This story could have turned out much differently. ''I used to want to write commercials as a kid,'' Banks recalls of her childhood in Inglewood, Calif. ''I used to tell my mom, 'Mom, they didn't end the commercial right. They should have ended it on the burger, 'cause they're trying to sell the burger, and they ended on the lady's face and I don't even remember if it's McDonald's or Wendy's anymore.''' But becoming America's Next Top Copywriter was not meant to be: After a high school friend encouraged her, Banks entered the modeling industry at the age of 15. Despite her success (she moved to Paris when she was 17 to walk in the couture shows and was the first black model on the cover of Sports Illustrated at 22), she remained steadfastly focused on her career. ''Even as a model I used to think 'brand,''' she says. ''My mom always told me, 'Plan for the end at the beginning. You're gonna have to retire really early like an athlete, and then what are you gonna do after?''' adds Banks, who cites her mother as an influence at least seven times during the interview. ''So I always looked at it knowing that there was something after.''
That something turned out to be television. After a brief attempt at acting (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Higher Learning), Banks decided to create the kind of show that she would watch. Shortly after her stint as a ''youth correspondent'' on The Oprah Winfrey Show (1999-2001), Banks hashed out the idea for America's Next Top Model while making tea in her kitchen. Though the industry wasn't primed to take Banks seriously — ''As a model, my roadblock was being black and curvy. As a producer, my roadblock was being a model'' — she and exec producer Ken Mok (Making the Band) found their show a home on a newbie broadcast network. A mix of The Real World and American Idol, which launched the year before, ANTM gave viewers a reason to find UPN — and later, The CW — on the dial. Now with versions in 15 countries and a string of copycats in the U.S. (Bravo's Make Me a Supermodel being the most recent), Banks' teatime idea is a reality TV phenomenon. ''I thought it was going to last for two seasons,'' says Banks. ''Around season 5, I said, 'Ken, how far can we go — 8?' He goes, 'I'm thinking 10.' Now we're at 10 and not stopping.''
While Banks' screen time on ANTM has noticeably diminished since her talk show's debut, a recent production meeting proves she is still actively involved in even the smallest details, like the show's opening montage of the contestants. Viewing one poorly lit model's visage, Banks exclaims, ''She's getting nasal labia folds!'' and then tosses out directives like ''Let's use a sepia tone'' and ''Desaturate the color.'' It was during ANTM's second season that Banks first started thinking that she might have a knack for TV production. ''I was going to go to college for film and TV,'' says Banks, who was accepted to USC and UCLA but decided not to attend. ''So I was like, It's finally time for me to take advantage of this place I have now and this passion I have.''
NEXT PAGE: ''To me, the vagina puppet — yeah, it gets spoofed, but it also gets women talking about their vaginal health.''
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