Tyra Banks spoke to The Daily Beast about the struggles that supermodels are facing in this era.

In her article Banks celebrated Vogue's decision to ban models younger than 16 and who appear to have an eating disorder.

The editors of 19 editions of Vogue around the world made the announcement earlier this month.

Banks said : "There needs to be more industry-wide protections for models, and we need to be more consistent with what the acting world does: protect our minors, as well as the health and well-being of models."

She recalls that when she started modeling the average model's size was a four or six. "Today you are expected to be a size zero. When I started out, I didn't know such a size even existed."

Banks mentors aspiring supermodels on "America's Next Top Model" and counsels many of them. She hopes girls whose bodies are maturing would be able to continue their modeling careers with the new mandates from Vogue.

Banks started modeling when she was 15 years old. She was signed by the first modeling agency at age 16. Her professional career includes covers of ELLE and Vogue Spain.

She walked the runways for Chanel, Isaac Mizrahi, Anna Sui, Sonia Rykiel, Todd Oldham, Christian Lacroix, Christian Dior among others.

She has appeared in ad campaigns for Dolce & Gabbana, Yves Saint Laurent, Ralph Lauren and others.

She hosts the "Tyra Banks Show."

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