Banks’ book captured fan interest via social media clips more than a decade after its initial release.

Tyra Banks ‘cried’ over viral obsession with failed Modelland book 15 years after ‘it didn’t’ succeed

Banks’ book captured fan interest via social media clips more than a decade after its initial release.

Joey Nolfi

Joey Nolfi is a senior writer at *. *Since 2016, his work at EW includes RuPaul’s Drag Race video interviews, Oscars predictions, and more.

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July 10, 2026 9:18 a.m. ET

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Tyra Banks holding her ‘Modelland’ book. Credit:

Vallery Jean/FilmMagic

- Tyra Banks opened up about the pain of watching her 2011 book, *Modelland,* fail.

- Banks says she wanted the book to “last” with fans, “but it didn’t.”

- Now, after a viral resurgence on social media, Banks said she “cried” watching its popularity 15 years later.

Tyra Banks famously taught *America’s Next Top Model* fans how to smile with their eyes, but the supermodel has admitted has done more than smize as she absorbs the viral resurgence of her failed 2011 novel, *Modelland*.

Amid the popularity for the book (or at least Banks’ oddball promotional tactics, including the heavily meme’d *Modelland* theme song referencing characters Banks calls “four chicks in green”), Banks said the love made her extremely emotional.

“When *Modelland* first came out in 2011, I wanted it to fly high and last. But it didn’t,” she wrote in a new Instagram post. “I wanted people to step into that world, dive deeply, and become obsessed. But they didn’t.”

Tyra Banks at the Franca Fund Gala.

Taylor Hill/Getty

She says 15 years later, her “phone started blowing up” after the “four chicks in green” line from the song went viral on social media.

“I clicked in and was awestruck,” Banks recalled. “I saw *Modelland* being rediscovered. Remixed. Quoted. Loved. Debated. Hate-Loved. Dressed up as. Reprint and movie demands... by all of YOU.”

Banks said she “cried” over the discovery. “I’m writing this with tears in my eyes right now,” she added, revealing that writing the book was “one of the most intense, vulnerable, wildly creative chapters” of her life.

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Now that fans are interested in the book, Banks’ SMiZE & DREAM ice cream store in Sydney, Australia (which recently came under fire for using artificial intelligence to create fake models for its ads) has announced that it’s celebrating the rediscovery by launching new products mirroring characters from the book.

*Modelland *follows a young girl named Tookie De La Crème, an awkward teen who’s scouted to attend a whimsical modeling academy populated by a fantastical roster of characters.

The book shares a name with another one of Banks’ endeavors that never fully got off the ground, the never-opened Modelland indoor theme park that was constructed in Santa Monica, Calif., and would’ve allowed guests to experience various elements of modeling in a highly-stylized environment.

Tyra Banks in San Francisco.

Jeff Schear/Getty

Banks’ literary endeavor came during her run as head judge and producer of *America’s Next Top Model*. The reality competition series that also underwent a modern reevaluation in the eyes of fans that also saw multiple contestants speak out against their experience on the program.

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Banks is currently involved in a lawsuit against the team behind a Netflix docuseries, *Reality Check*, which highlighted several contestants’ allegations against the show, and for which Banks sat for an interview. Banks alleged in her legal filing that the show selectively edited her words in an unflattering way. (Representatives for the series’ creative team and Netflix didn’t reply to **‘s requests for comment on the suit.)****

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