THROWBACKTHISDAY; is Tyra Bank's Birthday

                       

 

Tyra Lynne Banks (born December 4, 1973) is an American model, television personality, talk show host, producer, author, actress, singer and business woman. She began her career as a model at age 15 and rose to fame, becoming the first African American woman on the covers of GQ and the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, on which she appeared twice. She is one of the original Victoria's Secret Angels.

Tyra Banks was born in Inglewood, California. She is the daughter of Caroline London (now London-Johnson), a NASA photographer,^[5] and Donald Banks, a computer consultant.^[9][10] From a DNA test on America's Next Top Model it was revealed Tyra is of Black, British, and Native American ancestry. She has a brother, Devin, who is five years older.^[11] In 1979, when Banks was six years old, her parents divorced. Banks attended John Burroughs Middle School and graduated in 1991 from Immaculate Heart High Schoolin Los Angeles. While growing up, Banks states she was teased for her appearance and considered an "ugly duckling";^[12][13] when Banks was 11 years old she grew three inches and lost 30 pounds in three months.

When Banks was 15 years old, she started modeling while attending school in Los Angeles. She was rejected by four modeling agencies before she was signed by L.A. Models and then switched to Elite Model Management at age 16. When she got the opportunity to model in Europe, she moved to Milan. In her first runway season, she was booked in 25 shows at the 1991 Paris Fashion Week. She would later appear on the covers of magazines such as Elle, Harper's Bazaar, Cosmopolitan, Seventeen, Teen Vogue and Spanish Vogue. She walked the runways for Chanel,Oscar de la Renta, Yves Saint Laurent, Christian Dior, Donna Karan, Calvin Klein, Perry Ellis, Marc Jacobs, Givenchy, Herve Leger, Valentino,Fendi, Isaac Mizrahi, Armani, Sonia Rykiel, Michael Kors and others. She has featured in advertising campaigns for Dolce & Gabbana, Swatch,Tommy Hilfiger, Yves Saint Laurent, Ralph Lauren, Got Milk?, Pepsi and Nike.^[15] In 1993, Banks signed a contract with CoverGirl Cosmetics, launching advertising campaigns for the cosmetics company. In the mid-1990s, Banks returned to America to do more commercial modeling.

Banks was the first African American woman on the covers of GQ and the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.^[16] In 1997, she received the VH1 award for, "Supermodel of the Year".^[8] That same year, she became the first-ever African American chosen for the cover of the Victoria's Secret catalog.^[17] She was a Victoria's Secret Angel from 1997 to 2005.^[18] In 2010, Banks re-signed with her former modeling agency IMG Models.^[19] Banks is now a contributor of the Vogue Italia website.^[20] She has since started focusing on her film career and hosting her own TV show.

 

THROWBACKTHISDAY; makes it 42 years and TBT Blog wish her a happy birthday.