Is Tyra Banks the most intelligent supermodel ever? Sure as hell seems like she is

She certainly has a lot to say...

She turned her 15 mins into $$$$$. That requires intellect. Think about how many reality shows have adapted the ANTM format.

She’s filthy rich now due to her brains.

Granted she was rich regardless because she was making over $30 million a year at her peak as a Supermodel, but she then did ANTM and her talk show and she made a fortune.

She was never a supermodel.

[quote]the most intelligent supermodel ever

Isn't this like saying "the tallest Munchkin ever"?

R4 yes she was.

I love you, R5

Look at the haters hating some more. Mad she’s a beauty that gets whatever she wants while you sit online whining all day?!

Tyler Perry (I know you all have issues with him) said something recently that made a lot of sense. He said, and I'm paraphrasing, instead of bitching about not having a seat at the table, build your own fucking table. I think Tyra took the same approach. She was a name, but she wasn't one of the big Supermodels of that era, but she watched and listened and learned and decided to take the steps she needed to build her own thing. And she has and that definitely reserves some respect in my book.

R8 I must admit she was smart enough to realise that she needed a nose job to look less ethnic and have some mainstream appeal, just like Halle Berry did.

Halle Berry didn’t get a nose job.

Tyra Banks was NOT a fucking supermodel.

Tyra WAS a Supermodel.

I'll always forgive her a lot of things for giving us ANTM, one of the best reality shows ever and not just a guilty pleasure.

Halle Berry’s nosejob wasn’t anything major. She didn’t have a wide nose to begin with. She’s HALF WHITE. Stupid asses.

She got the bridge more sharp. That’s all.

You realize how beautiful (or not) someone is doesn’t tell you anything about their intelligence, right? There are as likely to be intelligent supermodels as there are to be intelligent anything else.

I liked Tyra's ethnic nose.

The only person impressed with Tyra Banks is Tyra Banks. Ask anyone who has worked with her. ANTM was Ken Mok's idea. He had already created Making the Band and Tough Enough for MTV when he had the idea to create another reality show looking for a model. Tyra attached herself to that shit and took it over (she only agreed to host if she could be named co-creator and executive producer and attach her production company to it.) The show was a big success for the fledgling UPN then CW. Everyone who worked with her on that set hated her except for the people who were hers and even, in the end, she fucked both the Jays over. Her talk show was never a huge success and she decided to end it rather than get canceled. She has been milking that Naomi was mean to me story for decades. Naomi to her credit faced Tyra on her show and said: "I don't remember it that way." Tyra took a for pay Harvard Business course and then kind of sorta claimed to have attended Harvard Business School. Now she claims she is teaching at Stanford, she is not, she is a guest speaker on a course on branding yourself. She tried to create her own Harry Potter by creating Modelland the YA book series but it was so terrible and poorly written no one cared about it. Now she supposed to be creating Modelland the experience? Lol. IF it ever does launch it will be a failure. Yes she is rich, which most of her money is from her modeling contracts. She is a huge egotist and insufferable.

R16 But being a a successful business woman is a sign of high IQ. Creating the world wide hit tv series of the next top model shows is. She knew exactly how to exploit the girls on her show but not come across as too vile. All in all, she is a self made multimillionaire. She realised, the first step she needed was a nose job, the rest is history. I certainly don't like her, but I respect her.

r19 - umm no. Her net worth is less than Kate Moss, who is 'just" a model - Naomi has as much net worth as well. Neither one of them claim to have created any tv shows, hosted any talk shows or teach at stanford...or if they do, don't feel the need to tell people about it.

R18 her talk show wasn’t going to get canceled. It was a big hit and they wanted her to sign a new contract and she declined.

Tyra Banks was a model, but she was never a supermodel.

R11 She did have a boob job, though.

Tyra Banks invented Post-Its.

r21 Gossip columnist Janet Charlton is reporting that The Tyra Banks Show was indeed cancelled, but not by the host herself. The show was reportedly too expensive to produce when measured against the profits. Part of that supposedly stems from Banks’ large salary and the expenses incurred from moving the show from Los Angeles to New York at the start of season three.

Her moving the show to NYC killed her show.

R20 You gotta consider where Tyra started out. She worked her ass of and fought her way to the top. To me she is a lesser Oprah, who most experts consider an IQ genius (most self made billionaires are). Of course she is no way on the same level as Naomi Campell fashionwise. Naomi is a legend and was a muse to numerous designers. However, Tyra did some prestigious high fashion stuff like Versace runway and campaign. That's much better than so called supermodels like Heidi Klum and even worse Brooklyn Decker. The fact that Tyra had the nerve to invite Naomi to her talk show, to call her out for bullying that happened ages ago, was breathtaking. Bitch knows all the trick to boost the way she is perceived and make the public think they were on the same level. And regarding Kate: She might have made more money than Tyra, but I guess her 'fortune' is less than Tyra's. Kate is hard to look at these days, get's no publicity, at least not good publicity, the mainstream never understood her appeal anyway. Is Kate still addicted to cocaine?

When Tyra Banks took an executive training course at Harvard, there were articles saying Tyra Banks was going to Harvard Business School. It seemed like she really thought she was. That's just embarrassing. She may be bright, but I am sure there have been smarter super models (even if they were not as successful). I think Cindy Crawford was studying engineering at Northwestern before she became a full-time model. And I remember Paulina Porizkova being very witty on Letterman many years ago. She was on a silly list of "Smartest Celebrities" and Letterman was mocking her, asking what qualified her (good-naturedly). Without missing a beat, Paulina said, "Did you make the list?" You don't come out with shit like that unless there is a t least a little bit going on under the hood.

