Tyra Banks On <em>New York Times</em> Magazine Cover For An Investigation Of The Tyra Brand

Tyra Banks OnMagazine Cover For An Investigation Of The Tyra Brand

This Sunday, curvy Tyra Banks is the cover girl, and inside there's a profile written by editor at large Lynn Hirschberg that follows the life of the former model who is turning herself into a brand.

The Hirschberg profile begins by describing Banks' "275 smiles" -- from "angry but still smiling" to "flirting with boyfriend" -- but mainly follows her through her responsibilities behind her shows, including "America's Next Top Model," "The Tyra Banks Show." Banks talks about her early modeling days, relating how her agency made a list titled, ''designers who will not book Tyra because of hips and breasts." But now Banks appears more concerned with her role as a brand: "Like her hero, Martha Stewart, Banks wants, most of all, for her name to immediately suggest a distinct point of view," writes Hirschberg. "Her brand, like her trademark 'tough but still smiling' smile, is consistent in all her shows: serious about the frivolous; empathetic and empowering, and always, always aimed at young women, across all races. It's girly TV with a punch."

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