Rise to Fame
A friend talked her into entering Ford's Supermodel of Brazil competition at 15, because she was too scared to go alone. She placed second in the global contest and landed on the VS runway by 1999. Victoria's Secret made her an Angel in 2000 and kept her for 18 years, the longest run in brand history. She wore the Fantasy Bra three times, a record only Heidi Klum has matched. The brand got its money's worth.
In the Spotlight
She retired from Victoria's Secret in 2018 with a personal tribute segment on the runway, but the exit didn't last. She walked Schiaparelli in September 2024, then returned to the VS runway that October, six years after her farewell. Her 2025 VS appearance was her 20th. The Daily Front Row named her Fashion Comeback of the Year in April 2025. For someone who spent nearly two decades as the brand's most valuable Angel, the return was less a comeback and more a correction.
Side Notes
She grew up in Salvador, Bahia, raised by her mother after her father left when she was a baby. Before anyone saw her in a runway show, she wanted to be a pediatrician. Her ancestry spans Portugal, Africa, Japan, and Switzerland, and she identifies as Afro-Brazilian. She still supports an orphanage in Salvador called Caminhos da Luz, buying clothes for the children there.