smokin hot? Nasanji Parker is a successful celebrity gossip columnist and avid celebrity and supermodel watcher. His unusual take on celebrity life at SuperModelStuff are must reads for supermodel and celebrity gossip fanatics. Nasanji Parker is a successful celebrity gossip columnist and avid celebrity and supermodel memorabilia collector. His musings at supermodelstuff.com are must reads for supermodel and celebrity gossip fanatics. Find hot Tyra Banks autographed photos and more great supermodel items at supermodelcalendars.com .