R28 bitch, everybody would try to decorate themselves with the Ivy League given the chance. Especially celebrities. This former German national soccer goalkeeper, Oliver Kahn, let the media publish the headline that he 'holds a Harvard degree now' after attending some seminar (Ciara was also there among others). Such behavior is normal and makes sense. And it doesn't change the fact that you need to make it big before you get the celebrity/rich man's treatment. And Tyra did it by herself.

Kathy Ireland, of all people, has big money. She has a huge home goods empire that is apparently worth a couple billion.

Kathy Ireland was never a supermodel either - she was a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Model but she has a net worth of 500 million. Daisy Fuentes has a net worth of 75 mIllion. Sorry but Tyra just aint that special or smart except in her own mind where she constantly needs to remind us how smart she is by tying herself to Heidi Klum and Cindy Crawford as if they are the only successful models who have other careers.

[quote]Halle Berry’s nosejob wasn’t anything major.

A "non-major" nose job is still a nose job, dear. One doesn't have to go the full Michael Jackson for it to qualify.

R32 I agree, most Hollywood nose jobs are minor but still effective think Scarlet Johansson, Britney's first one, Paul Walker, Winona Ryder, Giselle Bundchen. Tyra's nose job was a drastic and a game changer, kudos to her being so gutsy.

R32 you said she had a nose job to look less ethnic. She didn’t have a black person nose to begin with. The gif you posted shows her nose was never wide, but at the bottom Of the bridge it was rounder, she had that part straightened.

No one got a more work done to look less ethnic than Julie Chen.

Tyra was a supermodel. Look at most lists of Supermodels and she's on it.

R35 Omg, you didn't lie. Such procedures can be described as almost racist. She knew exactly what kind of look she was going for and it ain't the look of her ancestors, lol. But it probably help her a lot with advancing her career.

R37 it did. She was struggling before she got the work and was even told straight out by a white man that she looked “too Asian” for TV. She ended up having to live with her parents again for a while and eventually got the work done to look less ethnic and she got work from there.

[quote]you said she had a nose job to look less ethnic

I didn't say that at all.

My first post in this thread is at R32.

R36 Don't educate yourself in such a lazy way from an article that probably some intern created. The list has Heidi Klum on it who has done 0 high fashion gigs (except for those gigs where she was hired to act as 'Heidi Klum' instead of translating a creative vision into reality). Victoria's secret is not fashion. Adriana Lima has done few high fashion gigs here and there but her oeuvre is laughable compared to Naomi's, Linda's, Kate's etc. Tyra was a top model once - maybe. But certainly no high fashion supermodel, she was never anyone's muse, her impact was very little, she was disposable. But today she is a multi media mogul and way more relevant and powerful than the real supermodels on that list.

Lake Arrowhead was very intelligence.

Tyra was one of the faces of the 90s.

LSA thread

R38 wow, after reading the article I realised that she admitted to wanting to look less ethnic and being pressured. Now I feel sorry for her a bit. Great to see her owning it. At least, it seems like it did help her career.

R36 "I don't know Heidi Klum. She was never known in France. Claudia Schiffer also doesn't know who she is."​ Karl Lagerfeld about fellow German model Heidi Klum.

R4, Tyra Banks was in fact a supermodel. Let's stop that nonsense right here and now. The majority of the public, people who write about fashion and even other (super)models would never refer to her as anything but that.

She is intelligent enough to have constantly surrounded herself with the right people. She was never going to have the same career as Naomi or Kate. She leaned into what she could do and made a new avenue for herself. So while I wouldn't call her the "most intelligent supermodel ever" she is pretty darn smart.

R46 Then show us the receipts why Tyra is considered a fashion supermodel. Brooklyn Decker also gets called supermodel but she is anything but. You know that the media often profits from calling any model they cover a supermodel because it creates more attention. If this process repeats itself often enough, the most people really think that girls really is one. But that's not necessarily the truth.

Jesus fucking Christ. There were only a handful of supermodels - Cindy, Claudia, Naomi, Linda, Helena, Tatjana, Christy and Stephanie. That's what made them super. They were the best of the best. They were the A list.

Then there was a B list and a C list and a D list.

Tyra is A List.

I’ll always love her for this.

R49 What iconic photoshoots has she done? Why wasn't she included in a photoshoot with a supermodel cast? The supers were definitely a league of their own and they shot together again and again. Where does Tyra fit in? Which designer or photographer called her a muse?

Tyra's not really talented. She is an organized person and a workaholic, I'll give her that.

She's no Jean Dawnay.....

Tyra was placed with people like Cindy in Pepsi ads, she was a Revlon Girl, CoverGirl, all the major cosmetic lines used her, Victoria’s Secret Angel, the first black woman to make the cover of Sports Illustrated, the most popular model with teens in the late 90s and early 00s (winning Best Supermodel for a few years consecutively at Teen Awards etc).

[quote]Tyra is A List

So post some photos of Tyra on the runway with supermodels Cindy and Claudia and Naomi. Notice I said runway photos. Not her posing for a selfie with one of them at a party years after the fact. I'll wait.

Bonus points if you can post photos of her on a high class magazine cover with any of them.

Tyra came years after Naomie, Cindy, etc. why are we continuing to bring them up when by 1997 when Tyra hit it huge they were not modeling much anymore (well some weren’t)

People don’t know what “A List” means on here. Tyra is A-List. Her name was big

[quote]Tyra came years after Naomie, Cindy, etc. why are we continuing to bring them up when by 1997 when Tyra hit it huge they were not modeling much anymore (well some weren’t)

Excuses, excuses.

I'll take that as you forfeiting the match.

She was a very popular A list model, but she wasn't one of the it Supermodels of that era.

R58 r59 point of me saying she didn’t hit it big until the LATE 90s is because that automatically puts her in a different era from those that made it big in the late 80s like Cindy and Naomi.

