Tyra Banks at Michael Jackson The Immortal World Tour Opening Night New York April

Tyra Lynn Banks (born December 4, 1973) is an American model, media personality, actress, occasional singer, author and businesswoman.[4][5][6] She first became famous as a model, appearing twice on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue and working for Victoria's Secret as one of their original Angels. Banks is the creator and host of the UPN/The CW reality television show America's Next Top Model, co-creator of True Beauty, and host of her own talk show, The Tyra Banks Show.

Tyra Banks was born in Inglewood, California. She is the daughter of Carolyn (née London; now London-Johnson), a medical photographer,[7] and Donald Banks, a computer consultant.[4][8] She has a brother, Devin, who is five years older. In 1980, when Banks was 6 years old, her parents divorced. Banks attended John Burroughs Middle School and graduated in 1991 from Immaculate Heart High School in Los Angeles. Tyra Banks is one of four African Americans and seven women to have repeatedly ranked among the world's most influential people by Time magazine.