← Tyra Banks Decoded: From Supermodel to Mega Mogul

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By Anslem Samuel | Published March 22, 2012 | Full size is 620 × 480 pixels

MODEL CITIZEN At just 18 years old, Banks established the Tyra Banks Scholarship to help young Black women attend her alma mater, Immaculate Heart High School, a private school in Los Angeles. She also began acting as the spokesperson for The Center for Children and Families in New York. Then, seven years later, in 1999, the supermodel started The Tyra Banks TZONE Foundation, an organization focused on developing teenage girls’ independence, confidence and self-esteem. Continuing with her positive image encouragement, in 2007, Banks initiated her “So What” campaign, which promoted positive body images, and encouraged women to stop obsessing over the flaws in their appearance. All this took place after a beach-body photo of Tyra “caused a tabloid frenzy,” according to ABC News. Always heavier than most mainstream models, Banks has been candid about her weight and maintaining self-esteem. For the campaign she and hundreds of women marched through the streets of Los Angeles bearing their midriffs in a "Belly Brigade.”

MODEL CITIZEN

At just 18 years old, Banks established the Tyra Banks Scholarship to help young…

(Image: Getty)