She is not smart she is just a hard worker one of those girls that spend hours studying but are stupid when you talk to them.

The first black woman to get on the cover of SI, an image that would skyrocket her career to household name all over the world and make her a Top Model. This issue is also one of their best selling ever.

You're more or less right, she did sort of come after them, but Tyra made her bones by telling anyone who would listen about how mean Naomi was to her. Which is probably why she gets grouped with that era.

R63 yes, people group her with them because she mentions them (and she did work with Cindy, btw, and they’re still friends) but they started a decade before her.

R62 A top model. Not a supermodel. Thanks for acknowledging the fact. Next!

I forgot she had those stupid Nike commercials in the late 90s with that dummy voiced by Chris Rock.

She’s a Supermodel.

Tyra became a "Supermodel," retroactively.

She was not one during the height of her modeling career.

They made Heidi a supermodel retroactively as well.

Was Nikki Taylor a Supermodel?

Janice Dickinson coined the term “Supermodel” (although some say Twiggy was one long before her), and she even says Tyra is one. If she says it, I believe it, because despite her being crazy, she knows one when she sees one.

Tyra had 5x the Career of Heidi

Is this German? This is her 1997 Cosmo cover there

Did Tyra only get work early on from people who didn't want to pay Naomi's rates?

And what was Tyra's rate at the height of her career?

Tyra’s on the Top 5 richest models of all time, so she did well.

R74 you’re ignorant. Their looks are nothing alike. Naomi is more high fashion while Tyra is more Victoria’s Secret and Sports Illustrated model.

That doesn’t mean they never did the other. They’re supermodels because they CAN do it all.

If you look up “Supermodel” on Wikipedia... guess whose name shows up in the 90s section... Tyra!

“Tyra Banks had begun her career as a model, booking a record-breaking 25 shows in 1991 during her breakout year.[88] She achieved Supermodel status, and rivaled Naomi Campbell as the top Black model in the world.”

Moron at R76, you're the ignorant one. I specifically mentioned Tyra's early career to which SHE WAS CALLED BABY NAOMI.

It also mentions how Janice Dickinson falsely claims she coined the term Supermodel because the term was used for years prior and was even in The NY Times when they called Twiggy a “Supermodel” as opposed to a model.

Sports Illustrated has nothing to do with high fashion modelling. It's basically a step up from catalogue model without going the porn route. Tyra was a working model not a super model.

Did Tyra ever appear on the cover of American Vogue?

Tyra was a Supermodel. SI and VS are what made her a household name but she was doing catwalks since 1991 and breaking records.

She EARNED that title.

How many years did Tyra walk the runway (for High Fashion, ie, not including VS)?

Naomi said that what caused bad blood between her and Tyra was that in the industry you SHOULD be able to have more than one black woman on the runway at the same time but that wasn’t the case, so one would get booked and the other not or sometimes one would get dropped for the other etc. and that caused tension between them because, although they aren’t doing it intentionally to one another, it’s the industry, in your mind you feel the other is taking work away from you and that caused issues.

And according to Tyra, the bad blood was because Naomi was full of shit and making people in the industry choose between her and Tyra and they would of course drop Tyra!

R85 I believe Tyra. I love Naomi, she’s STUNNING, but she’s a petty bitch and I could see her making sure his biggest competition was losing jobs.

However Naomi claims it wasn’t her, it was the industry itself because they didn’t want more than one black model on the runway at a time.

Why do some of you keep knocking Tyra for being a VS Angel? Naomi worked for VS also.

This is a video comparing their VS runway walks.

Yeah, R86, but Naomi is a liar...

I don't think anyone is knocking Tyra for doing VS. They just don't think it's comparable to High Fashion/Designer contracts.

Another video comparing their runway walks.

Here Tyra says she’s still scared of Naomi and that she caused her some of the lowest times of her life.

Tyra is the group that came up after Naomi.

Heidi was never even an A list "Top Model". it's all retroactive with that one. Tyra was a Top Model, A List, but not a Supermodel of the Linda set. Only because she came after. And anyway, Victoria Secret's fucked all the categories up. And now we have the hideous basic bitches like Bella Hadid who are very successful and A list.

Victoria's Secret

What was the name of the first model who Victoria Secret used to use basically in all of its catalogs? Frederique?

Naomi and Tyra walked got very close as they walked by each other lol I bet Naomi was trying to intimidate her

Those heinous Todd Oldham frocks explain why he disappeared!

r57 to be fair she was the first female model to be on the cover of GQ and the first black model to cover sports illustrated so she had some milestones but that does not a supermodel make. To be a supermodel you needed to be Linda, Naomi, Cindy level. Tyra just came to late to the party to be considered a supermodel. She was not a muse, she did not open or close a major show in Paris Fashion Week.

Tyra was not chic. She was charming and upbeat, but sometimes a bit awkward and put on about it.

[quote] Tyra Banks was a model, but she was never a supermodel.

Please stop. She WAS definitely a supermodel.

Hi Tyra!

R100 That’s exactly the thought I had when I watched the video in R97. Some of the facial expressions she used would only be suitable for a pornstar now.

R89 I agree, it seems to me that Tyra was a high fashion top model once and then became what could be called a commercial supermodel. But overall she’s still in complete different league than Linda, Claudia, Naomi etc. Commercial work alone does not make you a supermodel. Kate Upton did well in that area because she has big tits and gives straight men boners. But no self respecting designer would ever let her on the runway, her look is very vulgar.

