America’s Next Top Workaholic

She started as a stunning, stone-faced cat walker and morphed into a celebrity mogul with two hit shows, the oddly venerable America’s Next Top Model, and the daytime chatfest, The Tyra Banks Show.

But her success hasn’t bought her a fabulous life, the thirty-three year old retired model tells Vanity Fair magazine.

When she isn’t taping, she goes home to her apartment, where she lives alone, and prepares for the next day of work. Asked what she does to unwind, she says, “I don’t know. Nothing.”

She adds in the February issue of the magazine—Hey, I get behind on my reading … —that Maya Angelou once asked her what she does for herself.

Her reply: “I just work.”

Tyra is a workaholic, and she makes no apologies for it. Other supermodels move on to motherhood, occasional commercial work, or being the first eliminated on Dancing with the Stars. (That would be Paulina Porizkova, more famous for marrying the angular rocker Ric Ocasek.)

Not Tyra. She jumped onto the reality-show train with America’s Next Top Model. The show, which I’ve caught a few times, always leaves me scratching my head. Is it just me or do none of these girls look like models? Still, it’s a worldwide sensation. With A.N.T.M. riding high, she started her talk show, which got off to a slow start, but is gaining momentum with groundbreaking concepts like having the audience strip down to their undies.

Tyra is heavily involved in both shows, and the workload is insane. In the interview, she seems more passionate about The Tyra Banks Show, which she says tackles social issues. (Again, I’m scratching my head. I’m less familiar with this Tyra offering. Apparently, she has addressed weight and body issues. And she has gone undercover as a fat woman, a homeless person, and a man.)

She says it is her mission to make people feel good, to show compassion, and to be uplifting.

Worthy goals, yes. But I can’t help but zero in on those comments about her total lack of a personal life. I admire all she has accomplished, especially her determination to be known as more than just a model buxom enough for Victoria’s Secret. Tyra has accumulated many “first black model to do so such-and-such” accolades.

But, wow, what a price.

In a way, it’s a familiar American story among fantastically successful women.

Young woman starts with nothing, has a dream, pursues dream, works like a crazywoman to build and maintain the dream. And then … what? Back to the solo pad to get ready for another day’s work.

Think Martha Stewart. Hillary Clinton. Condoleeza Rice. Even Katie Couric. For all their success, they come across as kinda lonely.

Tyra tells Vanity Fair she can’t get a date. “The more successful I get, the less interested men are,” says the woman who has graced the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. The author of the piece wonders if Tyra’s “true romance now is with the young women of America.”

She does seem to love her job, and she seems unbothered by the way her career occupies her entire being. So what’s the problem?

Workaholism, some believe, is a disease, like alcoholism or drug addiction. There’s even an organization, Workaholics Anonymous.

According to the organization, signs of workaholism include using work to escape feelings, depriving oneself of the enjoyment of a varied and balanced life, and turning home into the extension of the workplace. Workaholics tend to be perfectionists, incapable of asking for help. They believe all activities must have a purpose. They can’t just hang out.

Over the years, I have had acquaintances who fit the definition. They single-mindedly pursued their career goals and had time for nothing else. We usually lost touch, because workaholics have little time for friendship. Some get off the crazy ride when they get too dizzy to stay on. They meet someone special and decide to settle down. Or they have a meltdown and go off to meditate in Tibet.

Several of my workaholic friends have been teachers. They get so wrapped up in how badly their kids need them, they don’t have room for anything else in life. It’s not surprising that a teacher co-founded Workaholics Anonymous in 1983, along with a corporate financial planner.

The life of the workaholic isn’t sustainable over time. Burnout is inevitable. Was I the only one who noticed Martha Stewart looking more well-rested than ever after her prison stint?

Even Oprah, Tyra’s role model, leaves her empire to her minions on occasion to spend time with her friends and her dogs.

Still, it’s hard to criticize a woman making her own choices, just because they happen to be different from mine. I love my job as a writer, but knitting and other creative pursuits are my passion. In the case of the workaholic, the job and the passion are one in the same. Some might say it makes for a streamlined existence.

But at the end of the day, I believe there has to be more to life than a career, however glamorous that career might appear. I don’t expect Tyra to take up knitting, but I hope she finds other passions to tip the scale toward a more balanced life. Hmmm … maybe that could be her next undercover role—the life of a successful woman who takes a day now and then just to chill.