The Truth Show BLOG

The golden touch! Model turned entrepreneur Tyra Banks talks to Us about branching out and life at home with her son, York

In an exclusive interview, Tyra Banks opens up about leaving Dancing With the Stars — and embracing the future.

Tyra Banks has a confession to make. “I am just starting Ted Lasso,” the multihyphenate star says of the smash hit series, which debuted its third season in mid-March. “I’m looking forward to not getting off the couch for days and taking it all in.”

If anyone deserves a bit of downtime, it’s Banks. The busy mom of 7-year-old York (dad is Banks’ ex, Erik Asla) recently revealed she’s leaving Dancing With the Stars after three years of hosting to focus on her entrepreneurial enterprises, which include the ice cream line she launched in 2021, Smize & Dream, and multiple TV projects with her Bankable Productions company. “I love breaking new ground,” Banks, 49, tells Us. “I also love breaking down doors so other people can come through more easily than I did.” Adds a source close to the star: “Tyra is an innovator and a visionary. Creating things from scratch is her superpower.”

THE GO-GETTER

Banks has spent her more than 30year career reinventing herself. In the early 2000s, the former Victoria’s Secret Angel pivoted away from the runway and created America’s Next Top Model, which ran for an impressive 24 seasons. Over the next two decades, she continued to branch out with her Emmy Award–winning talk show, a bestselling young adult novel and acting roles. “I love doing what others aren’t thinking about,” notes Banks. “That’s how I judge success.”

In 2012, Banks went back to school and graduated from Harvard Business School’s Owner/President Management (OPM) Program. “I am very aware that I don’t know it all,” she says. The HBS alum — who taught branding at the Stanford Graduate School of Business for three years and calls it “the thing I may be most proud of with my work” — is giving the commencement address to HBS graduates in May, and is returning to the school this year for a refresher course. Adds Banks, “I can’t and won’t stop learning.”

MOM MODE

Motherhood eclipses the Hollywood hoopla. “I don’t really socialize in the entertainment industry,” shares Banks, who welcomed York via surrogate in January 2016. “I take my son to school; I pick him up. I’m a mama who just so happens to be a businesswoman who happens to be on TV sometimes.” York, she adds, “is the light of my life.”

Banks admits being a working mom can be a juggling act. “Working from home is a privilege and also a challenge. Yes, mommy is in pajamas and looks like she can play Legos, but she’s on a work call!” she shares. “I balance that by also coming home from meetings and jumping on the bed with my son in my business suit.”

When she’s not on the clock, Banks is spending quality time with York and her family. (She remains close with her mom and former manager, Carolyn London.) “I love coloring with York. It brings both of us such joy. We also have lots of fun combining words to create new ones — looks like he gets that from his mama!” (Banks famously coined the term “Smize,” a combo of “smile and eyes” and means to smile with one’s eyes.) Movie nights are a common occurrence. “I have seen every Sharknado and Godzilla movie man has ever made,” admits Banks. “I watch it all with popcorn in hand and talk back to the TV screen.”

She’s OK with York following in her showbiz footsteps if he so chooses. “Whether he wants to be an archaeologist, a chef, a fashion designer, a musician, an architect, a comedian or anything else, I want him to do whatever makes him happy,” Banks says. “My wish is for him to wake up each morning and not feel like it’s work because he loves what he does.”

NEW ADDITION

A source says ratings spiked by 10 percent when Banks joined as host during season 12. Banks calls her degree from Harvard Business School’s Owner/President Management Program “one of the most rewarding accomplishments of my work life.”

LOOKING AHEAD

Leaving DWTS is bittersweet. “I loved walking out to such a hyped ballroom,” says Banks. “I’m going to miss Carrie Ann [Inaba]’s warm heart and, of course, reminiscing with Alfonso [Ribeiro] about the good ol’ Fresh Prince of BelAir days.” (Banks starred in season 4 of the 1990s sitcom.)

The source says viewership among Black, Latino and Asian audiences considerably increased when Banks joined the show in 2020. “Tyra craves spaces and places that have room for expansion and big, new ideas,” explains the source, adding, “she has a really strong working relationship with ABC and has upcoming projects in the works with the network.”

Next up, Smize & Dream will be opening up locations in Australia and the U.S., and she has a slew of scripted and unscripted TV shows in development. Banks is down for more acting gigs, too. “I’ve always felt I have a role in me that I haven’t had the opportunity to show the world,” she shares, “something dark and gritty or lots of physical comedy.”

MAJOR MILESTONE

Banks is excited about turning 50 in December. “I feel so wise,” she says. “I’ve been around. I know what’s up.” She’s planning to take a little break to reflect — “I’m going to let out an exhale and sit back and look at what I’ve accomplished and just breathe” — but not for too long. “Then I’ll get right back to my 300 emails a day, Zoom calls, flying around the world and sleepless nights,” she adds. “I’m making my dreams — and other people’s — come true.”

SWEET TREAT

“Tyra’s always looking for ways to expand her brand,” says a source of the star, who debuted Smize & Dream ice cream in 2021.