R77 The wiki article tries to investigate the term in a very broad way. Alessandra Ambrosio was in no way a high fashion supermodel, doing VS and getting called supermodel by the media is not enough. The thing is that Tyra loves to compare herself with Naomi. But that’s like comparing Jupiter with Mars. Naomi was a muse, left impact, inspired and created art. As far as I see, Tyra didn’t achieved this.

Tyra is at least less annoying than Janice.

they both have huge five-heads.

Tyra is a Supermodel.

Wiki even says what made you a Supermodel began changing in the 90s.

“By the 1990s, the supermodel became increasingly prominent in the media.[64] The title became tantamount to superstar, to signify a supermodel's fame having risen simply from "personality."[65] Supermodels did talk shows, were cited in gossip columns, partied at the trendiest nightspots,[63] landed movie roles, inspired franchises, dated or married film stars, and earned themselves millions.[11] Fame empowered them to take charge of their careers, to market themselves, and to command higher fees.”

Tyra started her career in high fashion. She was a runway queen in the early 90s. By mid 80s she went the commercial route and found super success there and made millions.

She’s worth almost $100 million now.

Never found her very pretty . Kind of love her Drag look when all made up , though . She’s as smart as a whip with her branding and all . Good for her.

Tyra is a poor man's Naomi just like Bette is a poor man's Barbra.

She made Lifesized 2 because she thought it was needed. Enough said.

I love this SUPERMODEL

“Today, Campbell, Crawford, Evangelista, Patitz and Turlington are regarded as the "Original Supermodels."”

Those fucking CUNTS wish they were the originals.

I've never gotten the whole "Baby Naomi" "Little Naomi" thing. They look nothing alike. They have two very, very different looks. Two very different skin tones. Makes no sense.

So the argument is not if she is a supermodel, the argument is if she is the most intelligent supermodel, that is like being the smartest retard.

“Campbell, Crawford, Evangelista, Patitz and Turlington were the original group to be regarded as "The Big Five" supermodels of the 1990s, The term "The Big Five" was later used to describe Campbell, Crawford, Evangelista, Turlington and Claudia Schiffer (replacing Patitz), and with the addition of Kate Moss, they became known as "the Big Six."

Why was Patitz dropped as one of “The Big Five” supermodels of the 90s and replaced with stupid Claudia Schiffer? That’s messed up of the industry lol.

And Tyra mentioned Kate Moss becoming so big so fast in an interview recently. She mentioned how her and Kate Moss came about at the same time and were in “that group” of new girls coming up in the industry and Moss was welcomed by everyone with open arms and placed NEXT TO the models that came before them (Turlington, Evangelista, Campbell, Crawford etc) but she herself wasn’t. Instead, for her, they automatically compared her to Naomi and rivaled them, which she finds sad that the white up and comer and be an individual on her own right but the black one has to be compared to the other black one, because there is only room for one “black model”.

R113 I said that yesterday. The comparisons make no sense, ESPECIALLY TO THEM. Neither of them gets it, outside of them both being black women, but they are nothing alike in attitude, personality, nor looks. Even their body frames are different, with Naomi having the more long, thin body type and Tyra having a more curvy frame, with big breasts.

[quote] [R77] The wiki article tries to investigate the term in a very broad way. Alessandra Ambrosio was in no way a high fashion supermodel, doing VS and getting called supermodel by the media is not enough. The thing is that Tyra loves to compare herself with Naomi. But that’s like comparing Jupiter with Mars. Naomi was a muse, left impact, inspired and created art. As far as I see, Tyra didn’t achieved this.

Naomi was jealous of Tyra, plain and simple. They had the same stature and body type (in the 90s) and could both tear up a runway. Tyra was fairer skin and had light eyes. Her look was slightly more exotic than Naomi. Neither was a great beauty but both photographed marvelously. There was a model who was a direct rip-off and lookalike of Naomi -- Beverly Peele -- but Naomi didn't terrorize Beverly because she knew she was the original and had the edge. There were other well-known black models, some slightly older than Naomi -- Veronica Webb, Gail O'Neill, Karen Alexander, Kara Young, Louise Vyent, Lana Oglivie, Roshumba -- but she didn't perceive them as a threat because they didn't do anywhere near as many shows as her. Tyra was brought into the business to humble Naomi who already had a reputation for being difficult. Naomi bought right into it and directed all her rage at Tyra.

I’ve always felt Tyra’s nose job hurt her editorial modeling career. While being successful commercially, I think it stings that Naomi will forever be Naomi, hence the bullying narrative.

Ale Ambrosio is pretty smart and savvy too, but she’s not as outspoken as Tyra.

R117, Tyra and Naomi never had the same stature. Naomi was leggy and athletic, Tyra was curvy with a longer torso and big boobs.

Was Naomi really that difficult or was it all blown out of proportion because she a was black woman demanding equal and fair treatment?

[quote]Tyra's nose job was a drastic and a game changer, kudos to her being so gutsy.

Tyra lies to this day about having had a nose job. Apparently she thinks we're all dumb and blind!

R122 she has admitted to it by now, see R10.

R111 Sorry, but Tyra looks like a porn star there and Cosmopolitan is one of the most vulgar magazines on earth. You clearly have no idea what SUPERMODEL even means. Such a fundamental lack of taste cannot be fixed.

R116 Are her boobs real or did she get them done, too, to have more commercial appeal?

[quote]“I had bones in my nose that were growing and itching"

LOL *THAT'S* her excuse for the nose job!? Oh, girl.

Tyra is curvy now. When she started as a teenager she had no boobs and a body like Naomi's. Naomi had reason to feel threatened.

It’s BanX, y’all!

Tyra also does a lot of revising history to suit her narrative.

R125, in that image you can see that Tyra’s cleavage was camouflaged by the coat she is wearing. She is curvier now, yes, but she was always curvy.

