Welcome to our collection of quotes by Tyra Banks
Wikipedia Summary for Tyra Banks
Tyra Lynne Banks (born December 4, 1973), also known as BanX, is an American television personality, model, businesswoman, producer, actress, and writer. Born in Inglewood, California, she began her career as a model at the age of 15, and was the first woman of African-American descent to be featured on the covers of GQ and the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, on which she appeared three times. She was a Victoria's Secret Angel from 1997 to 2005. By the early 2000s, Banks was one of the world's top-earning models.
Banks began acting on television in the sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1993), and made her film debut in the drama Higher Learning (1995). In 2000, she had major film roles, such as Eve in Disney Channel's Life-Size and Zoe in the box-office hit Coyote Ugly. Banks had small roles in the romantic sports film Love & Basketball (2000), the horror film Halloween: Resurrection (2002), and on the television series Gossip Girl (2009) and Glee (2013).
In 2003, Banks created the long-running reality television series America's Next Top Model, which she executive produced and presented for the first twenty-two seasons, until the series' cancellation in October 2015. She remained executive producer for the revival of the series in 2016 and enlisted Rita Ora as host for the twenty-third cycle before reassuming the duties herself for the twenty-fourth cycle. Banks was the co-creator of True Beauty (2009–2010), and had her own television talk show, The Tyra Banks Show (2005–2010), which aired on The CW for five seasons and won two Daytime Emmy awards for Outstanding Talk Show Informative. In 2015, she co-hosted the talk show FABLife for two months. In 2017, Banks was the host of America's Got Talent for its 12th season. In 2020, she was the host of Dancing with the Stars for its 29th season, also serving as an executive producer.
In 2010, Banks published a young adult novel titled Modelland, based on her life as a model, which topped The New York Times Best Seller list in 2011. She has her own production company, Bankable Productions, which 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 to have repeatedly been ranked among the world's most influential people by Time magazine. She is also one of only seventeen models to be ranked as a Legendary Supermodel by MODELS.com.
I do consider myself a feminist, yeah. Totally.
I'm obsessed with making women look and feel more beautiful than they ever thought possible.
I don't think I'll always be on television.
I'm always looking at how I can be atypical.
I love Roald Dahl.
I'm very human.
I have so many goals.
I'm all about zagging when everyone else is zigging.
Let's have fun at work.
I ain't no cougar.
A size 16 can be the best shape for you, and you can be healthy.
I became a victim of mean girls. I became the victim of myself.
Not wearing make-up? I can do it, and don't think twice.
You have what it takes to be a victorious, independent, fearless woman.
People bully because they want their power back. People bully because they feel powerless, and to get that power, you have to take it from somebody else. And you have to take it from the easy target.
I'm obsessed with the theme parks and themed restaurants, I love it!
I would not recommend a teen getting into modeling if they're not solid when it comes to their grades and school. That comes first. My mother always told me that came first.
I get so much mail from young women saying that they are so insecure when they look at me, but they don't realize all of the flaws that I have.
I just think, as a model, it's taught me to be a master of deception and illusion.
I used to want to write commercials as a kid.
Being first lady is not just about being the wife but really taking command and having true vision.
I used to say in interviews that I don't necessarily want to be the first black woman or first model to do certain things; I just want to see it done.
Its so important to understand your good attendance ups your chances of graduating.
Every woman has a story.
Working women, moms, students, they don't have a lot of time to spend on their faces.
Modeling is being a ho, but making it fashion.
Modeling chose me, I didn't choose modeling.
When I was a model, they called me 'Tyra;' now it's 'Ms. Banks.'
I hate when models say 'Oh, plastic surgery is just a wrong thing. What are you talking about? You won the genetic lottery. You look like this specimen that's making people everywhere feel insecure and you're going to ridicule someone for getting plastic surgery?
Keep in mind that we should always thank those who hurt us, especially those who did so bad we are forced to transform. They risk the eternal verdict of going to hell just to make us better than who we are.
I volunteer a lot of my time with an organization in New York called The Center for Children and Families.
Beauty's easy. Modeling is not just about being pretty.
I think my magical dream land would have all of my friends from high school and elementary school. I'm extremely nostalgic so my closest friends are people from my childhood.
I think a lot of business students chase money and then they burn out. They have early retirements, not because they want to retire and chill... But because they hate their job and they are miserable. I don't chase money.
Because my hands are rough and wrinkley, they are my least favourite feature. An ex-boyfriend used to call them 'Freddy Kreuger' fingers.
You can have all the potential in world, but unless you have confidence, you have nothing.
Love me or hate me I promise that it will never make or break me...andlt;3.
I know how to dress for my body to give off illusions, and I like to teach women about it -- it's important for women to have that power and that arsenal... tricks that make you feel good when you walk outside.
Most of my career is spent in a meeting... dressed sharply, looking really great; negotiating over a table, strategizing or coming up with new marketing plans or new ideas. And that makes me really, really happy.
Use romantic relationships to grow, not to lose yourself. Keep your priorities in order.
A lot of young girls think that the opposite of fake is rudeness. And just as ugly as fake is, so is saying whatever is on your mind because it's the truth.
I liked college guys but they could tell I was just a skinny girl.
