Tyra Banks Shares the Cheerleading Name Her Mom Nearly Chose

The ex-Victoria\’s Secret Angel model pondered how her life might have differed with another name.

Tyra Banks
is revealing the name her mother originally planned for her.

On the Wednesday, April 15 edition of
Today with Jenna and Co.
, the 51-year-old ex-supermodel disclosed to
Jenna Bush Hager
, 43, about her true feelings regarding the name her family had chosen for her.

\”Can you share your thoughts on \’Tyra\’? Did you enjoy it when you were younger?\” Bush Hager inquired of her co-host.

The
America\’s Next Top Model
creator
said her name was a joint effort from her family after her mother simplified a moniker that the model’s grandmother had chosen.

She admitted, \’But my mother said she planned to name me Kelly Banks.\’

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Coyote Ugly
The hairstylist introduced her to lace-front wigs.

Kelly Banks?\” Bush Hager reiterated as if she were attempting to envision the mogul as something besides \”Tyra.

Banks added, \”I wonder if my identity were Kelly Banks, how would I perceive myself?\”

It sounds like a cheerleading name,\” Banks remarked, imitating an enthusiastic cheer as she pronounced each syllable. \”This seems like such a cheerful name!

Bush Hager mentioned that during their childhood, Kelly \”was quite a usual name.\”

The
former Victoria\’s Secret Angel
Agreed, adding that \”Kelly\” was typically considered a popular name for girls in earlier times. Both women mentioned even had Barbie dolls with the name Kelly.

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When discussing names, Banks reminisced about multiple occasions over her extensive career where she attempted to revamp her image using different versions of her name.

\”When I initially began my modeling career, everyone called me \’Tyra Banks,\’ but once I reached Paris, I decided to drop the last name, so I became simply \’Tyra,\’\” she explained.

However, circumstances shifted once she started receiving greater professional prospects.

\”And then I began to act on the
Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
\”And for the first time when I saw the credits at the end of the show, it only read \’Tyra,\’ and I felt that wasn\’t professional enough, so I put \’Banks\’ back,\” she explained.

In the early 1990s sitcom, Banks played the role of Jackie Ames, who was characterized as a childhood friend and former girlfriend.
Will Smith
Who got back together with him following his acceptance of a basketball scholarship to UCLA?

However, the recollections did not cease there!

As per Banks, there was one name that frequently managed to bypass many during Velvet Voice’s period of rebranding.

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She acknowledged that upon retiring from modeling, she thought about altering the spelling of her last name by replacing the “K-S” with an “X,” making it “Banx.” However, \”that idea didn\’t last.\”

\”I was
on the cover of
Sports Illustrated
again
In my forties or something. I said, \’Yep, it’s going to be Banx.\’ But nobody caught onto that,” she shared with Bush Hager, who remained unaware of this slight alteration.

“
No one noticed that.
,” the model said.

Read the initial article on
Velvet Voque