Tyra Banks is proud to have been the first African American to walk the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show and to have been able to "break down walls" for other black models.
Tyra Banks
The 46-year-old supermodel made history when strutted down the catwalk for the lingerie giant's annual extravaganza back in 1996 before going on to be the cover star of the Victoria's Secret catalogue in 1997.
The two history making moments can be combined with her being the first female model to grace the cover of GQ magazine and she will always feel an enormous sense of pride for being the trailblazer for other models of colour.
Speaking to Haute Living, she said: "It was nice to break down the walls so others could walk through them. I was the first female model on the cover of GQ, not the first black model, but the first female to be on the cover, so that was exciting."
Since becoming a model at the age of 15, Tyra pushed through to get approval from magazines to become one of the most recognisable faces across the world.
Though today, she believes the idea of beauty has changed with thanks to social media celebrating diversity, and fashion and women's magazines had had to change with the times.
She said: "It was hard to get validation from magazines because they dictated what beauty was. Social media changed all that and the magazines had to follow suit."
Now, the 'Life Size' star believes true beauty is defined by "confidence" and "kindness" instead of looks and body shape.
She added: "Internal beauty, I would say 'do unto others as you would have done unto you.' That means kindness, giving back, being strong, being opinionated and even sometimes being unapologetic because that strength can be beautiful.
"External beauty is undeniable. There is a symmetry that makes people really beautiful, but it's all about being confident and showing your beauty from within."
What's more, Tyra has been teaching her four-year-old son York life-shaping lessons about body confidence and beauty to her toddler.
Speaking previously, she explained: "I'm trying to teach him [positive] messages because I'm his first role model when it comes to beauty and accepting different types of women, so we practice that a lot at home. I'm already saying things to him.
"For instance, I go home and I take my wig off. The other day he was like, 'Mommy, I like you and you look so pretty when you put your hair on.' And I go, 'How does Mommy look with her hair off?' And he goes, 'Um. I don't know.'
"I was like, 'Really look at Mommy. Do you think that she only looks good with her hair on?' And he was like, 'Mommy, you look good with your hair on and with your hair off.'"
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