Tyra Banks is back! She’s on the cover of Essence magazine, gracing the Beauty Issue with her signature confidence. A trailblazer in the modeling industry, Tyra has spent decades breaking barriers and redefining beauty standards. From dominating the runway to creating America’s Next Top Model, she’s been a mentor to many aspiring models.
In her latest feature, Tyra opens up about America’s Next Top Model‘s lasting impact, the cultural conversations it sparked, and the criticism it has faced in recent years. She doesn’t shy away from the tough questions, acknowledging where she could have done better. With honesty and grace, she reflects on her journey and what beauty truly means today.
After a hiatus from the modeling industry she is putting back on her heels and is ready to hit the runway.
“I am going to model again, officially. I’m gonna sign with an agency in Sydney. I’m gonna have agencies in Paris. I’m going to be in New York. Like, I’m just gonna do this.” she tells Essence Magazine in the March/April Beauty Issue
As the creator and host of America’s Next Top Model, she became a guiding force for aspiring models, offering tough love and mentorship to the next generation.
Tyra Banks reflects on the show’s lasting legacy, acknowledging how it shifted cultural conversations around beauty, race, and the modeling industry’s rigid standards. Yet, recently, the program has been the center of controversial takes on whether she took things too far, and she is the first to take accountability for not always getting it right.
“There’s so many things we would change,” she says. “But at the time, you’re operating with the information that you have on a show that is hugely popular. So we’re all experiencing this together.” she tells Essence Magazine in the March/April Beauty Issue
Writer: @brooklynrwhite
Photographer: @knngrm
Stylist: @edemdl
Hair: @richi_grisillo
Makeup: @justinhenrybeauty
Nails: @cindyvellisnailstylist
Set Design: @mariskalowri
Tailor: #JuliHerlihy
Post Production: @onehundredberlin
Location: @bakerstreetstudios
Executive Production: @themorrisongroup
Local Production: @c.cproduction
ESSENCE, VP, Content: @itsnandibby
ESSENCE, Visual Director: @_mq______
ESSENCE, Senior Designer: @so.lit
