Adriana Lima
Adriana Francesca Lima (born June 12, 1981) is a Brazilian supermodel. She was dubbed as "The World's Most Voluptuous Virgin" by US GQ magazine.[3] She is best known for her modeling work with Victoria's Secret and Maybelline. According to Forbes, Lima is currently the fourth highest paid top model.[4]
Early life and family
Lima was born in the northeastern coastal town of Salvador, Bahia, Brazil in June 12, 1981[5] and is an only child to parents Nelson Torres and Maria da Graça Lima, a social worker.[6] She has stated that she is of African, Indian and Swiss descent.[7]
When she was 6 months old, her father walked out on her and her mother.[6] She has since been distanced from him. However, recently, she has been making attempts to reconcile with her estranged father.[8]
Modeling career
Adriana Lima was discovered while shopping at a local mall at the age of 13. When Lima was 15 years old, she entered and finished in first place in Brazil's Ford Supermodel of the World Search. She subsequently entered the 1996 Ford Supermodel of the World contest and finished second place.[9] Three years later, she moved to New York City, and signed with Elite Model Management. Lima’s modeling portfolio began to expand exponentially, appearing in numerous international editions of Vogue and Marie Claire. As for fashion shows, she has walked the catwalks for big-name designers such as Vera Wang, Christian Lacroix, Emanuel Ungaro, Giorgio Armani, Fendi, Ralph Lauren, Valentino, among others. Lima then became a GUESS? girl appearing on GUESS?' Fall 2000 ad campaign. She also appeared in the book 'A second decade of Guess? Images'.[10]
In 2001, Lima starred in BMW short film, The Follow alongside actors Mickey Rourke, Clive Owen, and Forest Whitaker. The film was directed by Hong Kong film director and internationally renowned auteur Wong Kar-Wai.[11]
Lima continued to build upon her entry, doing more print work for Maybelline, bebe, Mossimo, BCBG and gracing the cover and editorials of more high fashion magazines such as Harper's Bazaar, ELLE, Vogue, GQ, to name a few. Her April 2006 GQ cover was the highest-selling issue of the year. [12]Her other notable works include the well-famed Pirelli Calendar 2005[10] and the face of Italy’s big cell phone carrier Telecom Italia Mobile where she became known as the "Catherine Zeta-Jones of Italy."[13]
Lima is probably best known for her work with Victoria's Secret. She first graced the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show in 1999 and has appeared on subsequent shows ever since. Her most notable walk down the runway was in 2003, where she was the show opener. She is currently a contract 'Angel' and spokesperson for the brand.[10]
She is also a spokesperson for cosmetic giant Maybelline New York.[2]
According to Forbes, Lima is the fourth world's richest top model with an estimated earnings of $6,000,000 between July 2006 and July 2007.[12] She has appeared on Forbes' Top 100 Celebrities list in 2005 and 2006.[13] [4][14]
Personal life
Lima is fluent in three languages—Portuguese, Spanish and English. In her free time, she loves reading a novel by her favorite author, Gabriel Garcia Marquez.[2] Lima has admitted that she was shy around boys when she was younger. She got her first kiss at 17 years old.[15] In an interview with GQ April 2006 issue, Lima told the magazine that she is a virgin. “Sex is for after marriage," she says. "[Men] have to respect that this is my choice. If there's no respect, that means they don't want me."[16]
Despite reports, Lima denied ever being engaged to rocker Lenny Kravitz[17] and said that she and Kravitz are just friends.[18] She has also been romantically linked to other celebrities in the past, including Major League Baseball player Derek Jeter[3] and Prince Wenzeslaus of Liechtenstein.[14]
Lima in the media
Since her rise to fame, Lima is often cited by popular media as one of the world's sexiest women. She ranked 7th on FHM 100 Sexiest Women 2007[19] and was chosen as one of People Magazine's annual 100 Most Beautiful People in the World, in May 2007.[20] On June 13, 2007, she was awarded as "Hottest Girl on the Planet" at the first Spike TV Guys' Choice Awards but the category was not mentioned in the actual show.[21] Lima was also voted on the Maxim Hot 100 2007 as number 53. She was voted as the Most Desirable Woman in 2005 by visitors of the largest men's lifestyle website, Askmen.com (she placed 4th in 2006 and also 4th in 2007).
Charity
Lima does charitable work helping with an orphanage, "Caminhos da Luz" (Ways of Light), located in her hometown. She helps with construction to expand the orphanage, and buys clothes for poor children in Salvador, Bahia.[9]
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