Tyra was a very successful (and annoying) PRINT model. She did a few campaigns for Hanes Her Way, then got fat, did a tv show, and now her saggy tits are on the cover of what will surely be SI's worst selling swimsuit issue in history.

Wrong r129. She made a name for herself ON THE RUNWAY. She broke records with how many shows she was added to in 1991, which was her first year modeling. Her entire early career was high fashion and runways until she went the commercial route in the mid 90s after being cast on The Fresh Prince of Bel Air and people taking notice of her beauty and then became a VS Angel in 1997.

She also did campaigns for Revlon, CoverGirl, Estée Lauder, Maybelline, Nike, Pepsi, Hanes etc.

“When she got the opportunity to model in Europe, she moved to Milan. In her first runway season, she booked 25 shows in the 1991 Paris Fashion Week. Banks appeared in editorials for American, Italian, French, and Spanish Vogue; American, French, German, and Spanish Elle; American, German, and Malaysian Harper's Bazaar; V; W and Vanity Fair.”

For those of you claiming shes done nothing other than “Hanes” etc.

PS that was just her FIRST YEAR in the industry and she was already killing it.

“She appeared on the covers of magazines such as Elle; Harper's Bazaar; Spanish Vogue; Cosmopolitan; Seventeen and Teen Vogue. She walked in fashion shows for Chanel, Oscar de la Renta, Yves Saint Laurent, Anna Sui, Christian Dior, Donna Karan, Calvin Klein, Perry Ellis, Marc Jacobs, Givenchy, Herve Leger, Valentino, Fendi, Isaac Mizrahi, Giorgio Armani, Sonia Rykiel, Michael Kors and others. She appeared in advertising campaigns for Yves Saint Laurent, Dolce & Gabbana, Escada, Tommy Hilfiger, Ralph Lauren, Halston, H&M, XOXO, Swatch, Versace, Christian Lacroix, Victoria's Secret, Got Milk?, Pepsi and Nike. In 1993, Banks signed a contract with CoverGirl cosmetics, launching advertising campaigns for the cosmetics company. She was one of only a few Black models to achieve Supermodel status. In the mid-1990s, Banks returned to America to do more commercial modeling.

Banks was the first woman on the cover of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue and the first African-American woman on the cover of GQ. In 1997, she received the VH1 award for "Supermodel of the Year". That year, she was the first African American chosen for the cover of the Victoria's Secret catalog, and became a Victoria's Secret Angel. In 2010, Banks re-signed with her former modeling agency IMG Models. Banks is now a contributor of the Vogue Italia website. In 2013, Banks transformed herself into 15 supermodels, in collaboration with fashion photographer Udo Spreitzenbarth.”

One of the more tiresome threads in quite a while.

Tyra Banks was a commercial model not a high fashion model. Commercial models are not supermodels.

R132, pretty much any model who has a career for a few seasons walks in x number of shows and appears on some covers here and there. Victoria's Secret and Sports Illustrated are not what make a supermodel.

R131, go watch any 18/19-year-old model today, all the successful ones walk in dozens of shows during fashion week and appear in Vogue editorials. Tyra was successful, not a supermodel.

R135 that’s today. This was 1991. She broke records then. Dingbat.

R134 you clearly didn’t read all her campaigns stupid fuck. It wasn’t just “Sports Illustrated” and “Victoria’s Secret”.

How about this, maybe there was a top level (tier) of model and then there was the SUPERmodel who transcended that top level. Naomi and that gang were the SUPERmodels. Tyra and that crown were the top tier working models (the understudies). If you couldn't afford Naomi or Cindy or Naomi and Cindy were booked on other gigs or had noncompete contracts you called Tyra or Heidi or one of that group.

R136, you obviously don't know much about modelling, there are models who "break records" by walking the most shows or whatever in x city in x fashion week, that doesn't make them supermodels. There was nothing unusual about walking dozens of shows in one fashion week back in the early 90s anyway.

Tyra became famous because she did SI and VS and got into TV, not because she was a major high fashion supermodel. Her campaigns as listed are not that extraordinary and do not a supermodel make.

Care to list any major designers she was associated with? Famous high fashion photographers? How many Vogue covers (a much more revealing indicator, especially American Vogue [more back in Tyra's day because Anna Wintour doesn't really put models on the cover anymore], Vogue Paris, Vogue Italia and British Vogue)? Any particularly memorable campaigns? Iconic images with Tyra?

R138 Tyra was considered a Supermodel before achieving superstardom.

By 1993 she earned the title of “Supermodel”

Love this

R137, Heidi Klum is another one who wasn't a high fashion model. She wasn't second-tier high fashion because she wasn't high fashion.

Fierce

R96, see if you can find a copy of Celebrity Mole, maybe its last season, and Frederique is on it. And quite fun, actually, especially with Kathy Griffin (back when she was still great). Also has Corbin Bernsen, Steven Baldwin and that cutie from Dinotopia who was so tall and hot, von Detten.

I only knew it was the person you were asking about because there is a moment when Kathy is lieing next to her in underwear and saying how it sucks to have to do this next to a Victoria's Secret model.

Gorgeous

Love this photo

Lol at these pics of Tyra on whatever that catwalk is. That's what models do, it's not that extraordinary. There are hundreds of "top models" at any one time.

Tyra was a sucessful commercial model, she was not a supermodel and not a high fashion model anymore than any of the thousands of models who've appeared in one YSL campaign.

Very young Tyra

R145, you might love that photo but is there anything more unique and iconic about it than any of the zillions of such photos with other models that have been taken? Her expression is pretty crappy anyway.

Bitch looks FIERCE

Lol at the stan who thinks posting pics of Tyra doing exactly the same thing that thousands of other models have done - and a lot more often and over a longer period - makes her a supermodel.

