Tyra Lynne Banks (born December 4, 1973) is an American model and media personality. She was born in Inglewood, California and by 11th Grade she was an international runway model. She has done extensive print and/or runway work for fashion/advertising giants, such as Anna Sui, CoverGirl, Bill Blass, Chanel, Victoria's Secret, and Yves Saint Laurent. Banks has appeared on the covers of high-fashion magazines such as Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Cosmopolitan, and Elle. She was the first African American woman on the covers of GQ and the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. In 1997, she received the VH1 award for Supermodel of the Year. In 1998, Banks authored a book entitled Tyra's Beauty, Inside and Out. The book was advertised as a resource for helping women to make the most out of their natural beauty. In 2011 she wrote her first novel entitled, Modelland. Banks can be seen on television as the hostess, judge and executive producer of The CW Television Network show "America's Next Top Model." In 2008, Banks won the Daytime Emmy Award for her work and production on The Tyra Banks Show (a daytime talk show she created and hosted). (Bowker Author Biography)