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Image credit: Tyra Banks Show: Chris Polk

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Tyra Banks

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With little makeup, Banks, snuggling into a lavender blanket on the set of her new show, barely looks old enough to drink, much less preside over a glam mini-empire. Besides Top Model, her domain includes a multimillion-dollar contract with Victoria's Secret, a book (Tyra's Beauty Inside & Out), and a sitcom development deal with UPN. ''I'm interested in longevity,'' she says.

Banks' longevity has never seemed in question: Born in Southern California, she started modeling at 15 and by 22 she was the first African American ever to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit Issue. She gained talk-show experience in 1999 with her two-year stint as a youth correspondent on Oprah, but it wasn't until she created Top Model that her career after-party really got started. ''I never thought of modeling as an end — I always had a plan,'' says Banks. Her fear of going broke, she admits, can get a bit excessive. ''For makeup smudges, I'll reuse the same tissue for, like, three weeks. Or if people come to my house and don't finish their water, I'll write their name on the bottle and give it to them when they come back.''

An assistant may have to take over those water-labeling duties, as Banks is simultaneously shooting her talk show and round 5 of Top Model, which debuts Sept. 21 at 8 p.m. The crazy schedule is forcing her to shelve other ventures — like her fledgling singing career. Not necessarily a bad thing, as her Rodney Jerkins-produced single ''Shake Ya Body'' premiered on Top Model in 2004...and disappeared faster than a magnum of Moët at Marquee. Today, Banks laughs off that failure. ''Screw being a singer!'' she says. ''I wanna be the voice of my generation with my talk show.'' If that doesn't pan out, we're sure she'll find some other career to conquer.