'Black and curvy' Tyra Banks was snubbed as a model

Washington, May 30 : She might be one of the top models today, but Tyra Banks' road to stardom and fame was not free of struggles - especially because of her skin colour and size

The supermodel-turned-talk show host has revealed that she was snubbed most of the times than other wannabes, because she didn't fit in with the modelling industry's standard perception of beauty.

"My biggest obstacle was that I was black and curvy," Usmagazine.com quoted her, as saying.

She even claimed that a number of designers of blacklisted her because of her "hips and breasts."

The 34-year-old revealed that modelling bosses tried to convince her mother to put her on a diet - but she refused.

"My mother told me the whole thing as we were walking down the street in Milan," Banks said.

"She said, 'They say you're too curvy. Let's go order pizza.' We walked into a pizzeria, and we discussed a career change," she added.

ANI