STRIKING

For the Tyra stan, if you want to prove that Tyra is a decent model let alone a supermodel, don't post these pics of her because they're really not that impressive.

Any pics of her truly memorable and iconic campaigns for a major fashion house? Her American Vogue and Vogue Italia covers? A photo of her with a major designer who considered her one of his muses?

A beauty

Tyra for Gianni Versace in 1994

HIGH FASHION

Tyra stan, all you're doing by posting these pics is: a) showing that the quality of Tyra's work was very average, nowhere near "top model" level, let alone supermodel level; and b) you know nothing about modelling or the fashion industry.

Honestly, I think she looked prettier with her “ethnic” nose vs the nose job.

I hate that she caved and did it.

I have the growing concerns that Tyrabot is also Janbot.

For BAZAAR

I don't understand why someone is trying so hard to say Tyra isn't a supermodel. She is. She successfully did high fashion, commercial, sexy and athletic. Not every model can do all that. Some high fashion girls are not sexy or athletic. Some of the commercial models can't do high fashion. Tyra has it ALL

Read the caption on the photo from the magazine

R132 That high fashion resume is nothing extraordinary as others pointed out. For example Hilary Rhoda has a comparable resume and nobody calls her a supermodel.

R137 Nobody would call Heidi. She booked nothing in high fashion when she arrived in NY. Then she got herself huge implants and landed the cover of SI, where she also appeared in body painting pics.

R150 Dear Tyra stan, in all pictures you posted Tyra reminds me of Ru Paul. Her poses and facial expression are what drag queen do now.

R165 me and most of the world is aware she’s a Supermodel. She’s had the tag since 1993 when the industry themself gave her that title after an impressive and record breaking debut year in 1991. She shot up and fast.

And everyone keeps on bringing up Naomie, Naomie hit it big in mid 80s, years before Tyra. That’s why in 1990 she was part of “The Big Five”, because they made models bigger than movie stars and were household names worldwide. No one is knocking Naomi and her hard work and breaking barriers,but that doesn’t mean Tyra wasn’t doing that also and wasn’t a big deal.

In the 90s the meaning of “Supermodel” evolved into meaning a mode that is at superstar status, which Tyra was.

R167 but her resume is nowhere near Tyra’s.

And Heidi didn’t book high fashion. Tyra did.

R160 I agree. Her ethnic nose gave her a strong presence like Naomi has. Her current nose is very conformist and trivializes her look.

R170 Tyra beats Hilary in her commercial work and regarding public recognition. But Tyra's high fashion resume is maybe slightly more prestigious than Hilary's, but still nothing too extraordinary.

Heidi was not a high fashion model at all, let alone supermodel. As Karl Lagerfeld says, he didn't know her and Claudia didn't, either. I think she herself doesn't claim to be a supermodel. She is a multi media mogul like Tyra.

Here’s a video from CNN Style in 1992 speaking about the new, young models new International fame (that she gained through... HIGH FASHION)

The women that were in George Michaels music video, 'Freedom ' were supermodels. Then actresses started to grab magazine and print work, so the whole model pool was no longer Exclusive. Does anyone Kim Alexis? Vendela?

R164 These tits look artificial.

R175 she did a live mammogram on her show and showed they’re real.

Meant sonogram

PS in that CNN Style clip from 1992 they bring up Naomi’s beef with her lmao. Poor girls been getting the same question for over 25 years

R176 Maybe they were real when she did the sonogram for show. Heidi has removed her implants as well as she doesn't need huge tits anymore. Doing a public sonogram of your tits is kind of trashy.

R179 it was for her show. There’s way worse on daytime TV than a sonogram

R178 I love that clip, thanks for bringing it up again. However, her modeling style was very over the top, like a drag queen, and not chic as someone else wrote. Naomi had more of a demure dignity.

Tyra loves McDonald's catering just like Trump.

Supermogul

I love McDonalds

WEHT Helena Christensen?

Remember when she tried a singing career and talked about how seriously she takes it?

Watched this video and Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell WOWED me. They were the best at the catwalk, IMHO. Naomi was striking in every fucking shot and angle. Wow.

R161 you're just now realizing its Jabba? You can always tell a Jabba post a mile away.

[quote]Poor girls been getting the same question for over 25 years

Yeah, because she's been bringing it up for 25 years.

Its fun to debate the changing definitions and criteria for "supermodel" in different years, and whether Tyra was or wasn't this or that or the other. Still, Tyra was most certainly gorgeous and could do everything, and she took the opportunity and made a media empire for herself and Swiss Bank vault sized fortune. So, she's obviously quite clever. She surely has many times the future of say, Naomi Campbell and Linda Evangelista. Begrudge her this or that but she's laughing all the way to Julius Baer.

R189 she didn’t bring it up in that clip. PS she was only 19 there.

R170 Gemma Ward's high fashion resume easily blow Tyra's out of the water. However, she never crossed over to commercial work but her look was probably too artsy anyway. She was the last person to date Heath Ledger and got fat and depressed when he died. Then she tried acting and landed some smaller roles. Now she is too fat and looks like a blown up baby doll.

Reading comprehension R191.

Tyra said in 1993 at 19 that her plan was to be a model and leave on her own terms, she didn’t wanna be pushed out for overstaying her welcome. She then wanted to get into acting and ultimately get into Producing etc.

She did all she wanted.

She’s also worth $90 million to Naomi’s $44 million.

I have just seen that they call Gemma a supermodel in her Wiki article. She is not, lol. Just shows how arbitrary that term is now.

Is Christy Turlington still with that hot piece of ass Edward Burns?

Even Tyra knows she isn't a supermodel. If she was, she would have called her show America's Next Supermodel. She didn't call it that, though, now did she? If she was entitled to use the term, why not claim for the most visible forum she has ever had?

