"Tyra's personality, her experience and her talent – that's what's important to us in terms of working with her," says the CW's Ostroff of Banks (with J. Alexander and Nigel Barker on Model) Photo by: BILL INOSHITA / Landov
Tyra Talks Back| Tyra Banks
In 1995 Banks went home to L.A., where she asked her agent to try to book jobs for which a bosom and hips were seen as an asset, such as the SPORTS ILLUSTRATED swimsuit issue and Victoria's Secret. Addressing the high fashion world as if it were a lover who done her wrong, Banks says, "I said, 'Child, you're telling me I'm too big? I'm going to the commercial side.' " Smart move. Banks became SI's first African-American cover girl; she also picked up film roles in Higher Learning and Coyote Ugly and along the way moved a lot of Miracle Bras. "When she walked down the [Victoria's Secret] runway, she was bigger than all the other girls, but if you asked anyone who their favorite was, it was always Tyra, because she's curvy," Klum says. "She hid the body parts she didn't want to show, and she rocked it."

That continues to be her game plan. Armed with a series of outfits featuring waist-cinching, corset-style belts, Banks has found a way to comfortably play up her curves on her TV shows. "My breasts are getting bigger as I gain more weight," she says, "so if I wear loose clothing, it looks too unshapely. You ask, 'Where's the body?' "

But what of that Internet chatter wondering if Banks has the right kind of body to be giving out advice to aspiring models on her show? Banks is utterly dismissive. "You have to be thin to be a model – I don't have to live up to that model standard anymore." CW entertainment president Dawn Ostroff agrees. "That's totally ridiculous," she says. "Nobody can say she has to look a certain way to lend her experience." Ostroff adds that – contrary to a report that appeared on a media gossip Web site claiming a CW producer had said, "Tyra still looks good, but she's put on close to 50 lbs. since starting her talk show. . . . It could be a real problem" – the network has "never" asked Banks to lose weight.

Which is not to say that Banks didn't do a little prep work in 2005 before her last trot down the VS runway. "I cut back on carbs for a month," she says. No fan of crash diets ("I know how to diet, the tips and tricks to lose weight fast – I've been around models half my life!" she points out), Banks says she is focusing on her health these days, with mixed degrees of success. Although she tries to get in an hour of cardio each day, she doesn't work with a personal trainer and says that exercise is "to relax," rather than lose weight. She also admits, "I'm not the healthiest eater; I know that. What I eat and how I live, it all shows."