Adriana Lima

Adriana Lima, born on June 12, 1981, in Brazil, is a renowned Brazilian model. She gained international fame as a Victoria's Secret Angel from 1999 to 2018, holding the title of the longest running model and being named the most valuable Victoria's Secret Angel in 2017. Lima has also been a spokesmodel for Maybelline cosmetics since 2003 and has appeared in Super Bowl and Kia Motors commercials.


Her modeling journey began at the age of 15 when Lima won Ford's Supermodel of Brazil competition. The following year, she secured the second position in the Ford Supermodel of the World competition before signing with Elite Model Management in New York City.


Adriana Lima is recognized as one of the New Supers by models.com, and since 2014, she has consistently ranked as the world's second-highest-paid model. She has been featured on Forbes' top-earning models list, securing the 4th place in 2012, 3rd place in 2013, and 2nd place in 2014 and 2015, with earnings ranging from 7.3 million to 9 million.


Throughout her career, Lima has served as a brand ambassador for various prominent brands, including Desigual, Calzedonia, Sportmax, IWC, Puma, Maybelline, and Chopard. Her success and influence in the modeling industry have solidified her status as one of the most recognizable and well-compensated models globally.


Adriana Lima was born on June 12, 1981, in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. While some sources mentioned Francesca as her middle name, Lima clarified in a 2010 interview with W Radio Colombia that her name is solely Adriana Lima, refuting the inclusion of Francesca. Her parents are Nelson Torres, a carpenter, and Maria das Graças Lima, a social worker. Her father left the family when she was six months old, and Lima was raised by her mother in the Castelo Branco neighborhood of Salvador. Before entering the modeling industry, Lima expressed aspirations of becoming a pediatrician.


Adriana Lima's diverse ancestry includes Portuguese, Native Brazilian, African, Japanese, Swiss, and West Indian roots. While she encompasses a rich blend of ethnic backgrounds, Lima personally identifies as Afro-Brazilian.Lima is multilingual, fluent in her native Portuguese, as well as English, Italian, and Spanish, showcasing her linguistic versatility.


Adriana Lima's journey into modeling began unexpectedly. Although she never considered becoming a model, a friend convinced her to enter a modeling contest with her at age 15. Lima ended up winning first place in Ford's "Supermodel of Brazil" model search. Encouraged by her success, she participated in the 1996 Ford Models Supermodel of the World contest, finishing in second place. A year later, Lima moved to New York City and signed with Elite Model Management.


Her runway debut took place at Anna Sui's New York Fashion Week show in September 1997. Lima's modeling career expanded rapidly as she walked the catwalk for numerous renowned designers, including Prada, Versace, Givenchy, Victoria's Secret, Louis Vuitton, and many others. She graced the covers of various magazines, with her first cover being Marie Claire Brazil in September 1998. Notably, she appeared on Vogue covers, including the Italian Vogue Gioiello in September 2000, and Vogue Brasil the following month.


Adriana Lima's presence extended beyond the runway, as she became a GUESS girl in 2000, marking the beginning of her association with major brands. Maybelline enlisted her as a spokesmodel from 2003 to 2009. She continued to work with a multitude of renowned fashion brands and magazines, solidifying her status as a top model. Her April 2006 GQ cover became one of the highest-selling issues of the year and attained recognition as one of the all-time best-selling issues for the magazine. She was dubbed The World's Most Voluptuous Virgin by GQ.


Adriana Lima continued to solidify her status as one of the top models, earning recognition for her accomplishments and ventures:

• In 2006, Lima ranked as the fifth-highest-paid supermodel, and between 2007 and 2008, she consistently ranked as the world's fourth-highest-paid supermodel according to Forbes Magazine.

• She fronted the cover of GQ in 2008, attracting a record number of visits to the publication's website. Lima also became the face of Italy's cell phone carrier, Telecom Italia Mobile, earning her the nickname the Catherine Zeta-Jones of Italy.

• Lima graced the cover of Esquire in February 2008, recreating the classic 1966 Angie Dickinson cover for the magazine's 75th anniversary. She appeared in shoes, diamonds, and gloves for the November 2007 issue of Vanity Fair, celebrating 20 years of supermodels with her fellow Victoria's Secret Angels.

• In 2008, Lima was chosen as the face of Mexico's Liverpool department store chain, launching the partnership with a press conference, runway show, and a summer campaign.

• She returned to the high fashion runway in 2009, walking for Givenchy. Lima signed a contract with Doritos in the same year to appear in print campaigns and television commercials in Turkey.

• In 2011, Lima became a spokeswoman for Megacity by Votsu, a Brazilian social gaming company.

• Lima worked with renowned photographers in the fashion industry, including Annie Leibovitz, Juergen Teller, Bruce Weber, Paolo Roversi, Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matidin, and many others.

• She became the face of Donna Karan's spring 2012 advertising campaign, which faced controversy due to a photo accused of having racist undertones.

• In 2012, Turkish clothing company Mavi Jeans hired Lima as the face and spokesmodel, significantly increasing sales and making her the global face of the brand.

• Lima was photographed by artist Richard Phillips for Visionaire no. 62, released in mid-2012. She was featured in the Pirelli calendar for the second time in 2013, setting a record as the first pregnant woman to be featured in the calendar.

In February 2012, Adriana Lima achieved a remarkable feat by becoming the sole celebrity to feature in two Super Bowl commercials during a single game. Her captivating appearances in commercials for Teleflora, an online flower service, and Kia Motors during Super Bowl XLVI garnered immense attention, collectively reaching an audience of over 200 million viewers. Lima's endorsement played a significant role in the success of both advertisements.


The Super Bowl commercial for Kia Motors, which promoted the new Kia Optima, proved to be particularly impactful. Not only did it contribute to a surge in sales, reaching their highest point since the model's debut, but it also recorded a remarkable 31% increase in sales from January 2012 and an impressive 138.6% surge from February 2012. The commercial, recognized as the third-best among 55 commercials by USA TODAY and Facebook's Super Bowl Ad Meter, undoubtedly played a crucial role in this achievement.

References

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5. a b W Radio Colombia Interview - Part 1 on YouTube
6. ^ "Adriana Lima - Victoria's Secret". Victoria's Secret. Archived from the original on 17 January 2019. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
7. a b Talarico, Brittany (5 December 2016). "7 Reasons Adriana Lima Is the Guardian Angel of the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show". People. Archived from the original on 5 December 2016. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
8. ^ "The New Supers List". Models.com. Archived from the original on 27 July 2014. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
9. ^ Solomon, Brian (14 June 2012). "The World's Highest Paid Models". Forbes. Archived from the original on 19 June 2012. Retrieved 20 June 2012.
10. ^ Robehmed, Natalie (30 August 2016). "The World's Highest Paid Models 2016". Forbes. Archived from the original on 10 October 2016. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
11. ^ Berg, Jenny (13 June 2017). "Adriana Lima's Birthday Serenade Will Give You Goosebumps". InStyle. Archived from the original on 21 April 2021. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
12. ^ Tecidio, Luciana (25 May 2007). "Adriana Lima descobre que o pai foi seu irmão em vida passada". EGO.Globo.com (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 2 April 2022. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
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