Tyra Banks Biography

Tyra Banks

model
Born: 12/4/1973
Birthplace: Los Angeles

One of the “beautiful people” with a social conscience, Tyra has broken ground in her modeling career as the first African-American to grace the cover of Sports Illustrated's swimsuit issue, and has focused media attention on the plight of endangered rainforest ecosystems through her own visits to Costa Rican rainforests. She has also done some acting work, as Jackie Ames on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1993–94), the 1995 film Higher Learning., Coyote Ugly (2000) and Life Size (2000).