I don't like the label 'plus-size' -- I call it 'fiercely real.' On 'Top Model,' we call it fiercely real. I don't want to use the term 'plus-size,' because, to me, what the hell is that? It just doesn't have a positive connotation to it. I tend to not use it.
I actually don't miss modeling and I think the reason why is because of America's Next Top Model.
Pledge that you will look in the mirror and find the unique beauty in you.
Girls of all kinds can be beautiful.
Longer Version:
Girls of all kinds can be beautiful; from the thin, plus-sized, short, very tall, ebony to porcelain-skinned.
It was really hurtful to me. I get so much mail from young girls who say, 'I look up to you, you're not as skinny as everyone else, I think you're beautiful.' So when they say that my body is 'ugly' and 'disgusting,' what does that make those girls feel like?
I am totally against plastic surgery. A lot of people think I have breast implants because I have the biggest boobs in the business.
Longer Version:
I am totally against plastic surgery. A lot of people think I have breast implants because I have the biggest boobs in the business. But I was a 34C when I was 17...They stay up when I wear a push-up bra. But if people could see me when I come home and take off my bra, how could they think these are fake?
Kim Kardashian and Kris Jenner have the exact same eyes.
Don't chase the money... chase the passion. Because that's what is going to keep you happy and motivated and jumping out of that bed Monday morning.
Michelle Obama, you're one hot mama.
There is 3 key things for good photography: the camera,lighting and... Photoshop.
I'm not afraid of wanting money at all. Money will give me more power to do things that are truer to my spirit than what I'm already doing.
Well, I don't think of myself as a diva. I'm too dorky! Look at my shoes. (Points to the aforementioned sneakers.) I always look like this. I don't always want to be working.
I won't say if I'm single or dating or married or divorced. There's boundaries.
I used to have this joke: 'Every hallway is a runway.'
Hotness to me is scary. I don't want to be hot. I just want to be a staple. I want to be something that's trusted.
I'm a big fan of Lady Gaga.
Longer Version:
I'm a big fan of Lady Gaga. I think she's kinda what modeling is about in a way: Unique-ness, different-ness, edginess, quirkiness is actually special and I think her message is -- I wouldn't say it's exactly like my message -- but there are similarities in embracing your uniqueness. When she talks about being born this way, I really think she's absolutely fabulous.
Once you plant seeds of success, your tree will bear fierce fruit.
Take responsiblilty for yourself because no one's going to take responsibility for you.
I don't know what to do with my arms. It just makes me feel weird and I feel like people are looking at me and that makes me nervous.
Never dull your shine for somebody else.
Dab -- don't rub -- cream formulas onto your skin. Rubbing washes out the color, so do that only if you've put on too much.
I don't think me walking away from modeling was scary for me. In hindsight, I think it was very risky, when you talk about risk. Because it paid the bills.
I gave myself a year to be a supermodel. And I said, 'If it doesn't happen, I'm going back to school.'
The president of Victoria's Secret promised me a lifetime supply of Victoria's Secret products, even after I decided to leave the company. But once I left, he only let me have it for a year. So I have a bone to pick.
I am intimidated by that eyeliner in a pot. You have to take a brush and wet it and then dip it in and get it straight. It's just a mess.
I know some women are intimidated by makeup.
I went through an obsession with eyebrows. I used to paint my eyebrows really, really strong. I look back now, and some were a little bit strong.
My mom was a medical photographer, but on the side, she did a before-and-after glam photography business in the house. She would do makeup and hair -- and I was her assistant.
The creation of my cosmetics experience has been years in the making.
I have a long list of different smiles that you can do, and every model should be equipped. Everybody can't handle the long list... That's for, you know, advanced.
By no means am I trying to change the modeling industry.
I don't know how to be sexy on a date. Put up a camera and a wind machine, and I'll give you sexy. Put me at a dinner table with some candlelight and the moon shining in and, oh, I will give you dork.
I tend to hang out with my friends in Los Angeles from high school. We know each other from back in the day. They still see me as just dumb Tyra. We have a strong bond.
I have scars on the backs of my arms from dressers in Paris scraping me with pins as I was taking a shirt or gown off.
Just because you don't know if other people are experiencing the same thing as you are, it doesn't mean that it's not happening. Everybody doesn't necessarily share everything. Just know that what you're going through, other people are going through it, too.
Sometimes I'll use four or five different photo apps on one photo just to get it where I want it to be.
I'm obsessed by Instagram.
The future is in photos for social media. More and more people are not reading, so I try to attach a photo to most Tweets.
On 'America's Top Model,' I've always told my girls to smile with their eyes. We call it 'smizing.' Over the years, it's actually become part of pop culture. I would be walking down the street, and girls would say, 'Smize!'
I would love to do Rihanna's makeup. I love her cupid's bow!
Sephora is fantastic. I go in there. I get lost. There are so many great things in there.
If you can think psychographically and not demographically, you can really target a lot more audiences.
I've made mistakes before of doing different projects just based on my dreams, my hopes, my thing, and not really thinking about my customers.
I really want to leave something behind that means something when I'm no longer here.
When I went to Paris after graduating high school, I saw a model who was 12 years old without any supervision. That wouldn't happen in the acting world.
I'm a lover of fashion websites.
I'm not in a position to tell heavy people anything.
I love Boston; it's like Paris.
I think of dystopian as 'Mad Max,' as 'Book of Eli,' as the world is ending.