泰雅班克斯维密走秀 [下一站超模大亨：泰雅・班克斯]

　　英文里有一个“Diva”的单词，原意指“歌剧中的女主角”，现在被广泛地用于指代在某个领域“出众的或令人敬佩的女性”。此类女性通常有一种摄人的气场，只要她一出现，身旁的人便会黯淡无光，与生俱来的“Super Star”的光芒能艳照全场，无人能挡！
　　Tyra Banks无疑就拥有此种气场，再加上黑人女孩身上流露出无尽的自然魅力，看完十季America’s Next Top Model，所有的冠军让人没记住几个，反倒是Tyra成为了这场真人秀里面最大的明星。Tyra可不只拥有漂亮的脸蛋儿和惹火的身材，这位前美国超模极高的情商以及商业野心让她免去了只能做花瓶的困扰，成为了名副其实的Diva!
　　――Eva
　　
　　The 1)statuesque beauty holding court in front of her studio audience on a January morning in New York City is ready for anything. And that’s good, because Tyra Banks’ fans do not hold back. Demands one woman, “Is it true you moved your show to New York for a man?” Banks, styled in a 2)formfitting white dress, breezily rejects the claim that the relocation of her 3)eponymous talk show―and her hit reality show, America’s Next Top Model―has anything to do with her love life. The young crowd is 4)primed with energy; hands shoot up and down like the 5)critters in a 6)Whac-a-Mole booth. To them, Banks isn’t some inaccessible celebrity―she’s their girlfriend, their incredibly cool older sister, their 7)BFF. A pale 8)brunette stands and asks, “Can I get a hug?” Banks assents, but not without commanding, “You have to hug me fiercely, though.” As the 5’10’’ stunner envelopes the petite twentysomething in her ample bosom, the fan breaks down in tears.
　　This sweetly 9)sappy scene represents more than weepy female bonding. Known solely as a pretty face for much of her career, Banks has reinvented herself as a power player in the entertainment industry―and more importantly, as a brand. It began with the modestly successful debut in May 2003 of her creation America’s Next Top Model, which has grown into a worldwide hit.
　　And The Tyra Banks Show―a broad mix of women’s issues and frothy fare―is now a talk-show force to be reckoned with: 4.3 million adult female viewers tuned in weekly this past November sweeps, and, with a median age of 40, Tyra has the youngest talk-show audience in daytime. (10)Oprah’s median age is 55.) Now the 34-year-old has a broader goal in mind: world domination. With a recent multimillion-dollar TV-and-film-production deal through 11)Warner Bros. Entertainment, along with retail and real estate projects in development, Banks is poised to become the most influential woman in television since the 12)almighty O herself. Says Banks: “Oprah Winfrey is a mogul. 13)Martha Stewart is a mogul. I’m probably a mogul 14)in the making. I’m almost there.”
　　Banks entered the modeling industry at the age of 15. Despite her success she remained steadfastly focused on her career. “Even as a model I used to think ‘brand,’ and I always knew that there was something after.”
　　That something turned out to be television. Banks decided to create the kind of show that she would watch. Shortly after her stint as a “youth correspondent” on The Oprah Winfrey Show (1999-2001), Banks 15)hashed out the idea for America’s Next Top Model while making tea in her kitchen. Though the industry wasn’t primed to take Banks seriously― “As a model, my roadblock was being black and curvy. As a producer, my roadblock was being a model.”
本文为全文原貌 未安装PDF浏览器用户请先下载安装 原版全文 　　Now with versions in 15 countries and a string of copycats in the U.S., Banks’ teatime idea is a reality TV phenomenon. “I thought it was going to last for two seasons,” says Banks. “Around season 5, I said, ‘Ken, how far can we go―8?’ He goes, ‘I’m thinking 10.’ Now we’re at 10 and not stopping.”
　　After ANTM was established as a hit, Banks went looking for a new challenge―one that would allow her to teach young women more than how to strike a pose. Premiering in September 2005, The Tyra Banks Show balanced a tone that was both educational and outrageous―as host, Banks has donned a fat suit and had a 16)sonogram on her breasts to prove they’re real. The moment that transformed Banks from the Top Model glamazon to the Tyra girlfriend came during one such personal revelation in February 2007. After unflattering photos of Banks in a bathing suit turned up online alongside snarky headlines like “America’s Next Top 17)Waddle,” she stood in front of her audience wearing the same swimsuit and tearfully told critics to “Kiss my fat ass!” The episode― an instant YouTube classic―helped position Banks as the flaws-and-all friend her fans love. “Sometimes you feel really helpless with the tabloids because the falseness becomes truth,” she explains. “I just wanted my truth to be told.”
　　As far as she’s come, Banks is still slightly tentative about her rising status. “There’s a fear I have with success in the business world,” she admits. “People have this image of women, especially in business―that they have to be
　　18)ballbusters, and that’s so not what I am.” That said, the woman whose company logo features a shiny bank 19)vault is not going to stop growing her media empire. “I’m not afraid of wanting money at all,” she says. “Money will give me more power to do things that are truer to my spirit
　　than what I’m already doing.” Still, she adds, “I don’t think I’ll always be on television. I don’t know whether it’s 10 or 20 years, but I know it won’t be when I’m 60.” C’mon, Tyra, even 20)sexagenarians need a fierce girlfriend.
