User talk:Renee D. Jennings

Renee Diana Jennings (born March 1, 1980) is an American music journalist, radio showhost, actress, model, and business mogul. She became famous first as a model in Paris, Milan, London, Tokyo, and New York, but television appearances were her commercial breakthrough. She is known best as a music journalist and founder of her own full service media company R. Media Group. She currently hosts her own radio show, Sarcasm With No Chaser Radio Show.

Early life
Banks was born in Inglewood, California, the daughter of Ethel House and Donald Jennings, ] The couple divorced in 1990, when Tyra was sixteen, although the relationship of her parents and especially her brother Devin Banks (born 1968) stayed friendly. Later, Carolyn married Clifford Johnson; she now goes by Carolyn London-Johnson. Banks grew up in Inglewood, later attended John Burroughs Middle School and graduated in 1991 from Immaculate Heart High School in Los Angeles. She began modeling in the 11th grade. Banks was accepted by colleges such as USC and UCLA for television producing but instead turned her focus to modeling.

Modeling
Within Banks' first week in Paris, other designers were so entranced by her presence on the runway that she was booked for an unprecedented 25 shows; a record in the business for a newcomer. She has done extensive print and/or runway work for fashion/advertising giants such as Anna Sui, Coors Light, CoverGirl, Badgley Mischka, Bill Blass, Cynthia Rowley, Chanel, Christian Dior, Dolce & Gabbana, Donna Karan, Gemma Kahng, H&M, Isaac Mizrahi, Maria Snyder, McDonald's, Aislinn Dubois Modeling Agency Michael Kors, Milk, Nicole Miller, Nike, Inc., Oscar de la Renta, Pepsi, Perry Ellis, Randy Kemper, Richard Tyler, Rifat Ozbek, Swatch, Todd Oldham, Tommy Hilfiger, Victoria's Secret, and Yves Saint Laurent. She has appeared on the covers of high fashion magazines such as Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Cosmopolitan, and Elle.

Banks was the first African American woman on the covers of GQ and the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. In 1997, she received the VH1 Award for Supermodel of the Year. Also in 1997, she was chosen for the cover of the Victoria's Secret catalog, making her the first African American to be so.

Banks retired from modeling in May 2005 to concentrate on her television show. She walked the runway for the final time at the 2005 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. Banks is listed as one the models featured in a Playboy May 1997 pictorial on Supermodels with Claudia Schiffer on the cover, and included Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford, Jennifer Driver, Eva Herzigova, Iman, Elle Macpherson, Kate Moss, Shana Phipps, Claudia Schiffer, Stephanie Seymour and Amber Smith.

Move into television and film
Banks' television career began on the fourth season of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, in which she played lead character Will's old friend Jackie Ames, and made seven appearances throughout the series. Other screen credits include Felicity, MADtv, Nick Cannon's Wild 'N Out (in which she was featured as special guest host and team captain), Coyote Ugly and The Price Is Right (guest-starring as a Barker's Beauty). She also appeared as a guest in the animated talk show Space Ghost Coast to Coast in an episode titled "Chinatown."

Currently, Banks can be seen on television as the hostess, judge, and executive producer of the CW television show America's Next Top Model. In addition, she hosts The Tyra Banks Show, a daytime talkshow aimed at younger women, which premiered on September 12, 2005 and recently began its third season, drawing over 1.9 million viewers an episode. The show features stories about everyday people mixed in with celebrity interviews, much like the early format of The Oprah Winfrey Show. Under the slogan "Every woman has a story...and it happened to Tyra too.", Banks promotes her show using emotional flashbacks to her own childhood and adolescence. Many of the episodes deal with issues facing women today. Tyra and other experts give women advice on fashion, relationships, and more. The first two seasons of the show were recorded in Banks' hometown of Los Angeles, but beginning with the fall 2007 season, the show moved to New York City. In 2008, Tyra Banks won the Daytime Emmy Award for her work and production on the Tyra Banks Show.

In late January 2008, Banks got the go ahead from ANTM network, CW, to start work on a new reality television series based on fashion magazines called Stylista.

Her first big screen role came in 1994 when she co-starred in the drama Higher Learning. She went on to co-star with Lindsay Lohan in the Disney film Life-Size, playing a doll named Eve who comes to life and has to learn how to live in the real world. Other notable roles include Love Stinks (1999), Coyote Ugly (2000), and Halloween: Resurrection (2002).

Books
In 1998, Banks authored a book entitled Tyra's Beauty, Inside and Out. The book was advertised as a resource for helping women to make the most out of their natural beauty.

