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The proper definition of the verb "smize", according to Urban Dictionary is: "Smiling with your eyes." To those already au fait with Tyra Banks, not as a person, but as a powerhouse, you'll know that "smizing" is more than a squint; it's an attitude, it's a statement, it's Tyra Freaking Banks. Never has a woman said so much with her eyes.
Tyra Banks was discovered aged 15. She was the first African American woman to bag a GQ cover and grace the front page of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. Twice. A true supermodel and an original Victoria's Secret Angel, born and raised in California, Tyra is actually 14% British, 6% Native American and 80% African American.
In 2003 America's Next Top Model hit our screens and we fell in love with her all over again. When she cried we cried, when she laughed we laughed, and we recoiled, eyes-wide open, hand gently pressed to our necks in disbelief, when a wannabe model dared challenge her.
At 42 years old, Tyra Banks is still every inch a goddess, but our hearts are hopelessly devoted to '90s Tyra. Tyra's back-in-the-day style is worthy of a temperature controlled archive somewhere underground, but until we can find the finances that would require, we've compiled a digital flick book of Tyra Banks' finest '90s moments. No one looks quite as epic in a beret.
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