　　
　　一月份的某个早上，这位身材傲人的美艳天后现身位于纽约的录影棚准备录制节目，站在现场观众面前，泰雅・班克斯对一切应付自如。幸好是这样，因为她的影迷可不会有什么顾忌。一名女观众直言发问：“你把节目移师到纽约来拍摄真的是为了一个男人吗？”身穿贴身白裙的泰雅轻松否认了这一传闻，说自己的同名清谈节目还有红火的真人秀节目《全美超模新秀大赛》转移拍摄基地跟她的感情生活没有任何关系。面前的这群年轻观众显得积极踊跃，举手发问的场景就像“打地鼠”游戏中小家伙从洞穴里此起彼落的样子。对他们来说，泰雅不是什么高不可攀的巨星名人，而是她们的闺中好友、她们的酷炫大姐姐、她们的永恒知己。另一棕发白人女孩站起来问：“你能拥抱一下我吗？”泰雅欣然应允，还不忘下指令道：“不过，你最好狠狠搂过来哦！”身高5尺10寸（约为1.79米）的魅力女神把那位娇小的二十来岁女孩搂裹在自己丰满的胸怀中，那影迷当场感激流涕。
　　这幕温馨感人的场景不单单是哭哭笑笑的姊妹交心这么简单。泰雅在之前的事业发展中，大多以漂亮脸蛋为人所知，但如今她已变身为娱乐圈举足轻重的玩家――更重要的是，她已成为一个品牌。这一切始于2003年5月，她推出自己制作和主持的真人秀节目《全美超模新秀大赛》，一登场旋即获得不俗成绩，如今更是风靡全球。
　　还有她的《泰雅・班克斯脱口秀》――既探讨女性话题，又兼有各类轻松闲聊――现在已经成为备受认可的清谈节目：去年11月总共有430万成年女性观众每周定时收看这一节目，她们的平均年龄为40岁。日间清谈节目中观众平均年龄最小的就是泰雅这个节目（奥普拉・温费莉的谈话节目的平均观众年龄为55岁）。现在，34岁的泰雅在心中存有一个更广阔的新目标：称霸全球。最近她跟华纳兄弟影业谈妥了投资数百万的电视电影制作，另外还涉足零售及地产投资项目。继无所不能的奥普拉・温费莉之后，泰雅已蓄势待发，即将跃升为电视圈又一最具影响力的女性。泰雅说：“奥普拉・温费莉是大腕，玛莎・斯图尔特是大腕。我大概是成形中的大腕，快到那个境界了。”
　　泰雅15岁进入模特界，成就有目共睹，而她对事业始终踏实投入。“即使是以前当模特的时候，我也在考虑‘品牌’的问题，那时我就知道以后肯定有些什么可以让我大展拳脚。”
　　现在，电视媒介已成为她当初口中的“什么”。泰雅决心制作自己喜欢看的那种节目。在《奥普拉・温费莉秀》里，泰雅当过短期的“青年记者”（1999-2001），之后不久，有天她在厨房沏茶的时候琢磨出“美国超模”这一构思。而当时圈内根本不太当她是一回事――“当模特，我的障碍是黑人的外表和丰腴的身材。当制作人，我的障碍却是模特儿的身份。”
　　当年沏茶时的灵感现已成为一大真人秀现象，全世界15个国家有其衍生版本，另外在美国也有一大堆跟风节目。“我当初以为两季大概就差不多了。”泰雅回想道，“大概是第5季的时候我说，‘肯恩（此档真人秀的制片人），我们能一直拍到多少季呢，8季？’他回答说，‘我看10季吧。’现在我们已经在拍第10季了，而且还在继续拍。”
　　“全美超模”稳获成功宝座之后，泰雅又开始寻求新的挑战――让年轻女性从她那里学会摆姿势以外的更多东西。2005年9月首播的“泰雅脱口秀”走的是教育和大胆前卫兼而有之的路线――身为主持人的泰雅曾经在节目上穿着松垮肥大的衣服，用超声波检验胸部证明其为真材实料。而真正让她由 “魅惑超模”转变成“知己泰雅”的是2007年2月她在屏幕前真情流露的一刻。之前她有一张拍得不甚雅观的泳装照被人放上网络，还配上狠毒标题如“全肥超鹅”，于是她穿上相片中那件泳衣，在节目现场观众面前含泪叫那些对她身材指指点点的人“放马过来啊，肥臀在这儿！”当即成为YouTube视频经典的这一幕让泰雅以“金无足赤”的普通人姿态站出来，成为影迷钟爱的知己良朋。“有时候你真拿那些小报没办法，假的都给它们掰成真的。”她解释道，“我只是想大家知道真相。”
　　虽然已取得如此骄人的成绩，她说到自己日益攀升的地位仍带点迟疑不安。“我对商界争胜总是有点恐惧感”，她承认。“人们心目中总觉得这些女强人，尤其是商界的，她们都得泼辣强悍，而我根本不是这样的人。”虽然这么说，这女强人从没放缓扩张自己媒体帝国的步伐，闪闪发光的金库拱顶是她家公司的标志。“我一点儿也不怕追逐财利。”她说，“金钱可以给我更大的能力去做比现在更忠于自己心意的事情。”但她又补充说：“我不觉得我会永远留在电视这行。我不知道会是10年还是20年，但我知道60岁的时候我肯定不会还在电视圈。”别这样嘛，泰雅，60多岁的时候我们也还是需要有个你这样的意气好友啊！
　　
　　
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