1984Growing Pains
At 11, a growth spurt turns Banks into "this tall beanpole freak all the girls would laugh at." She tells PEOPLE, "I wasn't just skinny and tall; I was sick looking. If anybody called me skinny, I would just smile, then run into my room and burst out crying. It was a really unhappy time."
1990
Model in the Making
A 17-year-old Banks begins making the model agency rounds while at L.A.'s Immaculate Heart High School. ''The market for black models was not very good,'' Banks' mom Carolyn, who shot her daughter's portfolio, tells PEOPLE. Banks is told her look is "too ethnic." After graduation, she plans to enroll at L.A.'s Loyola Marymount University, but weeks before the start of her freshman year, things turn around. A French modeling scout spots Banks and offers her a chance to model in the Paris couture shows.
Model in the Making
A 17-year-old Banks begins making the model agency rounds while at L.A.'s Immaculate Heart High School. ''The market for black models was not very good,'' Banks' mom Carolyn, who shot her daughter's portfolio, tells PEOPLE. Banks is told her look is "too ethnic." After graduation, she plans to enroll at L.A.'s Loyola Marymount University, but weeks before the start of her freshman year, things turn around. A French modeling scout spots Banks and offers her a chance to model in the Paris couture shows.
1991 The European Catwalk
''My ankles would shake, and I would bend my knees and stick my lips out,'' Banks tells PEOPLE of her first model walks. But within a week, she accumulates 25 bookings. Model Niki Taylor says, ''She can work a runway like you would not believe.'' Designer Todd Oldman adds, ''She reminds me of an antelope. She was just born with grace.''
1993
Runway Rival
Black supermodel Naomi Campbell takes notice of rising 19-year-old star Banks and reportedly persuades Karl Lagerfeld to ban the so-called new Naomi Campbell from Chanel's catwalk. "Why do I have to knock Naomi out to be successful?" Banks asks PEOPLE. "With white models, they don't do that."
1995
Screen Debut
Banks lands the part of track runner Deja opposite Omar Epps in Higher Learning. "Tyra is good,'' says the film's director and her boyfriend John Singleton, who calms her worries of favoritism by assuring her she wouldn't have the part if she wasn't right. ''She adds a lot of flavor to what could have been a throwaway role.'' She follows up with films Love & Basketball and Coyote Ugly.
Runway Rival
Black supermodel Naomi Campbell takes notice of rising 19-year-old star Banks and reportedly persuades Karl Lagerfeld to ban the so-called new Naomi Campbell from Chanel's catwalk. "Why do I have to knock Naomi out to be successful?" Banks asks PEOPLE. "With white models, they don't do that."
1995Screen Debut
Banks lands the part of track runner Deja opposite Omar Epps in Higher Learning. "Tyra is good,'' says the film's director and her boyfriend John Singleton, who calms her worries of favoritism by assuring her she wouldn't have the part if she wasn't right. ''She adds a lot of flavor to what could have been a throwaway role.'' She follows up with films Love & Basketball and Coyote Ugly.
1996 
Another Romantic Link
After splitting up with Singleton in spring, Banks, 22, shows up with pop singer Seal, 33, at the Essence Awards. Their low-key romance ends in October.
Another Romantic Link
After splitting up with Singleton in spring, Banks, 22, shows up with pop singer Seal, 33, at the Essence Awards. Their low-key romance ends in October.
1997
Fashion Pioneer
She has a Cover Girl makeup contract and is a regular in magazines and on runways, but the 23-year-old Banks makes history with a triple achievement in 1996. She is the first African-American woman to pose on the covers of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue (with model Valeria Mazza), GQ (February 1996) and the Victoria's Secret catalogue (1996). On Feb. 21, 1997, she'll grace the cover of Sports Illustrated for the second year in a row – this time, by herself.