She didn't do it because she knew no one would stand for it.

R194 Tyra is a very accomplished woman and opened up many doors for herself and others . Nobody here claims otherwise.

I'm just reminded of something someone told me awhile back, now that we're on the subject of how smart Tyra is. If this is true, I don't know if you qualify it as being smart or calculating, which are not the same thing.

Anyway, someone who worked in the industry once told us that Tyra and her mother made up the beef re: Naomi, faking/lying about the calls demanding an ultimatum between the two models, etc. and that they did it precisely to raise Tyra's clout.

I'm not sure I believe this since I think Naomi is exactly the type of person to do that shit, but Tyra has also proven that she's pretty calculating and a quick study as to what would bring her the most success.

Sweetie, everyone calls her what she is, a Supermodel. She didn’t call it America’s Next supermodel because she knew these girls would never be SUPERMODELS.

[quote]Even Tyra knows she isn't a supermodel. If she was, she would have called her show America's Next Supermodel. She didn't call it that, though, now did she? If she was entitled to use the term, why not claim for the most visible forum she has ever had?

She didn't do that because she doesn't see anyone else making it to "her" level... and she knew those girls wouldn't even actually ever make "top model" status.

R199 if that were the case Naomie would have said so long ago. She hasn’t. She’s even admitted they were both wrong in the situation, meaning it’s true.

R199 lol, interesting. And I agree with your conclusion: They both a narcissists and their actions and claim should be taken with a grain of salt.

Why hasn’t the appropriate regulatory body issued a clearer set of criteria for supermodel status?

You can see in that clip from 1993 her being called a Supermodel. She was given the title. She didn’t ask for it.

I’m hearing similar arguments on here that I do in threads about singers and who is better where the poster cites how much money their fav has made or how many records they sold. That approach is all wrong and they don’t seem to know the difference between quantity and quality.

Two guys at The Stud in 1985 told me I was the most beautiful boy in the world R205. So I was given that title and since I didn't ask for it, it means I deserved it and it was true.

R202, Naomi has said that the claims weren't true and that she never did that.

That’s two guys. Not the whole world.

We’ve seen too many times Naomi is batshit crazy.

And why is the person above all of a sudden misspelling Naomi's name when he was spelling it correctly before?

I can't believe Naomi is doing follow me arounds.

Tyra never had game.....

not sure why some kweens think "only high fashion models" are supermodels. That's completely false. There are plenty of girls who only do high fashion but they're not famous so they sure as hell are not supermodels. To be a supermodel you have to be highly successful at modeling and famous beyond the modeling world. Tyra more than qualifies for that. She has done both high fashion and commercial and is super famous. She could go by only her first name if she wanted and everyone would know it's her.

I can't believe someone even brought up the mediocre-looking Brooklyn Decker. She's just a commercial model not a supermodel and she was famous for about 2 years.

Plenty of commercial models are known outside the fashion world--i.e. SI cover girls, but aren't considered supermodels. Supermodels were both--valued by designers, able to sell fashion magazines AND land the big commercial contracts.

Along with the big five, there were some earlier models who fit the bill--they were models whose names everyone knew and personified the current idea of beauty. So, Twiggy fit the brief in the late 60s. Lauren Hutton, whose contracts broke records, was one in the 70s. You could make arguments for Christie Brinkley, Polina and, later, Gisele Bundchen.

Linda, Christie, Cindy, Naomi were all over Vogue and set trends, Kate Moss broke the mold and was insanely influential--just everywhere. One of the reasons that Tyra doesn't fit the supermodel definition is that she did show up around the same time as Kate Moss and, at that point, waif was in and voluptuous babe was out.

Tyra was a successful model with name recognition, but she never was a big influence on fashion. Someone mentioned her being called "Baby Naomi"--I think the telling thing is that no one is mentioned as "Baby Tyra". Tyra was just never that influential a model. She, like Heidi Klum, made her mark on television. And kudos to her for managing that.

As for "most intelligent"--money does not equal intelligence--but she's done well, so it's clear she's not an idiot. That said, I haven't heard her say anything that surprises or intrigues me. I find Grace Coddington, who was a model back in the 60s, a much more interesting person as ex-models go--brilliant fashion editor.

Gisele is 100% a Supermodel.

Is this what DL has come to? A Tyra Stan??

R205 Which video, what time stamp? The media tends to call a lot of models they cover supermodels because both parties profit from it, see Brooklyn Decker.

It was smart that Tyra took herself out of the game before someone else could...

But it's also telling that Naomi started before her... and didn't have to take herself out. She's still working.

R219 Tyra didnt wanna model forever. She wanted to get into television

Tyra was in television before she retired.

R221 yes. She got in then decided she was finally ready to leave modeling for good.

Newsflash. Tyra isn't smart, her mom is. She has and still does guide her career. Tyra just spends all her time telling us how smart she is. Look I went to Harvard ....(okay it was a course anyone could pay for, not actual college)..Look I teach at Stanford (...okay not teach, I guest speak on a course about branding yourself....)..I found it funny when asked on what she invested in to prove she was successful she could not name anything but the skimm - which she made it sound like she did it and no one else did. LOL - the Skimm got some heavy investors right off the bat including 21st Century Fox and Google in thier round 2 capital raising. No mention of Tyra.

R218 see r178

I remember when she did Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? celebrity edition and she was stuck on easy questions for long lol.

According to Regis they had to edit down how long she took

And again, she knew she had to get out before they got rid of her, or at least her mom did. And because Naomi is Naomi, she's still working. That's the point.

And I agree, R223, it's her mom that is probably smart. But I give credit to Tyra because she's obviously a quick study and knew (whether her mom is the one that told her or not) that in order to succeed, the best way to go about it was to mimic what was the trend.

