Tyra Banks Posts Makeup-Free Photos to Mark 50th Birthday: 'My Mind Is Fiercer Than Ever'

Banks shared an empowering message on aging as she celebrated her milestone birthday

Tyra Banks is feeling “damn good” about turning 50!

On Monday the model, mom, businesswoman and television host rang in a milestone birthday with a series of makeup-free selfies shared to Instagram.

To go with her fresh-faced photos, which show the star wearing a gray robe and voluminous curls, the former America’s Top Model host wrote a letter to her fans about what turning 50 means to her.

“I can’t believe I’ve been on this earth that many years. I remember like yesterday my mom‘s 50th birthday party and we celebrated her in the biggest way. It was a big one. And now it’s mine,” Banks began her caption.

The actress reflected on aging, empathizing with others who “fear getting older."

“But I gotta say, my mind is FIERCER THAN EVER. Wise, baby,” Banks declared. “I think we have to look at aging and these big milestone years like, ‘I GET to be that age.’ A Blessing.”

She continued her note of reflection with an empowering message for others. “If you’re younger than me, I HOPE you get to reach my age and BEYOND. Because it feels damn good,” she shared, then joking, “(What doesn’t feel so good is the damn sciatica I got from falling in a scene in Life-Size 2!!!)”

Referring to herself as “Auntie Ty Ty," Banks also offered “wise words” for others who may feel like they’re in a slump. “You don’t have to stay stuck. You can start off doing one thing, and as the years go by, you switch that ish up,” she wrote, referring to the trajectory of her own career.

Related: Tyra Banks Credits Halle Berry, Jennifer Lopez for Making Her Excited to Turn 50

These days, the fashion icon is busy cooking up ice cream flavors for her new food endeavor, SMiZE & DREAM, which has already featured a collaboration with Lionel Richie. "Can’t stop. Won’t stop. You hear me?!” Banks wrote in her Instagram caption.

The entrepreneur worked with her food company to not only create the graphic art-themed cake featured in her selfies, but she also has a co-written graphic novel, The House of SMiZE, which is “all about age and dreams, and yep, lots of yummy ice cream," in the works.

Banks ended her letter by asking her followers what they want to achieve. “2024 is around the corner and we are gonna DREAM really BIG…together.”

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Before her birthday, the Life-Size actress spoke to PEOPLE about how she felt about the milestone.

"I look in the mirror and I don't feel 50," said Banks, who recently starred in Karen Millen's latest ICONS campaign. "I think 50 is the new 30s."

She revealed that she hasn’t done any plastic surgery, although she’s “not against it.” But, she’s “not insecure” and isn’t worried about looking a certain way.

Related: Tyra Banks Isn’t 'Insecure' About Turning 50 in December: '50 Is the New 30s' (Exclusive)

Related: Last Look: Tyra Banks

She also shared that the only time she will truly study herself in the mirror is when she’s perfecting her poses ahead of a red carpet event.

“I look in the mirror, and I find the best two to three poses. I study the poses in the mirror and then I close my eyes and try to re-create the poses without seeing myself," she told PEOPLE StyleWatch. "I do this because there are no mirrors on the red carpet, so you really need to know the best angles in the outfit by memory! Of course, I tend to forget by the time I get to the event onto the red carpet. Oh well, A for effort."

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