During the latest installment of her weeklong cohosting stint on the NBC<\/a> talk show Today With Jenna & Friends<\/a>, the 51-year-old supermodel and America’s Next Top Model<\/a> host broke down crying alongside London on Wednesday after she filmed an emotional tribute to her mama’s impact on her life and career.<\/p>\n In the pre-taped footage introduced by Banks and Jenna Bush Hager<\/a>, Banks recalled a key moment with her mother earlier in her modeling career, when “there was one season when I was booking less fashion shows [because] my body was changing and it was getting thicker and curvier.” That led London to rerouting her daughter’s perspective on the modeling industry.<\/p>\n Jenna & Friends<\/p>\n Tyra Banks and her mother cry on ‘Today With Jenna & Friends’<\/p>\n “My modeling agent told her that eight fashion shows didn’t want to book me because I was curvier, and I started to cry,” Banks said, recounting a story she previously told in her and London’s 2018 book Perfect Is Boring. “I gave up college for this. I guess I’ll not eat as much, I’ll run around the block in Italy every day. She says, ‘Oh no. You know what we’re going to do…. she said, ‘We’re going to go eat pizza. And she said, ‘I’ll be damned if you starve yourself for this business. That’s not who you are, that’s not what your body is, you’re going to be curvy girl, and you can embrace and accept that.”<\/p>\n Banks then broke down in tears in the pre-taped interview over the inspiration behind her latest business venture, the SMiZE & DREAM ice cream company, which she dedicated to London as the duo have a lifelong tradition of getting ice cream together and talking about their dreams for the future.<\/p>\n The model and businesswoman then referenced a viral video showing London’s tearful reaction to Banks’ SMiZE & DREAM flagship store opening in Sydney.<\/p>\n “I cry every single day looking at that because, yes, I’ve had a modeling career and my mom was there with me by my side. But modeling happened to me. It wasn’t my dream,” Banks said. “But, ice cream is my life. I have sacrificed so much of my heart and soul, so to have that reaction from my mother and from where it’s from, starting in that car eating ice cream with her and dreaming.”<\/p>\n Banks continued, “I want to let her know that I know she’s been through a lot \u2014 more than the world knows. She’s been through a lot, and it’s time for her now to just take care of herself. And I want to let her know that she did a good job.”<\/p>\n Back in the NBC studio, Bush Hager, Banks, and London all wept over the video. “We’re all crying,” Bush Hager observed as the group exchanged tissues, minutes after she also teared up at the top of the show over an emotional experience she shared with her own daughter<\/a> at a New York City concert.<\/p>\n When asked for a reaction to the clip, London spoke through tears.<\/p>\n “It means everything. I always tried to be there for the support, the nurturing, and the guidance and the inspiration,” she said.<\/p>\n Bush Hager then inquired about London watching Banks become a mother herself, to which Banks quipped, “These eggs were almost finished!”<\/p>\n “When she had a baby, it was very different for me because with my son, he had wives and they connected with their mothers, and this was the first time I could do it,” London said, with Banks adding that London and her son, York, are “best, best friends!”<\/p>\n Amy Sussman\/Getty<\/p>\n Carolyn London and Tyra Banks at the 2025 Essence Black Women in Hollywood Awards<\/p>\n Before the show went on a commercial break, London joked that her hair and makeup might not hold up through the tears.<\/p>\n “You guys put eyelashes on and they’re falling off!” she said, while the off-camera crew could be heard laughing at the sentiment.<\/p>\n![\"Jenna](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/b412f4a78248844d04e3b0ca4a9f66c1.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\n![\"Amy](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/970e92fdc266f0ca0df1591cc280bf98.jpeg\"\/)
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