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Watch the Hartwarming Moment Tyra Banks Surprised Her Mom With a *Huge* Ice Cream Store

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<p>Model, host, producer, and entrepreneur <strong>Tyra Banks</strong><span style="margin:0px;padding:0px"><strong> </strong></span>ticked a dream off her bucket list, as she just opened her first flagship ice cream shop, <strong>Smize &amp; Dream</strong>, in Sydney, Australia. </p><div><strong></strong><strong></strong></div><p>Sure, ice cream is comfort food to many, but for Tyra, it&#x27;s more than that—ice cream has sentimental value to her and her mother, <strong>Carolyn</strong>. This is why, after decades of establishing herself in the modeling and entertainment business, Tyra branches out to an ice cream company that is the realization of another one of her passions. </p><p>Starting a brand is one thing, but putting up a store for it is another. And Tyra thought of unveiling this venture to her mom in a more special way. &quot;I kept it a secret from my mom. Then I surprised her with her first look at the @SMiZEandDREAM flagship in Sydney,&quot; Tyra shared on Instagram. &quot;She had no idea what to expect. Her reaction? I’ll never forget it. Ever.&quot;</p><div><br/></div><div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-14" src="https://www.instagram.com/reel/DLS5g_XxVGG/embed/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=810&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A14%2C%22os%22%3A42829076.29999998%2C%22ls%22%3A25532.59999999404%2C%22le%22%3A25652.90000000596%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="881" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-14" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><div><br/></div><p>When Tyra finally showed the dreamland that is Smize &amp; Dream to her mom, Carolyn was in awe. &quot;Oh my god, it&#x27;s huge! I thought it was gonna be a little ice cream store,&quot; she said. &quot;Oh my god, it&#x27;s beautiful. Look at that.&quot;</p><p>Looking at the golden Smize &amp; Dream logo on the floor by the store&#x27;s entrance, Carolyn got even more emotional, telling Tyra, &quot;You worked so hard, and I get to see what you worked so hard for. It&#x27;s like a dream.&quot;</p><p>While looking around and appreciating the store&#x27;s golden, high-ceiling interior, Carolyn reminisced and talked about how she and Tyra would bond over ice cream. She narrated, &quot;Years and years ago, when I was working as hard as a single mom. I worked more than one job. I worked two jobs. I worked three jobs. I did whatever I could, and the way we would celebrate each week that I got through is I would take her for ice cream in Hollywood. We lived near Hollywood, and we would go for ice cream. And we would sit in the car and talk about what we wanted out of life and where we wanted to go, and how we wanted to live, and her dreams, and trying to inspire her to be focused. And that ice cream was so special for us.&quot; </p><div><br/></div><div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-16" src="https://www.instagram.com/p/DLDVkclxftx/embed/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=810&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A16%2C%22os%22%3A43527190.70000002%2C%22ls%22%3A25532.59999999404%2C%22le%22%3A25652.90000000596%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="902" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-16" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><div><br/></div><p>Tyra&#x27;s parents divorced when she was six. From a three-bedroom home in Inglewood, California, Tyra, her mom, and her young brother, Devin, moved to a one-bedroom apartment in Leimert Park in Los Angeles, California. But her mother, Carolyn, worked so hard to give them &quot;a three-bedroom dream apartment.&quot; </p><p>&quot;During Mama’s hard working years, every Friday night after homework and dinner, we’d have girls night at the Häagen Dazs ice cream shop in Hollywood! While licking our chocolate (her fave) and coffee (my fave) ice creams in her white Honda Accord, in her cray-cray-in a-good-way style, she’d school me on her laser-focused one-more-bedroom goals and more. We’d laugh, cry, and dream our biggest, most outrageous creative dreams... together. And in that car, my ice cream dreams were born,&quot; Tyra shared on Smize &amp; Dream&#x27;s website.