I made my living being 20 or 30 pounds heavier than the average model. And that’s where I got famous.
I don’t think me walking away from modeling was scary for me. In hindsight, I think it was very risky, when you talk about risk. Because it paid the bills.
There’s always going to be dreams and goals I have, but I never really tell people what they are.
I don’t have to have a child come from my womb to have a connection. Children that are already born are beautiful to me. I can definitely be a mother to them.
Self-love has very little to do with how you feel about your outer self. It’s about accepting all of yourself.
I love food and feel that it is something that should be enjoyed. I eat whatever I want. I just don’t overeat.
I have a long list of different smiles that you can do, and every model should be equipped. Everybody can’t handle the long list… That’s for, you know, advanced.
I volunteer a lot of my time with an organization in New York called The Center for Children and Families.
A size 16 can be the best shape for you, and you can be healthy.
You’ve got to learn to accept the fool in you as well as the part that’s got it goin’ on.
I used to say in interviews that I don’t necessarily want to be the first black woman or first model to do certain things; I just want to see it done.
Years ago, when I first started wearing hair extensions, I would get mail from young girls, or young girls would come up to me and they would say, ‘Tyra you have the most beautiful hair, like I could never grow hair like that!’ And I would say ‘Child, this is a weave!’
One thing my mom used to tell me was to look to the other side, and know that my present is not going to be everything. So if I’m having a bad day, she goes, ‘Just imagine tomorrow. This is going to be over. This is going to be done with.’
I’ve always seen modeling as a stepping stone.
On ‘America’s Top Model,’ I’ve always told my girls to smile with their eyes. We call it ‘smizing.’ Over the years, it’s actually become part of pop culture. I would be walking down the street, and girls would say, ‘Smize!’
I’m frugal. I’ve always been this way. When I was young, my mom would give me my allowance, and I’d peel off a little each week and have some to spare.
We are often told we can’t have brains and beauty, and I really hope that my message is that you can put on that red lip and curl your hair and put on that power dress – you don’t have to sacrifice one for the other.
I love the confidence that makeup gives me.
There have been top supermodels in the past that weren’t as tall as the industry demands, like fashion icon Kate Moss.
Kate Upton is curvy and nervy.
I don’t go to the cool, trendy restaurants. I go to either the holes in the wall or the super-fancy restaurants where there are no cool people.
I’ve made mistakes before of doing different projects just based on my dreams, my hopes, my thing, and not really thinking about my customers.
The president of Victoria’s Secret promised me a lifetime supply of Victoria’s Secret products, even after I decided to leave the company. But once I left, he only let me have it for a year. So I have a bone to pick.
Working women, moms, students, they don’t have a lot of time to spend on their faces.
I created ‘America’s Next Top Model’ one-hundred percent. I was in my kitchen making tea one morning, and I looked out the window, and the idea popped into my head. I wanted it to be ‘American Idol’ meets ‘Ford Supermodel of the Year’ meets ‘The Real World.’
Black women don’t have the same body image problems as white women. They are proud of their bodies.
My aunt used to call me light bulb head because my head is small at the bottom and bigger at the top. But it was a term of endearment.
I don’t have the best self esteem; mine wavers month to month, but I know how to pick myself up.
I try to keep my private life kind of private.
I have a lot of bad days.
When I was a young girl, I lost a lot of weight over one summer – involuntarily – and was just really depressed and sad. There was nothing I could do to gain weight. I would look in the mirror and call myself disgusting every day.
I do look at ‘Modelland’ as a franchise.
Screw being a singer! I wanna be the voice of my generation with my talk show.
What keeps me up at night? Sometimes it’s day-to-day work stuff. And a lot of the times, it’s, ‘Am I making the wrong decisions in terms of reaching young women?’
I would not recommend a teen getting into modeling if they’re not solid when it comes to their grades and school. That comes first. My mother always told me that came first.
I don’t believe in diets.
Sephora is fantastic. I go in there. I get lost. There are so many great things in there.
I went from being very popular and the head of the clique in the sixth grade to having, like, kid depression in the seventh grade. Not leaving the house. Not looking people in the eye… My body made me feel bad at everything.
When I think about moguls, I think like Donald Trump who… owns NYC practically. That’s a mogul. I feel like I’m on my way to a lot more, but mogul is a really serious thing. I think it’s a word that gets thrown around easily.
I always feel great when I don’t have clothes on.
I just think, as a model, it’s taught me to be a master of deception and illusion.
My fingers used to hurt really bad when I played guitar. I stopped because of it.
Don’t save bold lashes and red lips for nighttime – do it in the day!
Pages: 1 2
