Tyra Banks

Tyra Banks is an American former fashion model, television personality and producer, and entrepreneur. Her public career spans fashion, the creation and production of America's Next Top Model, talk television, and the SMiZE & DREAM business.

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About Tyra Banks

Profile information current to 2026-08-22.

United States · Fashion model, Television personality, Television producer · 2 affiliations

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Also known as: Tyra Lynne Banks
Known for: Fashion modeling and representation; Reality television creation and production; Talk television; Entrepreneurship and consumer business
Country: United States

Fashion model
Television personality
Television producer
Entrepreneur

At a glance

In 1997, Banks became the first Black woman to appear alone on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.
Banks created and executive produced America's Next Top Model, which ran for 24 seasons from 2003 to 2018.
The Tyra Banks Show won Daytime Emmy awards in the informative talk-show category in 2008 and 2009.
Banks is the founder of SMiZE & DREAM, a consumer business whose website identified a Sydney flagship as operating in August 2026.

Background and modeling career

Born Tyra Lynne Banks on December 4, 1973, in Inglewood, California, Banks became a prominent fashion model. A defining milestone came in 1997, when she became the first Black woman to appear alone on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue; Sports Illustrated also records that she had appeared on a shared cover with Valeria Mazza in 1996.

Television creation and production

Banks created America's Next Top Model and served as an executive producer. When the program debuted in 2003, she also appeared as a judge and mentor to contestants. The series concluded in 2018 after 24 seasons and 319 episodes, establishing reality-television creation and production as a central part of her public career.

Talk television

Banks also became known for The Tyra Banks Show. The program won the 2008 Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Informative Talk Show and won again in the informative talk-show category in 2009. The available evidence establishes the awards received by the program rather than attributing each award solely to Banks as an individual.

Business and higher education

Banks's later work has included entrepreneurship and higher-education engagement. Stanford Graduate School of Business reported that she had completed a Harvard Business School executive education program and listed her among lecturers joining Stanford GSB for the 2016–17 academic year. She is also identified by SMiZE & DREAM as its founder; current operating information about that business comes from its own website.

Affiliations

America's Next Top Model Creator and executive producer 2003–2018
SMiZE & DREAM Founder present

Timeline

1973-12-04 Born as Tyra Lynne Banks in Inglewood, California.
1997 Became the first Black woman to receive a solo Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue cover.
2003-05-20 America's Next Top Model debuted, with Banks serving as creator, co-executive producer, judge, and mentor at launch.
2008 The Tyra Banks Show won the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Informative Talk Show.
2009 The Tyra Banks Show again won in the informative talk-show category at the Daytime Emmy Awards.
2016 Named among incoming Stanford Graduate School of Business lecturers for the 2016–17 academic year.
2018 America's Next Top Model concluded its 2003–2018 run after 24 seasons and 319 episodes.

Additional verified details

Current context

SMiZE & DREAM's website stated that its Darling Harbour, Sydney flagship was serving Hot SMiZE Cream. This is a first-party business claim and may change; independent operational verification was not obtained.

Biographical facts

Tyra Banks's full name is Tyra Lynne Banks; she was born on December 4, 1973, in Inglewood, California.
In 1997, Banks became the first Black woman to appear alone on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.
At the 2003 launch of America's Next Top Model, Banks served on air as a judge and mentor to contestants.
The Tyra Banks Show won the 2008 Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Informative Talk Show.
The Tyra Banks Show won the 2009 Daytime Emmy Award in the Outstanding Talk Show Informative category.
By July 2016, Banks had completed an executive education program at Harvard Business School.
Stanford Graduate School of Business listed Banks among lecturers joining for the 2016–17 academic year.