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Tyra Banks Wants Plus-Sized Teens for New Modeling Competition

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America's Next Top Teen Model?

Tyra Banks announced her latest modeling competition — the first-ever "fiercely real" plus-sized teen model search.

The talk show host, 36, made the announcement on The Tyra Show on Monday and put out a call for women between the ages of 13 and 19 to enter.

The only requirements? The teens must have a dress size of 12 to 20 and stand 5'9"- 6'1" tall, she told UsMagazine.com in a statement.

Related: See modeling shots of Angelina Jolie when she was only 16 years old!

"I've always felt it was my mission to expand the narrow perceptions of beauty," she told Us. "Through America's Next Top Model, True Beauty and The Tyra Show, I challenge industry and universal standards by featuring and celebrating non-traditional beauty, and stressing that true beauty is both inside and out."

Banks said she was unhappy that the term "plus-sized" has such a "negative connotation" in today's society.

Related: See photos of another variety of plus-sized models -- pregnant supermodels!

"I want young girls to realize that what's considered plus-sized is the average American woman," Banks said. "That woman is healthy, fit and beautiful. Adolescence is such an impressionable time in a young woman's life, and I hope this contest helps teen girls discover their own beauty from the inside out."

Related: Look back at contestants from America's Next Top Model

The finalists will be introduced on the March 2 episode of her talk show, and the winner of the Fiercely Real Teen Model Search will be crowned the following day. The winner will receive a one-year modeling contract and a spread in a major fashion magazine.

For more information, check out The Tyra Show's official site.

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