Tyra Banks revealed that she had her very first alcoholic drink on her 50th birthday in December.
While celebrating the milestone with her family in Australia, the supermodel revealed she ‘had an alcoholic drink for the first time.’
‘It wasn’t worth it. I was like, ‘This is nasty!” she told People of her first taste of liquor.
Apart from not enjoying her beverage, the mother-of-one, who is Canadian film director Louis Bélanger-Martin, said the rest of her day was ‘so magical.’
Tyra Banks revealed that she tried her very first alcoholic drink on her 50th birthday in December
‘We took a seaplane, had a meal in the middle of nowhere,’ she gushed of how she spent the day with her mom and best friend.
The Life-Size actress has been open about her sobriety over the years, and once made a statement about her decision to abstain from alcohol.
‘I feel like I’ve been very lucky because I don’t really have an addictive personality. I’ve never had any drugs, and I had a little taste of alcohol when I was 12 years old, but that’s about it,’ she reportedly wrote in an email to fans in 2011, according to Forbes.
In addition to not drinking, Banks has been vocal about no longer believing in diets.
‘I have been on diets in the past. They are a bunch of bologna,’ she said on The Tyra Show in 2009. ‘This is a lifestyle change. It’s not about being skinny. It’s about being in the best shape you can be.’
Over the years, Bank also told People that her opinion about aging has changed dramatically since she was a child.
The supermodel, who began her career as a model at the age of 15, admitted that she previously ‘thought 50 was great granny’ when she was ‘in elementary school.’
‘I thought I would have little glasses and just have a quilt on my lap and watch soap operas all day,’ she mused.
While celebrating the milestone with her family in Australia, the supermodel revealed she ‘had an alcoholic drink for the first time’ (pictured drinking water)
Banks pictured pretending to drink a glass of wine in the 2002 horror film, Halloween: Resurrection
Now, five months after ringing in the milestone birthday in Australia, the America’s Next Top Model creator said her life is ‘totally different than’ what she thought ’50 was going to be when’ she was just a little girl.
‘I’m poppin’. I am not insecure about myself. I ain’t trippin’. I often say ‘Child, [I’m] 50!’ before I say something. That statement gives me permission to say whatever the heck I feel like saying,’ she mused.
With age, Banks says she has found confidence and freedom to ‘do Zoom meetings with no makeup.’
‘I’m a momma and an entrepreneur,’ the Vogue cover girl raved. ’50 feels good.’
When asked what she thought other women approaching 50 should know, the Life-Size actress warned that hot flashes are ‘not the end of the world.’
‘Use that time that you wake up in the middle of the night to just take care of some things because it will wake you up. Read that book, do that crossword puzzle. Watch the end of that show that you were just so amazed with,’ she advised.
Ultimately, Banks urged readers to not be ‘ashamed’ about getting older because we are ‘all going to go through it.’
‘Now we can do it together and talk about it, which is really cool and much better than what our parents had to do’ she said.
She continued: ‘I remember back in the day that gray hair was like, oh, you just hid that. You did not show that that was a no-no.’
In addition to not drinking, Banks has been vocal about no longer believing in diets and says she just tries to stay in the best shape as she can (pictured in 2019)
‘Now I see women saying. ‘I am gray. And not only is that okay, it’s amazing, it’s beautiful,’ Banks declared, before praising Sarah Jessica Parker and Andie McDowell for embracing their gray streaks.
The mother-of-one, who said she was wearing a wig for the photo shoot, noted that while her ‘fake hair doesn’t have gray hair in it,’ her ‘real hair does.’
‘I walk around town with my natural cornrows, with my gray edges tamed with a little baby hair juice, but not with dye, ‘ she insisted. ‘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.’
As for some misconceptions about aging, the former catwalk queen said turning 50 has allowed her not to bite her tongue or feel the need to ‘please everybody.’
‘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,’ she told People.
Banks also commended her mother, Carolyn London, for not being ‘obsessed with aging in a negative way.’
Over the years, Bank also told People that her opinion about aging has changed dramatically since she was a child; seen in 2022
‘She has gray hair, she loves her gray hair. She wishes she had more gray hair. And so I think it taught me to not fear getting older. I don’t fear that. I see it as a privilege and I think it’s because of my mama,’ Banks added.
She also pointed out that her mom ‘was all about the Vaseline’ and would ‘rub it all over her eyes.’
‘I was a Vaseline girl too. I’ve now upgraded to other things, but I, every now and then I’ll take that Vaseline and I’m like, maybe that’s why I ain’t got no wrinkles,’ she said.
While looking back on beauty or style trends that she regrets partaking in, the model said that she wished she didn’t pluck her eyebrows to make them ‘so skinny.’
‘I look back at those pictures, I’m like, ‘That was beautiful? We look crazy.’ So I regret that one,’ she mused.
