She also had her first alcoholic drink on the milestone birthday.
One of the original “Big Five” supermodels, Tyra Banks, has built a name and empire over the years with her beauty and business acumen. However, it took turning 50 to really take her confidence to the next level. In a new interview, the former America’s Next Top Model judge opened up about why she “could not wait to be 50” – and why she wants to normalize gray hair and hot flashes.
In an interview with People published May 1 in the Beautiful Issue, the entrepreneur revealed that turning 50 looked a little different than the “granny” image she’d had in her head when she was younger.
"I thought I would have little glasses and just have a quilt on my lap and watch soap operas all day,” she quipped. Instead, Banks said she was embracing all the freedom, the “permission to say whatever the heck I feel like saying,” and self-love that came with the milestone birthday.
“I'm poppin'. I am not insecure about myself. I ain't trippin',” she shared. “I do Zoom meetings with no makeup and throw my wig on. . . . 50 feels good.”
And as for the less glamorous aspects of turning 50—namely, hot flashes—Banks has some choice words of advice. "Don't be ashamed about it because we all going to go through it," said the multi-hyphenate supermodel. "Now we can do it together and talk about it, which is really cool and much better than what our parents had to do: Just hold it in and pretend like I'm not hot flashing. Isn't that the sun? No, child. That's you, and that's okay, boo."
Banks also revealed that her approach to aging includes encouraging women not to embrace gray hair. The TV personality specifically called out Sarah Jessica Parker and Andie McDowell for rocking “awesome” silver streaks.
“I have on fake hair right now and my fake hair doesn't have gray hair in it, but my real hair does,” she said. “Because today we celebrate women and we still have a long way to go, but we are getting there to where we feel good and not ashamed of the changes and the natural beauty that our body goes through.”
The Coyote Ugly actress attributed her feelings about aging and beauty to her mom, who she said “taught me to not fear getting older.
“She has gray hair, she loves her gray hair. She wishes she had more gray hair,” she said, adding, “I see [aging] as a privilege.”
Banks said that turning 50 was "a rite of passage to be my truest self," and she'd fully embraced it. “I have bitten my tongue, said the right thing, [tried] to please everybody my entire life," she shared. "And now, I speak my truth. I demand respect. And it feels good. I can't wait until 60 comes along because I'm probably going to be cursing everybody out."
Speaking of rites of passage, Banks also revealed that she tried her very first alcoholic drink on her 50th birthday in Australia—and wasn’t a fan.
“My mom and my best friend surprised me there, and it was so magical,” she shared. “We took a seaplane and had a meal in the middle of nowhere. I even had an alcoholic drink for the first time. It wasn’t worth it. I was like, ‘This is nasty.’”