What Happened to Tyra Banks? Now an Ice Cream Mogul in 2026

If you were anywhere near a TV in the 2000s, you know the word “smize” — Tyra Banks coined it, coaching a generation of aspiring models to “smile with your eyes” on “America’s Next Top Model.” Before that, she was a genuine supermodel, breaking barriers on magazine covers and Victoria’s Secret runways. So where did the woman who told hopefuls “I was rooting for you, we were all rooting for you” go? The answer involves an ice cream empire, a Project Runway return, and a defamation lawsuit against Netflix. Here’s where Tyra Banks is in 2026.

01Profile

Full name

Tyra Lynne Banks

Born

December 4, 1973 (52 years old)

Birthplace

Inglewood, California, USA

Occupation

Model, television personality, producer, entrepreneur

Best known for

"America's Next Top Model" (2003–2018), Victoria's Secret Angel

Estimated net worth

Reported around $90 million (per Parade, 2026)

Banks was one of a handful of Black models to break into the supermodel tier in the 1990s, then spent the next two decades turning that fame into a media and business empire. Very few people have made that leap.

02The Rise: From Supermodel to Media Mogul

Breaking barriers as a model

Banks started modeling at 15 and quickly became one of the most in-demand models in the world. She was the first Black woman to appear on the covers of GQ and the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue — a genuinely historic milestone — and a Victoria’s Secret Angel from 1997 to 2005. By the early 2000s she was one of the highest-earning models on the planet.

America’s Next Top Model

In 2003, Banks created and hosted “America’s Next Top Model,” the reality competition that would define her public image. As creator, host, and executive producer, she turned modeling into appointment television, coaching contestants through photo shoots, runway walks, and the occasional legendary meltdown. The show ran for 24 cycles across two networks and became a global franchise with dozens of international versions. “Smize” entered the dictionary; the show entered the culture.

The Tyra Banks Show

Banks also fronted a daytime talk show, “The Tyra Banks Show” (2005–2010), which won two Daytime Emmy Awards in the “informative” talk-show category. On it, she blended fashion and beauty segments with candid personal conversations, and she wasn’t afraid to make herself the subject — famously firing back at tabloids that criticized her weight with an on-air “kiss my fat ass” that became a cultural moment. She later hosted “America’s Got Talent” and “Dancing with the Stars,” cementing her status as one of TV’s most recognizable personalities — no longer just a model, but a full-fledged media mogul.

Her acting roots ran deep, too. Before “Top Model,” Banks had appeared on “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” made her film debut in John Singleton’s “Higher Learning” (1995), and starred in the Disney Channel TV movie “Life-Size” alongside Lindsay Lohan — a cult favorite that got a sequel years later. Entertainment was always part of the plan, not just modeling.

03Stepping Back From Hosting

As “America’s Next Top Model” wound down and her talk show ended, Banks pivoted away from the daily grind of hosting to focus on business and passion projects.

• 2010"The Tyra Banks Show" ends after five seasons and two Daytime Emmys.
• 2018"America's Next Top Model" concludes after 24 cycles.
• 2020Takes over as host of "Dancing with the Stars," staying for two seasons.
• 2021Opens SMiZE & Dream, her ice cream brand, shifting her focus to entrepreneurship.
• February 2026Netflix releases "Reality Check: Inside America's Next Top Model," a critical docuseries about the show's legacy.
• June 2026Banks files a defamation lawsuit against Netflix over her portrayal in the documentary.

Banks has always been more entrepreneur than pure entertainer, and her exit from full-time hosting was less a fade than a strategic pivot toward building companies.

04Building a Business Empire

SMiZE & Dream

In 2021, Banks launched SMiZE & Dream, an ice cream brand named after her famous catchphrase. What started as a single concept grew into a multi-location venture with a flagship store in Australia. In 2026, the brand went viral again with a novelty “hot ice cream” creation — proof that Banks still knows how to generate a headline.

From runway to boardroom

Banks has spoken often about wanting to be known as a businesswoman as much as a model or host. She studied at Harvard Business School’s executive program, launched a cosmetics line years ago, and has consistently positioned herself as an entrepreneur first. Her reported net worth — around $90 million per Parade’s 2026 figure — reflects decades of parlaying fame into ownership.

05What She Is Doing Now

The Netflix lawsuit

The biggest story in Banks’s 2026 is a legal one. In February 2026, Netflix released “Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model,” a docuseries revisiting the show’s controversial legacy, including a contestant’s on-camera claim of assault and challenges that have aged poorly, such as one involving blackface.

In June 2026, Banks sued Netflix and the documentary’s producers for defamation, false light, and breach of contract, according to reporting by Variety, Fox News, NBC News, and others. Her lawyers allege that she gave a three-and-a-half-hour interview that was cut to roughly 16 minutes and “reassembled to support a false and defamatory narrative.” A central complaint, per the suit, is that footage was edited to make her appear evasive about a contestant’s assault allegation when, the filing claims, unedited footage shows her responding directly.

“What was left was reassembled to support a false and defamatory narrative unrelated to what she actually expressed.” — from Tyra Banks’s lawsuit, as reported by Variety, June 2026

Netflix has not conceded the claims, and the case is ongoing; these are allegations that have not been resolved in court.

Back on Project Runway

On the lighter side, Banks is returning to television. After appearing as a guest judge on Season 21 of “Project Runway,” she is taking on an expanded recurring panelist role for Season 22, which premieres in July 2026 on Freeform, with streaming on Hulu and Disney+. It’s a natural fit — fashion competition is where she’s most at home.

06Summary

Tyra Banks isn’t a faded star so much as a mogul who traded the host’s chair for the CEO’s. In 2026 she’s running an ice cream company, returning to fashion TV, and defending her legacy in court.

The woman who taught America to “smize” is still very much a force — just as likely to make news for a lawsuit or a business venture as for a runway walk. Tyra Banks was always playing a longer game than her critics realized.