Fashion Pioneer
She has a Cover Girl makeup contract and is a regular in magazines and on runways, but the 23-year-old Banks makes history with a triple achievement in 1996. She is the first African-American woman to pose on the covers of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue (with model Valeria Mazza), GQ (February 1996) and the Victoria's Secret catalogue (1996). On Feb. 21, 1997, she'll grace the cover of Sports Illustrated for the second year in a row – this time, by herself.
1998
Lessons from Tyra
The model releases her first book, Tyra's Beauty Inside & Out, with her thoughts on self-esteem and step-by-step makeup advice. "It's not the cosmetics, not the swimsuits, not the magazine covers," makeup artist Sam Fine tells PEOPLE. "The beauty of Tyra is her natural side, the child in her." Banks is also upfront about her looks: "I'm not ugly, but my beauty is a total creation."
Lessons from Tyra
The model releases her first book, Tyra's Beauty Inside & Out, with her thoughts on self-esteem and step-by-step makeup advice. "It's not the cosmetics, not the swimsuits, not the magazine covers," makeup artist Sam Fine tells PEOPLE. "The beauty of Tyra is her natural side, the child in her." Banks is also upfront about her looks: "I'm not ugly, but my beauty is a total creation."
2001
Tyra's Zone
Banks establishes Tzone, a Southern California camp aimed at building self-esteem in teenage girls. "I'm just 'BBQ' [her camp nickname], a girl like them," Banks tells PEOPLE. "It's important for me to let young girls know how much of it is smoke and mirrors. I still go to work and see people, my peers that make me feel insecure. I talk about that. I shed tears about that. It breaks down barriers."
Tyra's Zone
Banks establishes Tzone, a Southern California camp aimed at building self-esteem in teenage girls. "I'm just 'BBQ' [her camp nickname], a girl like them," Banks tells PEOPLE. "It's important for me to let young girls know how much of it is smoke and mirrors. I still go to work and see people, my peers that make me feel insecure. I talk about that. I shed tears about that. It breaks down barriers."
2002
Love & Basketball
Banks, a constant courtside presence at Sacramento Kings games, is linked to Kings forward Chris Webber. "She's my closest female friend," the NBA star says to PEOPLE in May. After a two-year romance and talk of an engagement, they split in 2004. Webber's rep confirms the two "broke up and remain good friends," telling PEOPLE, "at no time were they ever engaged."
Love & Basketball
Banks, a constant courtside presence at Sacramento Kings games, is linked to Kings forward Chris Webber. "She's my closest female friend," the NBA star says to PEOPLE in May. After a two-year romance and talk of an engagement, they split in 2004. Webber's rep confirms the two "broke up and remain good friends," telling PEOPLE, "at no time were they ever engaged."
2003 TV's Next Top Host
Her success continues with the launch of her girls-go-high-fashion reality show, America's Next Top Model, on which women vie for a modeling contract. With the show still going strong after seven seasons, Banks tells PEOPLE, "It makes me really proud that there can be a healthy model out there to show you don't have to resort to crazy means to get the type of figure you desire."
2004
Shake It, Tyra
Banks releases a hip-hop-flavored music video, "Shake Your Body," which features dancing by contestants from the second season of Top Model. She pays the $30,000 production costs herself, hoping the video leads to a record deal. It gets some airplay on MTV2, but the single never makes it to radio. "That was a dream," she tells Forbes in 2006. "I sounded decent, but you shouldn't ever do something just because you're only decent at it."
Shake It, Tyra
Banks releases a hip-hop-flavored music video, "Shake Your Body," which features dancing by contestants from the second season of Top Model. She pays the $30,000 production costs herself, hoping the video leads to a record deal. It gets some airplay on MTV2, but the single never makes it to radio. "That was a dream," she tells Forbes in 2006. "I sounded decent, but you shouldn't ever do something just because you're only decent at it."
2005
The Next Oprah?
Six years after being a youth correspondent on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Banks, 31, pulls double-duty as host and executive producer of her own talk show. It is on The Tyra Banks Show that she faces rival supermodel Naomi Campbell. "One of the reasons I wanted to do this show is because sisterhood is so important to me," she says during their discussion.
