TYRA BANKS SHARES HER STRUGGLES IN HER NEW BOOK 'MODELLAND'

She may be fierce on the runway, but at heart, supermodel Tyra Banks is just a book worm.

That's the message she shared with hundreds of squealing fans Sunday at the New York Public Library, where she was promoting her new fiction novel, "Modelland."

"I'm a huge supporter of the libraries. I'm a regular here," Banks told the Daily News before her book event on 42nd Street and 5th Avenue.

She even wrote some of the book at that branch.

"This library is so grand, it actually leaves me speechless," said Banks, 37, who in addition to hosting her hit-show "America's Next Top Model" is also attending Harvard Business School.

"Writing a book is new for me. But the message is the same," Banks said of "Modelland," the first in a young adult series, which touches on teen issues ranging from eating disorders to cutting.

Loosely inspired by her own personal experiences, the story traces an awkward teen named Tookie De La Creme who is invited to an exclusive mysterious place called Modelland.

"Tookie De La Creme doesn't feel good about herself. She's awkward. She's gawky. She has a huge forehead just like me," Banks said.

"My message really is about interesting beauty, odd beauty, things that don't fit the cookie cutter," she said.

"That is embedded in every single page."

Though her work is set in a fantasy land, the story is closely tied to her own experience, she said.

"This book is my spirit," said Banks, who said she suffered from body image issues when she was a young model.

"Raise your hands if you've been bullied," she asked the crowd. "I was a bully when I was 9-years-old."

For some of the more than 400 teens in attendance, meeting the former talk show host was a dream come true.

"She's inspirational," said Cree Payton, 16, of Jamaica, Queens, who was one of the first to sign up online for the event. "She respects people for who they are and she's down to earth."

Evelyn Irizarry, 50, said she came to get a signed copy of the book for her daughter Delia, 16.

"She's crazy about Tyra," said Irizarry, of Cypress Hills. "That's what these girls need - someone to look up to."

Techna Elizabeth, 20, a photography student who lives in Harlem, said she has always loved Tyra's message.

"She always says that as long as you feel good, you look good," she said.



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