Tyra Banks

Recurring role--Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Recurring role--Felicity, Michael Jackson's "Black or White" video, George Michael Video with Linda Evangelista. She speaks Italian, French and English fluently, and has acted in all these languages, as well as Aramaic in The Passion of the Christ. In the Fall, Tyra has plans to start a weekly talk show. In her newest film, the Mel Gibson-directed movie The Passion of the Christ, she stars as Mary Magdalene. With rising ratings, the show has become very popular as viewers cheer for their favorite model contestant during the weekly competitions and eliminations. Some of her acting roles have included the movies Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992), L'Appartement (1996), Malèna (2000), Le pacte des loups (The Brotherhood of the Wolf) (2001), Astérix et Obelix: Mission Cleopatre (2002), Irréversible (2002), Tears of the Sun (2003), The Matrix Reloaded (2003), The Matrix Revolutions (2003). Banks is the host, chief judge, and executive producer (with Ken Mok) of the UPN television show America's Next Top Model. In that year, Monica made the transition to acting — a very popular trend that models Laetitia Casta, Jaime King and Estella Warren have also successfully followed — and began taking acting classes.

Banks has expanded from modeling into television. She posed for Dolce & Gabbana and French ELLE, amongst others. In 1997, Tyra won the prestigious Michael Award for Supermodel of the Year. By 1989, Monica was becoming prominent as a model in Paris and across the Atlantic, in New York City. In particular, Tyra is famous for her Victoria's Secret work. In 1988, Monica moved to one of Europe's fashion centers — Milan, where she signed with Elite Model Management. Banks was the first African-American to be featured on the cover of Gentlemen's Quarterly, Sports Illustrated's swimsuit issue and the Victoria's Secret catalog. Initially pursuing a career as a lawyer, Monica decided to start modeling in order to help pay for her tuition while at the University of Perugia. But the glamorous life of a model tempted Monica away from her law studies.

Her modeling credits include Cover Girl, Swatch, Pepsi, Nike, Tommy Hilfiger, Ralph Lauren, and Dolce & Gabbana, among many others. She is married to fellow actor Vincent Cassel, with whom she has starred in several films and with whom she had a daughter, called Deva. She has been featured in a wide array of magazines, commercials, and billboards. Monica Bellucci (born September 30, 1964) is an Italian supermodel and actress, born in Città di Castello, Italy. Instead of heading to school, Tyra headed to Paris for fashion shows and soon became internationally known. In 1991, Banks was just weeks away from starting her freshman year at Loyola Marymount University when Elite Modeling Agency gave the 17-year-old her first modeling job.

Banks was born in Los Angeles, California and attended Immaculate Heart High School. Tyra Banks (born December 4, 1973) is an African-American supermodel and is considered one of the top models in the world. Higher Learning (1995). A Woman Like That (1997).

Love Stinks (1999). Life-Size (2000). Love and Basketball (2000). Coyote Ugly (2000).

Halloween: Resurrection (2002). Larceny (2004).