The Next Oprah?
Six years after being a youth correspondent on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Banks, 31, pulls double-duty as host and executive producer of her own talk show. It is on The Tyra Banks Show that she faces rival supermodel Naomi Campbell. "One of the reasons I wanted to do this show is because sisterhood is so important to me," she says during their discussion.
2006
Shaping the World
Time names Banks one of the Most Influential People in the World, where Heidi Klum calls her a "whip-smart business mogul." She makes the list again the following year, with famed feminist Naomi Wolf writing, "What I love about Tyra Banks is that she is taking action. She has used her own weight gain…as a teachable moment to confront the culture and speak out to girls and young women about embracing their bodies in all sizes."
Shaping the World
Time names Banks one of the Most Influential People in the World, where Heidi Klum calls her a "whip-smart business mogul." She makes the list again the following year, with famed feminist Naomi Wolf writing, "What I love about Tyra Banks is that she is taking action. She has used her own weight gain…as a teachable moment to confront the culture and speak out to girls and young women about embracing their bodies in all sizes."
2007 
Bigger is Better
After tabloids and blogs run photos mocking Banks for looking heavier, she tells PEOPLE she's happy with her present figure, which is 30 lbs. heavier than her 2005 pre-retirement weight. Posing on the cover of PEOPLE, an empowered Banks says, "I still feel hot." Weeks later, with tears in her eyes and rage in her voice, Banks tells critics on her talk show, "Kiss my fat a--!" After launching her "So What" campaign that promotes positive body images, Banks is listed as one of PEOPLE's 100 Most Beautiful.
Bigger is Better
After tabloids and blogs run photos mocking Banks for looking heavier, she tells PEOPLE she's happy with her present figure, which is 30 lbs. heavier than her 2005 pre-retirement weight. Posing on the cover of PEOPLE, an empowered Banks says, "I still feel hot." Weeks later, with tears in her eyes and rage in her voice, Banks tells critics on her talk show, "Kiss my fat a--!" After launching her "So What" campaign that promotes positive body images, Banks is listed as one of PEOPLE's 100 Most Beautiful.
2008
Lonely at the Top for Tyra
After moving her talk show to New York, Banks opens up to Essence about the lonely life she leads at the top. "I'd go to work and women would be crying in my arms on the talk show," she says. "But then I'd go home and put my key in my door and ... nothing: no friends, no husband, no children. I feel so full when I'm at work but so empty when I come home." While Essence reports the buzz that she's involved with investment banker John Utendahl, 50, Banks keeps mum on relationship rumors.
Lonely at the Top for Tyra
After moving her talk show to New York, Banks opens up to Essence about the lonely life she leads at the top. "I'd go to work and women would be crying in my arms on the talk show," she says. "But then I'd go home and put my key in my door and ... nothing: no friends, no husband, no children. I feel so full when I'm at work but so empty when I come home." While Essence reports the buzz that she's involved with investment banker John Utendahl, 50, Banks keeps mum on relationship rumors.
June 20
Tyra's First Emmy Award
Banks, 34, wins her first Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Informative Talk Show. "I want to thank Oprah Winfrey for her inspiration," Banks says. "She is the queen and will always be the queen." Using her winning moment to silence her detractors, she adds, "When you have a dream, there are going to be many people that tell you that you cannot do it, that you are not good enough. And I want you to tell them to kiss your dimply, flat, juicy, bootylicious, skinny, jiggly, saggy, fat a--!"
Tyra's First Emmy Award
Banks, 34, wins her first Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Informative Talk Show. "I want to thank Oprah Winfrey for her inspiration," Banks says. "She is the queen and will always be the queen." Using her winning moment to silence her detractors, she adds, "When you have a dream, there are going to be many people that tell you that you cannot do it, that you are not good enough. And I want you to tell them to kiss your dimply, flat, juicy, bootylicious, skinny, jiggly, saggy, fat a--!"
