Teenage girls of the world, take heart: Next time your parents won’t let you go to the mall, remind them that it isn’t all about wasting your allowance at Wet Seal and Orange Julius. It was in a mall, after all, that 13-year-old Adriana Lima was discovered, and now the Brazilian beauty is a bona fide supermodel, using her exotic good looks and copious amounts of skin to sell hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of underwear for Victoria’s Secret.
(On second thought, you should probably leave out that bit about the underwear. But supermodels don’t grow on trees, and the world needs a constant supply of them, so keep hitting those malls, girls.)
Nicknamed LimaBean (as well as The World’s Most Voluptuous Virgin), Adriana Lima was born in San Salvador on the northeast coast of Brazil in 1981. By 1999, she was in New York working the catwalks with Elite Model Management. In addition to gracing the covers of Vogue and GQ, Adriana was a GUESS? girl in 2000, the Italian TV face for Telecom Italia Mobile, a spokesperson for Maybelline and, of course, a Victoria’s Secret Model. By 2007, she was the fourth highest paid supermodel in the world.
Adriana stands at 5’10” and ranked by Maxim in 2007 as number 53 on their Hot 100 list. She appeared as an actress in “The Follow” episode of the BMW series “The Hire” in 2001, directed by Wong Kar Wai and starring Clive Owen as The Driver. Adriana – who has been linked with Lenny Kravitz, Derek Jeter, and Marko Jaric of the Minnesota Timberwolves – spends her time away from modeling working with the poor children of her homeland, and participated in building an orphanage for them.
Adriana Lima on Video
Catwalk Video
This Brazilian bombshell always looks amazing. Can you get enough of Adriana on the catwalk?
Adriana on the Screen
In addition to the numerous advertisements for “Victoria’s Secret” and other companies, Adrianna appeared in a 2001 episode of the BMW series “The Hire” entitled “The Follow.” Adriana also graced the cover of GQ’s April 2008 cover, as she did for the magazine two years before (that issue went on to be the highest seller of 2006 for the mag).
Adriana Says
On her gift to the world:
“Fashion is about good energy. It’s about feelings. That’s what I have to give the people, good energy and good feelings.”
On modeling:
“Modeling is a tough job, your co-workers are your rivals, it really puts a damper on your perspective of other girls.”
On her future plans:
“I think I want to be an actress. But first I need to try to get a better accent!”
On weight watching:
“I try to control what I eat, but the truth is I can’t. I tried to give up meat last week, but I only lasted three days.”
On not knowing English:
“I was so embarrassed about mispronouncing words. I just knew how to smile.”
On Russell Crowe:
“I love Russell Crowe. I can’t wait to go to Australia…him and his accent; that is so sexy.”