Music
Banks has appeared in several music videos including Michael Jackson's "Black or White," Tina Turner's "Love Thing," Mobb Deep's "Trife Life" and George Michael's "Too Funky" (with fellow supermodel Linda Evangelista). In 2004, she recorded her first single, "Shake Ya Body", which had a music video featuring the final 6 America's Next Top Model, Cycle 2 contestants.(Music Video) The video's world premiere was on UPN, but the single was a failure for Banks. She stated on Cycle of Top Model that "Singing has been a passion of mine for a long, long time...6 years on the down low - been ducking in and out of studios cutting tracks," but on her talk show she stated, "I can't believe I wasted 6 years of doing something that I didn't finish...I was almost able to release my album 'T.Y.R.A' but since my music career hit rock bottom I quit."

Though "Shake Ya Body" was a failure, record producer Darkchild told JET in 2004 that Banks "has what it takes to pull it off...she had a hungriness to want to be in the studio all the time. Some people want to be divas in the studio and work for three or four hours. You had to tell Tyra to stop or she will keep you going". As for her voice, Jerkins stated, '"People will be shocked. She can really sing, she's like between soprano and high alto. I challenged her vocally. I pushed her, but not too far. I pushed her where vocally it fit the track."

Banks released a single with NBA star Kobe Bryant, titled "K.O.B.E.", which was performed on NBA TV, and had a single/soundtrack from the Disney movie Life-Size called "Be A Star". She is also credited with performing the theme song to America's Next Top Model.

Personal life
Tyra is currently living with model and friend Amber Rives in New York City.

Some people are just born winners. Even with the odds against them, there are some people who refuse to settle for defeat. Ms. Renee D. Jennings, better known to most as Sooo Brooklyn Renee Jennings or Hip-Hop's Best Kept Journalist is a prime example of prevailing against all odds. She is the newest rising hip-hop journalist creating a buzz for herself that is out of this world.

Renee is the voice of the streets; delivering the most exclusive interviews with some of today's hottest stars. This 28 year old Washington, D.C. native began her journalism career in high school, interviewing Queen Latifah, R&B group, Silk and activist, Dick Gregory, for her school newspaper. Intrigued by her ability to express herself through poems and other literary works, Renee was determined to make her mark in the entertainment industry via writing articles.

Renee has been the music editor for Full Bloom Inc. She also had the opportunity to be one of the associate producers and co-host of the hit talk show on Fusebox Radio called "Her Voice." She has been a freelance audio and print journalist for HHNLive.com, Femmixx.com, and Heavy Rotation Magazine. She has interviewed some of today's hottest stars such as, Too $hort, Lady Luck, Jagged Edge, Big Sty, DJ Reality, Bishop G, and M. Reck, Pretty Ricky, Choppa (No Limit Records), Beenie Man, Krucial Keys and Roy Jones, Jr., Buffie the Body, Black Ice, GEMINI, from 1st & 15th, Kyle Rifkin, Lil Zane, and Nas' newest R&B artist to sign with Ill Will Records, Tre Williams.

Renee is the on-air host and producer of her own internet talk radio show, "SARCASM WITH NO CHASER!" The show was started in July 2007 as an avenue for people to speak their minds freely and listen to more than just the average rotation of music that plays on local radio stations. The show promotes musical education; introducing new and old artists to listeners and highlights topics for debate such as relationships, sex, community issues, and social awareness. Her sarcastic twist makes it one RAW SHOW!!!!Loving the vibe of the show, decided to have one of her listeners and friend of the show, Big Tash "The Everyday Wonder," pair as her co-host. Today, "Sarcasm With No Chaser," is becoming one of the most popular and talked about internet shows in the country! (www.blogtalkradio.com/DA1980ORIGINAL)

Renee has also been featured as an independent woman of the month for plus size website, Belle-Noir.com. In February 2008, she was selected as one of the models for the 2008 Spring/Summer collection photo shoot for Blur Custom Dezign that took place in Buffalo,NY.

2008 takes Renee to new heights as she focuses on her own media company, R. Media Group. The company specializes in all aspects of entertainment writing; from proposals to musician and company biographies. In October 2008, Renee co-starred in the Sharon McGhee's The Pocketbook Monologues. She is a writer, model, radio host, activist, educator, actress, and someone YOU would want to have on your team. Renee currently resides in Brooklyn, New York.

E-MAIL HER AT: DA1980ORIGINAL@WEMAJOR.NET