Written By: Jayme Face
Tonya Renee Banks proves bosses come in all sizes- that’s the motto of her new active wear line! We caught up with Tonya on everything from Little Women L.A. to her new wine collection!
upfrontNY: You are an actress first, how did you get interested in acting in the first place?
Tonya Renee Banks: My father kind of influenced me. He kind of put it in my ear when I was a little girl. When I entered high school, I had drama as my major and my teacher saw how interested the classroom would be when I would do a monologue or something. I just stuck to it. It came to me because after I had graduated high school I was part of an organization called Little People of America. A casting company had called me and got my number from one of the ladies that was a member and they asked me if I wanted to do a movie. At the time, I was a little too young, I was shy of being 18. They called me a year later and asked me if I wanted to do it and I was like yeah! I started doing stand in and stuff behind the scenes and then I met a guy who turned me onto an agent and the agent took me in. Then one thing led to another. It literally came to me. It was meant to be.
upfrontNY: You are also a member of Little Women LA, what were your thoughts when you were first asked and why did you decide to join the show?
Tonya Renee Banks: Well, first of all, Tara one of the cast members and I came up with the show and we went and picked a lot of our friends that we had known for a long time and put it together. Tara pitched it to the production company and picked us up.
upfrontNY: What in particular made you want to get the show out there?
Tonya Renee Banks: My main goal was to educate our viewers on our lifestyle. We are able to accomplish everything that the average height person is able to accomplish it just might take us a little longer or we might have to do it a different way. I wanted to educate the viewers because we’ve been asked a lot of interesting questions and I feel the show is showcasing and answering those questions. I wanted people to see me as Tonya and not ‘look at that little lady or look at that midget’. I wanted the people to be educated on the terminology and diagnosis and we have been able to accomplish that.
upfrontNY: You have your own active wear line called Lil Boss Body Active-Wear line, what was your inspiration for the line?
Tonya Renee Banks: I’m into being active, exercise and health due to the fact that I’ve had several surgeries. I’ve had 3 back surgeries within a year in 2008 and 2009. So, with that said I had to exercise and my blood pressure had gone up so I got a trainer. It was hard to find athletic wear that would fit me appropriately where I wouldn’t have to make adjustments. So, I thought I would come out with a line where both average height people and little people can wear. That’s how I came up with the line. It’s interesting because they come in all sizes small, extra small to 3xl. So, my slogan is “Bosses come in all sizes!” because you can be any size to be a boss.
upfrontNY: What sets it apart from other lines?
Tonya Renee Banks: Like I said, you could be average height, you could be full figured, small, short and the active wear will fit you and you could look good in it and you feel good in it; the fabric feels good and it’s really fun.
upfrontNY: Why did you decide to make everything limited edition?
Tonya Renee Banks: The reason for that is because I changed up on the different fabrics and styles and what’s in. So, instead of re-shelving the old collections I just make a limited edition. I just make so many and then go to the next phase and do a new collection and that’s why I make it limited edition.
upfrontNY: Can you tell us anything about the next collection coming in 2019?
Tonya Renee Banks: I want to add more pockets and different styles and different fabrics and patterns that are more vibrant especially for the spring and the summer of 2019.
upfrontNY: You also have a wine line, how did that come about?
Tonya Renee Banks: I didn’t even start drinking wine until 2011. I was introduced to wine drinking the dessert sweet wines. I noticed that when I would go to different restaurants they wouldn’t have those sweet wines and a lot of my friends are half and half; half of my friends like dry wines or the non-sweet wines and then half of my friends like sweet wine. So, I collaborated with Phillip Long who owns Longevity Winery in Livermore California. I was telling him I wanted something more in the middle, not be dry or bitter or leather tasting and not be real sweet either. He said “What about a red blend?” Then he came up with this blend. I tasted it and I said “Okay, I could do this!” It kind of changed my palette. I have a real sweet palette. It’s a little sweet; it has a little sweet in it but it’s not considered a dessert wine.
upfrontNY: What goes into the process of creating your own wine?
Tonya Renee Banks: Right now, I just have the red blend, but I plan in 2019 coming out with a sparkling wine which is more focused towards champagne. In the spring I’m going to come out with a Muscat. They call it a Moscato, but the grape is called a Muscat grape. So, I’m going to call it Muscat. I wanted to do a line of wines because it was a lot easier than the active wear because the wine kind of sells itself, but it took like 6 months to a year to come up with the blends, my label. My friend John is my graphic designer. He is everything as far as my business is concerned, he is the go to person. I was like John I want this on my label, I want my label to look like this, I want these colors and he knows how to bring my vision and put it on a palette.
upfrontNY: What made you decide to name it after your mother?
Tonya Renee Banks: It’s not actually named after my mother, it’s my name. My name is Tonya Renee Banks, but my grandmother always called me LaTonya Renee. When I was a kid I was like “My name is Tonya Renee!” and she was like “You were supposed to be LaTonya Renee and I told your mom to name you LaTonya Renee!” She passed away when she was 96 and she had dementia despite her dementia whenever she would see me she would say LaTonya Renee. So, I named it LaTonya Renee in honor of my grandmother.
upfrontNY: Can you also tell us about your involvement with The Kis Foundation and Habitat L.A.?
Tonya Renee Banks: Yes, well with sickle cell and cancer, I deal with a lot of cancer fundraisers too. They had a cancer walk in Griffith Park for children with cancer. I’ve been involved with Kis sickle cell for a couple of years now as well as Habitat for Humanity. In fact Habitat for Humanity I went on site and helped build some of the houses. It’s a lot of fun. I really admire those two foundations and how they help people. It is so rewarding.
upfrontNY: What else would you like to let our readers know?
Tonya Renee Banks: I’m also doing a play called Roxy and it’s going to be out in L.A. Valentine’s weekend. Then we are doing a Father’s Day tour. We will be in New York, Detroit and Miami. Look forward to that; I’m excited. I’m a boss in the play as well. In the play I am literally a strip club owner. It’s about a strip club, what they call a gentlemen’s club. It’s about empowering women. How they are going to school getting their college degrees, but they work at the club to pay that to elevate themselves. It’s women owning these clubs as well. One of the clubs is an upscale strip club and then there is another which is kind of ratchet, but they use their money wisely.
Leave a Reply