Tyra Banks - Fact Sheet

Profession: Supermodel / Actress

And after being turned down by four modeling agencies because they thought her face wasn't photogenic, she was finally signed by the Elite agency when she was 17. So, instead of going to Loyola Marymount College, Tyra moved to Paris for a year and modeled for many of the big names in fashion, including Ralph Lauren and Chanel. She then moved back to the States and continued modeling, rocketing her way up through the ranks. Soon Tyra began to diversify her activities, having a small part in the British television movie, Inferno as a supermodel, and then appearing on Will Smith's Fresh Prince of Bel-Air in a recurring supporting role. Tyra's first real movie role came in John Singleton's Higher Learning. She played Omar Epps' track-running girlfriend and though it was a small role, critics were impressed by the intensity she brought to the screen. She was definitely not just another supermodel playing at being an actress -- her performance was the real thing. She even did some distance-running training, in order to turn in a more believable performance. When the film came out, movie offers began to roll in, but Tyra chose not to act in just anything. Instead, she continued her meteoric rise in the modeling ranks, appearing on the covers of several magazines.  

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