Tyra Banks knows how to steam up a magazine cover... and how to cool down with ice cream.
The model spoke frankly about body image perceptions, how she loves ice cream and her seminal Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition cover.
The 45-year-old first graced the SI cover 26 years ago in 1993. The following year she became the first black woman to have a solo cover.
Now Tyra’s re-emerged from her modelling retirement for the magazine’s signature issue, reports E! News.
She shared photos from this year’s photo shoot wearing the same red and pink polka dot bikini she had worn on the cover in 1997. In her post, the former America’s Next Top Model host opened up about body image, loving herself and how she thought she “needed to drop 30 pounds (14kg)”.
She wrote: “I thought I had to look the same. Then the ice cream called my name. Yep, all flavors ... from Butter Pecan to Matcha to Coffee. I love me some ice cream and I just couldn’t say no to it when I heard it calling, ‘TyTy, Come eat me...’ from my mom’s freezer. (sic)”
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A post shared by Tyra Banks(@tyrabanks) on May 12, 2019 at 2:26pm PDT
Banks continued, “So, this is me in @si_swimsuit today. Ice Screaming from mountain tops, ‘Screw cookie cutter beauty!’”
She said while it’s important to “exercise, stay healthy and take your vitamins”, people shouldn’t give themselves grief about treating themselves once in a while.
Calling her Sports Illustrated cover her “22-year challenge”, Tyra added a woman can “be a strong leader in changing the world’s perceptions of narrowly defined beauty”.