From “Banksable” by Lynn Hirschberg in The New York Times Magazine, circa 2008:

“‘I love being underestimated,’ [Tyra says]… ‘I love when they think, Oh, she’s just a model, she’s going to sit there and do nothing… When I went into producing, my biggest obstacle was that I was a model. But, as I say to the girls on Top Model, anybody who is at the top of anything has taken risks and withstood criticism and hardship. I say: “You think I’m just a model? Well, then, let me show you”’.

“‘It never made me bitter, but it did make me hungrier to prove them wrong.’”

Elsewhere: [The New York Times] Banksable.

Image via Superficial Diva.