While many know Tyra Banks as one of the world’s most iconic supermodels, she recently revealed that she wants her “legacy” to be something entirely different: ice cream.
During an interview on “The Jermaine Plane” show, the pop culture icon—who walked coveted runways from Chanel to Victoria’s Secret—said that her passion has always been the frozen dessert, noting that she has spent the last few years building and expanding her business, “SMiZE & DREAM,” in Sydney, Australia. Still, her recent revelation that she wants to be known as “the ice cream lady” has seemingly baffled some social media users, prompting them to voice their frustrations about the “bizarre” mother of one.
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Tyra Banks Wants Her ‘Legacy’ To Be ‘Ice Cream’ After Starting Her Unique Brand ‘SMiZE & DREAM’
Speaking with host Jermaine D’Vauz on his radio show about how she came up with the idea of creating an ice cream business, Banks explained that her love for the tasty dessert stems from experiences with her mother as a child.
As she continued, Banks reflected on her expansive career, from walking runways to hosting her own talk show, and said that her ice cream business “is my passion.”
Banks went further, stating that she’d like for her business to create such a lasting impression that in “20 years,” when a new generation enters a “SMiZE & DREAM,” they’re unimpressed by her career as an A-list model.
According to Banks, being known as “the ice cream lady” is a “legacy” that would “be fantastic to me.”
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Tyra Banks Is Proud Of Her Modeling Career, But Ice Cream Is Where Her Heart Is
Banks, who shattered many glass ceilings in the fashion industry alongside other models of color, including Naomi Campbell and Beverly Johnson, said that she’s proud of her career.
While she acknowledged what she’s done for other women of color in terms of visibility and opportunities, Banks explained that she’s able to separate herself from those accolades and place them in “a museum.”
“But the legacy,” she said. “The real legacy—I want it to be ice cream. I really do.”
Banks stated that she feels a different sense of connection to her ice cream business than to her modeling career because she’s built it from the ground up. “The ice cream, I want that to live forever.”
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Fans Are Over Tyra Banks And Her ‘Bizarre’ Behavior
A clip of Banks’ interview was shared on Reddit, prompting a slew of responses from users who weren’t moved by her statements. In fact, many roasted the mogul while also pointing to her past controversies.
“What is she on? She’s been acting so bizarre,” a user wrote, while another added, “This video just inspired me to go catch up on ‘Real Housewives of Salt Lake City’ and ‘Potomac.’ There is. level of wealthy delusional self importance that I think is currently missing from my life and it brings me peace to watch it in others.”
A third user wrote, “Her legacy [in my opinion] will be destroying women’s hair on ‘ANTM’ and contributing to the 00’s diet culture.”
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“Mmm. You can really tell when someone’s had every little thought they’ve ever had in the last decade completely validated and supported by their team,” someone else wrote. “One of the risks of fame and fortune, I suppose. You end up on another planet (but it’s a very wealthy one, so it hardly matters).”
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Banks Says ‘SMiZE & DREAM’ Is Flourishing In Sydney
In a separate interview, according to The Blast, Banks opened up about the success of her business, calling it “insane” before sharing that the support has been overwhelming.
“I never in a million years thought it would be viral. I never in a million years thought I would be in … Mexico and at a Cirque Du Soleil opening of a new show and being asked about it. So it’s beyond my expectations, and now I have to live up to it,” she said.
“SMiZE & DREAM” isn’t your traditional ice cream dessert; it is described as “hot ice cream,” a warm, sippable treat similar to an ice cream sundae.
Banks Says Her Mark On The Fashion Industry Will Be More Than ‘ANTM’
Before relocating to Sydney, Banks spent several years defending herself against critics who slammed her over the way she treated some of her “America’s Next Top Model” cast members. In some resurfaced clips, the women were forced to pose in Blackface, and in others, contestants were chastised over their weight.
In March 2025, however, Banks fired back at the noise and aimed to remind critics that she created a show in the early 2000s that showcased women of all kinds. “A time when people in the fashion industry were telling me, ‘You putting the girls from the hood on your show?’ I was like, ‘Why can the girl from the trailer park become a supermodel, but the girl that’s chillin’ in the park in the hood can’t?’ And we fought, and we struggled, and we made it happen,” she said.
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Banks also confessed that she messed up repeatedly and “said some dumb sh-t.” She added, though, “… I refuse to have my legacy be about some stuff linked together on the internet when there were 24 [seasons] of changing the world.”