Oh and I caught the same thing about her response to the investing question. That was painful.

R226 Tyra is bigger than Naomie

HAHAHA. Uh, sure.

And again, why are you continuing to misspell her name when you had no problem with it prior?

Tyra should get back in her fatsuit and have a good self-involved cry.

Don't forget me, r215.

R231, Sure Shrimp, you and Suzy Parker can be iconic next to one another.

[quote]casting agents

We've DISCUSSED THIS!

[quote] [R131], go watch any 18/19-year-old model today, all the successful ones walk in dozens of shows during fashion week and appear in Vogue editorials. Tyra was successful, not a supermodel.

Whatever...

Tell that to Naomi, who was TERRIFIED that Tyra would snatch her whole wig and take her career.

[quote] [R150] Dear Tyra stan, in all pictures you posted Tyra reminds me of Ru Paul. Her poses and facial expression are what drag queen do now

RuPaul's 90s drag iteration was based on Tyra Banks. Drag Race was based on ANTM. He shades Tyra in favor of Naomi but Tyra taught that bitch everything he knows. If not for Tyra he'd still be StarBooty.

Oh lord, Tyra was a supermodel no matter how many times people want to say she wasn't. She just was. People keep chiming in with, "but the definition ... blah blah blah" and "But that year there was blah blah blah." No, you decided on that definition, then the time period, then whether or not she did enough work, then what worked qualified [ad nauseam] to keep moving an imaginary bar inside of your head.

The industry as a whole decided she was a supermodel so she just is by their definition.

[quote]Even Tyra knows she isn't a supermodel. If she was, she would have called her show America's Next Supermodel. She didn't call it that, though, now did she? If she was entitled to use the term, why not claim for the most visible forum she has ever had?

R197, You do realize the purpose of the show was to find new [the next] top talent, so it made more sense to call the show "top model" instead of supermodel because you have to do more than just win a game show (or according to this thread invent time travel) right?

Aside from that the show did give a few of them "something" of a career in modeling but none of them ever really became a top model.

The most successful is still Yaya DaCosta but only as an actress. She's had a regular TV role on Chicago Med for the past few years, before that she was in "The Kids are All Right" and even "The Butler." Funny thing is she didn't even win the show.

Tyra claims to love her mother more than anything, but isn't it a bit of a slap in the face towards her mom for Tyra to have her (mother's) nose hacked off of her face, and now to change her last name to "Bankx"?

I am sure her mother doesn’t care. They’re very close.

Tyra cut off her Black Nose. Tyra has been cancelled and removed from the curriculum.

R239 That would mean Beyonce would also get cancelled. It's not happening!

That's delicate as their Majesties the Knowles-Carters have prepaid Brown Tuition for all their spawn.

Beyoncé’s nose was never wide.

I liked that Tyra didn't use SUPERMODEL anywhere in the show's title. It actually felt more like a real career training show (I know it sounds Mary! as fuck but I actually took some lessons in my own field from it). Until it went off the rails, it had a classy feel somehow, felt legit.

Didn't the co-hosts and the majority of contestants from ANTM hate Tyra?

I don't think the majority of contestants really talked to her face to face , R244.

Which is why they hated her, R245.

Her "OMGAWD I'm your bff!" personality seems totally phony.

the first season of ANTM was hilarious with the bickering between Janice Dickinson and Kimora Lee Simmons. They hated each other and Tyra knew it was good for ratings. They only featured snippets of the arguments though rather than the entire portions as that was before reality tv became conflict-centered

R243 classy and Tyra really don’t go together as the numerous posts about her oeuvre have shown us. Drag queens have also taken many lesson from her, it’s not only you...

and Naomi with her cell phone throwing ass is classy?

all the druggies in the modeling world are classy?

r248 Tyra does not know good TV if it bit her in the ass. The producers know, the directors know, casting knows, Tyra is dumb as a box of rocks.

I was rooting for you!

I didn't know about this issue of Sports Illustrated. It's a cute photo.

R253 I don't know. The white girl looks cute and natural. Tyra on the other hand looks over the top and tryhard.

R254 Tyra looks beautiful.

How about you state what your REAL issue is?

The only good season of ANTM, in terms of watchability and models that actually had any modeling ability, was Season 6.

Eva, the winner of season 3 is gorgeous.

Eva is pretty but I don't think gorgeous. Her nose also resembled a snout, which I thought was funny considering her last name.

You mean Eva PIGford?

[quote] The industry as a whole decided she was a supermodel so she just is by their definition.

The industry hates Tyra. Show me where Anna Wintour has ever referred to Tyra as a supermodel? Show me some pictures where Tyra appears alongside the real supermodels of her time? I will show you lots of pictures where the supermodels appear alongside one another. Tyra ain't in any of those pictures.

R260, you are correct but the Tyra stans will never admit it. I like Tyra but I appreciate her for what she was/is. BTW - when she was on e cover of Sports Illustrated most white men did not even know who she was. I listen to sports radio. When she made the cover, I recall white dudes calling in asking who she was.

It’s already been said on this thread that the SI issue is what shot her to superstardom and made her A List.

That’s what caught the attention of men all over the world. And women alike because after that she signed onto VS.

But she was apparently a Supermodel prior to the SI issues.

So now Supermodel means A List again? You guys keep changing the definition at your own accord.

No, R264, apparently you can be a Supermodel and not even be A List yet!

Tyra is a Supermodel. She’s a household name and one of the biggest names to come out of modeling.

Exactly my point, R263.

r266 who?

Naomi must have sent her minions to bash Tyra here

Girls, girls! If you must argue about it, then she's clearly not a supermodel.

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