Since early 1990s Tyra Banks personal life has been interesting to the wide circle of her fans. She was rumored to have love affairs with more than 20 men and even with one woman – a basketball player Teresa Weatherspoon.
She caught the heart of a perfect family man Will Smith and almost said “Yes!” to Chris Webber. But, probably, the main man in her life is the father of her son, a Norwegian photographer Erik Asla.
Although Erik’s name became widely popular only after his affair with Tyra Banks, it doesn’t mean that before their meeting he didn’t develop his career.
The man worked as a fashion photographer, and he collaborated with really solid brands and issues, like Calvin Klein, Audi etc.
He was born in Norway, and attended high school there. After graduation the man moved to USA and served as an assistant of a popular photographer Herb Ritts, who was known as the author of cult pics of George Clooney, Gisele Bundchen, Michelle Pfeiffer and others.
Having gained initial experience, he moved on and started to work independently. Erik’s works were published by popular fashion magazines “Elle”, “CQ”, “Bazaar” and others.
He was busy on the set of the show “America’s Next Top Model”. He was a photo shoot photographer during 5 episodes. The man got acquainted with one of show creators – Tyra Banks – and fell in love with her.
The couple dated during 4 years. They welcomed a son together, and then separated. In spite of personal drama, two stars remained friends and colleagues.
By the way, Tyra is not the first one, who gave him a son. He was married previously and fathered three kids.
Tyra Banks kids
York Banks Asla (son with Erik Asla)
photo instagram / erikasla
Date of birth: January 28, 2016
The ex-Victoria Secret model announced her baby news through Instagram on January 28, 2016. She shared with her fans some of her personal issues on the topic. It turned out, that the star has been dreaming to become a mother since she was 23, and only in her 40s she finally was blessed with a kid.
York Banks Asla was born by a surrogate mother, who agreed to help two celebs become parents. On St. Valentine’s Day that very year ex-Tyra Banks Show host posted a pic with her son. Thus, Banks introduced her baby to her Instagram followers (and she has almost 6 million of them), and they sent her congrats and best wishes in response. By the way, glamorous Tyra chose an unusual image for the “baby” photo shoot. She appeared in front of the audience, wearing a bandana, a dark sweater, and almost no makeup. The fans immediately showered their favorite star with compliments, telling, that “motherhood suits her best of all”.
Now small York has already turned 6 (as of 2022). He resides with his mother in her LA mansion. His daddy Erik regularly sees his kid.
York has 3 older half-sisters, Tatjana, Taylor, and Tatum, from the paternal side.
Who are Tyra Banks parents?
Donald Banks (father)
photo twitter / tyrabanks
Don Banks is mostly known as Tyra’s father. He earned his living as a computer consultant. He was previously married to Caroline London-Johnson and fathered two children with her – a son Devin and a daughter Tyra. In 1979 he filed for divorce. Till now the ex-supermodel doesn’t publicize the reasons for her parents’ split, but she told me during numerous interviews, that she stayed in touch with both of her parents. She spent weekdays with her mother and weekends with her father. In addition, the model had two birthday parties and twice more presents after her parent’s divorce.
Caroline London-Johnson (mother)
photo instagram / tyrabanks
Tyra’s mother is not just her parent; she is also her best supporter and best friend. Caroline London-Johnson served as a medical photographer at NASA. She wasn’t rich, but always knew, how to invest her money wisely and how to achieve her goals. Tyra told that they moved to a one-bedroom apartment with her mother and older brother after her parent’s divorce, and Caroline promised that in a year they would change it to a two-bedroom apartment. And she kept her word!
Due to her mother’s advice, Banks bought her first house at the age of 20. She started to make money through modeling – not too much, but enough for a young girl from a poor family. Other models spent their salary on designer clothes and luxurious hotel rooms, but Tyra saved her paychecks– her mother told her to do that – and soon she became a homeowner at such a young age.
Tyra Banks siblings
Devin Banks (older brother)
Date of birth: 1968
Devin is Tyra’s older brother. He earned his living as an Air Force lieutenant. The siblings shared one room in a rented one-bedroom flat, where they moved with their mother after their parents split. They still remain close.
In 2000 Tyra and Devin visited Oprah’s show. They told, that they were rivals during their childhood. Their dad was very traditional for gender roles. He was very strict with Devin and pampered Tyra. Devin was very angry with his pampered sister and was even cruel to her. But nowadays they are friends.
Interesting and fun facts
photo instagram / tyrabanks
In her teens, Tyra reached 5 ft 10 in tall and weighed just 80 pounds (about 60 pounds less than she does now). The girl looked miserable, but one of her friends advised her to consider modeling as a career. She followed his advice – and succeeded in this area.
During her years in modeling Banks had lots of awkward situations. For example, one day she had to wear very tight trousers on the catwalk, so she couldn’t do wide steps. She strode fast and was close to falling down, but managed to keep her balance.
In one of her interviews Tyra told, that she sees a model in each person because everyone has some feature, one can be proud of – big eyes, cheek dimples, full lips, etc. But when Banks herself started her way in the fashion industry, she was criticized and rejected numerous times. Four model agencies refused to sign her, but finally, L.A. Models gave her a chance. After a year she changed it to Elite Model Management.
Her big break took place in 1993 when she was chosen as Covergirl Cosmetics’ face.
Not many black-skinned models managed to reach such a height as Tyra. But during her years in the fashion industry, she had one serious rival – Naomi Campbell. The woman opened up, that Naomi hated and bullied her and did everything to throw her away from fashion shows, in which Black Panther participated. “I was scared of her”, Tyra told me.
In spite of Naomi’s attempts to defeat Tyra, the girl became the first black-skinned model to participate in Victoria’s Secret photo shoot. She was also the first one to grace the CQ cover.
Banks featured in Michael Jackson’s music video “Black and White”
In addition to modeling and hosting TV shows, Tyra also tried acting. She was busy on the set of such screen projects as “Love Stinks”, “Love & Basketball”, “Gossip Girl” and many others.
Banks authored a number of books, including “Perfect is Boring”, which was published in 2018.
She was nicknamed by her friends “A Black Widow” because she always was the first to break up her relationship.
Tyra keeps her personal life secret, nevertheless, in 2018 she was romantically linked to Louis Bélanger-Martin. They say, the couple lives together and even got engaged in 2020. Tyra didn’t confirm an engagement. Louis is a rich businessman from Canada. He has a kid from his previous marriage to Valérie Martin Scraire.
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