Who

Tyra Banks is the panty-partying, weave-wearing, endlessly spoofed supermodel turned TV host.

Backstory

Banks grew up in Inglewood, California and attended a private Catholic school; when a growth spurt left her a foot taller than most of her peers, classmates took to calling the skinny future supermodel "Ethiopia." The taunting couldn't have lasted for very long: By her senior year of high school, she'd already landed her first modeling contract with Elite. Soon after, she turned down her acceptance to college (Loyola Marymount) to pursue a modeling career, moving to Paris where she shared apartments with Rebecca Romijn and Kimora Lee. In France, Tyra earned spots on the runways of Karl Lagerfeld, Oscar de la Renta, and Chanel. When she returned to the States a few years later, she predictably set her sights on moving from modeling into acting, landing a role as Will Smith's girlfriend on Fresh Prince of Bel Air, and appearing in 1995's Higher Learning (which was conveniently directed by her then-boyfriend, John Singleton).

It was her ongoing modeling career, though, that made her a household name in the mid-'90s thanks to her appearances on the cover of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue (she was the first black woman to earn solo cover-girl status) and in the Victoria's Secret catalog. She also became a popular presence in magazine ads, gracing campaigns for Tommy Hilfiger, Pepsi, Nike and Cover Girl. Her transition to popular TV fixture took shape in 2003 when she unveiled the model-search reality show America's Next Top Model. The brainless program quickly became the network's highest rated series, and made Banks' next foray into TV, a daytime chat-fest called The Tyra Banks Show, an easy sell in 2005. She moved her talk show—and herself—to New York City in 2007.

Of note

Tyra's drag queen-like appearance, shrieking voice, fluctuating weight, and multiple personalities—which she's dubbed "Daytime Tyra" and "Nighttime Tyra"—have made her endlessly mockable. Nonetheless, as the creator/producer/host of two hit TV shows, she's proven that she has a handle on what the public wants to watch. As host of The Tyra Banks Show, she's gone undercover as a stripper, been groped by a doctor to prove her breasts are real, and hosted an entire "panty party" episode in her underwear. The antics have made her show the No. 1 syndicated series for the coveted 18-34 year old female audience. Plenty of cash rolls in from ANTM, too: Her production company, Bankable Productions, still owns a 25 percent stake in the show, which is now syndicated in 110 countries. And there's more to come from several new reality shows Banks has in development.

Keeping score

Although she no longer walks the runways—Tyra retired from modeling in 2005—she reportedly pulls in more than $18 million a year through her TV deals, putting her at No. 12 on Forbes' list of the top TV earners.

In print

Banks modestly titled first book, Tyra's Beauty Inside & Out, was published in 1998.

Pet cause

Banks gives a bit back: In 1999, she founded the TZone Foundation, a charity that funds social programs for low-income girls across the U.S. She later started an annual TZone retreat, a summer camp which aims to boost girls' self-esteem.

Grudge

Like any supermodel, Tyra has her share of enemies. The most infamous among them is Naomi Campbell, who once had Tyra thrown off a Caribbean photo shoot and later threatened to boycott certain designers if they hired her for their shows. Although the frenemies supposedly buried the hatchet during a 2005 episode of The Tyra Banks Show (during which Tyra bawled and Naomi sat stoically), the make-up session appeared to be more of a ratings ploy than anything else, so it's unlikely that you'll see the two trading hairweave tips anytime soon.

Personal

Banks has been involved with a string of high-profile men over the years, although none seem to have been the great love of her life. (That honor, of course, goes to her own reflection.) She dated John Singleton and Seal back in the '90s, basketball star Chris Webber from 2002 to 2004, and cross-dressing actor Tyler Perry in 2006. Of late, she's been seeing John Utendahl, a former bond trader at Salomon Bros. and Merrill Lynch who founded a firm of his own, Utendahl Capital, in 1991. Banks currently lives in an apartment at 225 Lafayette and also owns a Mediterranean-style home in Beverly Hills which she bought for $3.1 million in 2004.