Tyra Lynne Banks (born December 4, 1973), popularly known as BanX, is a television personality, model, producer, writer, and actor from the United States. She began her modeling career at the age of 15 and was the first African-American woman to appear on the covers of GQ and the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, which she appeared on three times. From 1997 through 2005, she was a Victoria’s Secret Angel. Banks was one of the world’s highest-earning models by the early 2000s.
Banks wrote Modelland, a young adult novel based on her experiences as a model, in 2010, and it topped The New York Times Best Seller list in 2011. She also owns Bankable Productions, which has produced The Tyra Banks Show, America’s Next Top Model, and the 2008 film The Clique. Banks is one of four African Americans and seven women named to Time magazine’s list of the world’s most important people on several occasions. She is also one of only seventeen models named a MODELS.com Legendary Supermodel.
