found: African American National Biography, accessed December 13, 2014, via Oxford African American Studies Center database:(Banks, Tyra; Tyra Lynne Banks; model, actress, entrepreneur; born 04 December 1973 in Inglewood, California, United States; had a modeling contract with Elite Model Management, went to Paris and was booked for twenty-five fashion shows during her time in Paris; appeared as Will Smith's girlfriend on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air show; appeared in the movie Higher Learning (1995), her big screen debut; landed a lucrative contract with CoverGirl cosmetics (1995); the first African American model to appear on the cover of the Sports Illustrated (1997); was Victoria's Secret top model for several years; received the industry's prestigious Michael Award for Supermodel of the Year (1997); People Magazine listed her one of the "50 Most Beautiful People in the World" (1994 and 1996); established TY Inc. and Bankable Productions (1999); established T-Zone, a self-esteem-building organization for young women; created America's Next Top Model, a reality TV show (2003); her own daytime program, The Tyra Banks Show, premiered in 2005; won Teen Choice awards (2007); won a 2008 Daytime Emmy Award for her talk show (2008))
