Tyra Banks is an internationally recognized former supermodel, TV personality, businesswoman, and actress.
Her lucrative modeling career included strutting in high-end fashion shows for designer brands like Christian Dior, Tommy Hilfiger, Oscar de la Renta, Chanel, and more.
Tyra has also managed to grace the covers of several magazines like Vogue, Sports Illustrated, GQ Magazine, Harper’s Bazaar, etc.
Besides her successful career, Tyra is also a beautiful woman and one of her notable physical features is her green eyes (Hazel).
The color of her eyes leaves many questions, with many wondering if they are natural or artificially enhanced.
So, What Color are Tyra Banks’ Eyes?
Tyra’s eyes draw attention because they are hazel, a rare eye color that only 5% of the world’s population possess.
In Tyra’s situation, most people think that her eyes are artificial because she is a celebrity and it is public knowledge that celebrities love to modify their natural looks.
The former America’s Next Top Model host was born with hazel eyes or rather greenish-brown eyes, so this means they are real.
However, sometimes Tyra wears contact lenses to alter the color of her eyes during her many public and television appearances, which is why many are left confused about her eye’s natural color.
So, what contributed to Tyra’s green eye color? Does it have anything to do with her ethnicity?
Is Tyra’s Ethnicity the Reason for her Green Eyes?
A huge section of Tyra’s fans are often interested in learning about her ethnicity.
Her ethnicity or background is one of the most Googled aspects of her life, and her green eyes are a driving force in the searches.
Tyra Banks was born to African-American parents. However, her ancestry roots boil down to 79% African, 14% European, and 6% Native American.
Tyra’s natural green eyes are, therefore, as a result of her European ancestry roots.
To understand why Tyra’s ethnicity plays a significant role in her hazel eye color, here’s a brief scientific explanation:
Eye color is determined by the presence of melanin in the body.
Melanin, a natural pigment, not only influences skin color but also affects hair and eye color.
Individuals with higher melanin levels tend to have brown eyes, as seen in babies of African-American, Hispanic, and Asian descent.
Conversely, those with lower melanin levels typically have blue, green, or gray eyes, commonly observed in white, non-Hispanic infants.
Hazel or green eyes arise from a moderate melanin presence, falling between blue and brown.
Tyra Banks proudly identifies as a black woman although she is light-skinned skinned unlike most African American women.
Did Tyra Banks’ hazel eyes give her a competitive advantage in joining the modeling industry?
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How Tyra Bank’s Eye Color Influenced her Modeling Career
Without a doubt, modeling agencies mainly focus on the physical features of aspiring models such as height, weight, gait, and more.
Tyra Banks started modeling in the 90s, which must have been a hard time for black women to penetrate into modeling.
However, Tyra Banks physically met all the requirements for becoming a model, and at 17 in High School, she started her modeling journey.
In a past interview, Tyra Banks revealed that bookers would tell her that her green eyes and light skin would give her a competitive advantage in building her modeling career.
Indeed, this proved true, as she went on to sign with Elite Model Management, marking the commencement of her influential presence in the modeling industry.
So yes, besides other physical traits that enabled her to become a model, her eyes were also a center of attention.
However, Tyra Banks had to conform to other industry beauty standards to become a fully pledged model such as wearing straight hair and weaves.
Years later and after a successful modeling career, Tyra Banks called it quits on the runway and ventured into TV, headlining The Tyra Banks Show, a two-time Daytime Emmy Award-winning show.
She has also hosted shows like America’s Next Top Model, America’s Got Talent, and Dancing With the Stars.