</p><div><br/></div><div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-18" src="https://www.instagram.com/p/DLIxPpAxx0J/embed/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=810&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A18%2C%22os%22%3A43700606.99999997%2C%22ls%22%3A25532.59999999404%2C%22le%22%3A25652.90000000596%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="857" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-18" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><div><br/></div><p>Carolyn said that they have always been obsessed with ice cream, but so are many others. With Smize &amp; Dream, they are now instrumental in other people&#x27;s memories of bonding moments over ice cream. &quot;Smize&quot; is a slang term coined by Tyra, as she was hosting the reality TV series <em>America&#x27;s Next Top Model</em>, and it means to smile with your eyes. <em></em></p><p>&quot;Wherever I go in the world, I see ice cream, and it makes people happy. It makes people calm,&quot; Carolyn mused. &quot;It&#x27;s moments together having those ice cream treats, sitting in the car on Hollywood Boulevard, people-watching and dreaming, sharing everything. And now this.&quot;</p><p>Smize &amp; Dream was established by Tyra in 2020. The brand started by selling packaged ice cream in California, later expanding to do pop-up shops in Los Angeles, Dubai, Washington, D.C., and Sydney. They offer 12 artisanal flavors, starting with<strong> Tyra&#x27;s Favorite</strong> (Salted caramel butter and butter-roasted pecans in rich salted sweet cream) and <strong>Mama Carolyn&#x27;s Favorite</strong> (Moist buttery cake ice cream with cake chunks and chocolate buttercream frosting - Tyra&#x27;s mom&#x27;s secret recipe). Their menu also includes The Best Vanilla I Ever Had, York’s Favorite, Cookie Dough-Dough-Dough, Purple Cookies &amp; Cream, Super Dope Caramel, Matcha Mochi Dough-Chi, Strawberry BirthYAY! Cake, Coffee in Bed, and Chocolate Cookies &amp; Dream. The &quot;A Darling Harbour Dream&quot; flavor, according to the brand, captures the magic of their Sydney flagship store in a scoop: &quot;Lemon-kissed cream with chunks of housemade shortbread biscuits and swirls of blueberry jam.</p><div><br/></div><div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-20" src="https://www.instagram.com/reel/DJiYMLPBa5c/embed/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=810&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A20%2C%22os%22%3A44368922.900000006%2C%22ls%22%3A25532.59999999404%2C%22le%22%3A25652.90000000596%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="881" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-20" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><div><br/></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><div><br/></div><p>Tyra told Carolyn, &quot;It&#x27;s crazy, Mama, because even when I look at everything, I&#x27;m like, &#x27;I can&#x27;t believe this is real. Yeah, it&#x27;s my dream and a vision. But it&#x27;s more than what I dreamed.&quot;</p><p>Carolyn agreed that it was truly surreal to have this huge ice cream store, saying, &quot;This is far beyond what I ever thought. I thought I was coming to a little ice cream shop.&quot;</p><p>In one corner of the store, there&#x27;s a frame with a photograph of Tyra and Carolyn and a message from a daughter to her mom. &quot;Mama, I&#x27;ll never be able to repay you for all the sacrifices you made for me and Devin. So what about if I dedicate my biggest dream to you?,&quot; Tyra wrote. </p><p>They hugged, and in tears, Carolyn thanked Tyra. &quot;I&#x27;m so happy. I&#x27;m so happy for you,&quot; she told her daughter. </p><p>&quot;For us, Mama,&quot; Tyra remarked.</p><div><br/></div><p>Lead photos from <strong>@smizeanddream</strong></p><div> </div>

<p>"Mama, you know, this is dedicated to you," Tyra Banks told her mom, Carolyn, as she surprised her with their ice cream company's first flagship store in Sydney, Australia.</p>

"Mama, you know, this is dedicated to you," Tyra Banks told her mom, Carolyn, as she surprised her with their ice cream company's first flagship store in Sydney, Australia.

Watch the Heartwarming Moment Tyra Banks Surprised Her Mom With a Huge Ice Cream Store

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Watch the Heartwarming Moment Tyra Banks Surprised Her Mom With a Huge Ice Cream Store

Grace Libero

Published Jun 26, 2025 05:15 AM PHT

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Updated Jun 26, 2025 05:18 AM PHT

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