Adriana Lima

Birthname: Adriana Francesca Lima
Birthplace: Salvador, Bahia, Brazil
Height: 5' 1
Nationality: Brazilian
Profession: actress, model

Adriana Lima, commonly known as "the best face in the industry" and "the most in demand runway model in the world", rose to stardom out of less than glamorous conditions. Lima was discovered while shopping at a local mall at the age of 13. At the age of 15, she finished in first place in a Ford Supermodel of Brazil model search. Lima later followed with a second place finish in the 1996 Ford Supermodel of the World contest.

Adriana Lima, biography by Maybelline, accessed August 28th, 2005 Shortly after, Lima moved to New York City, and eventually moved on from Ford, signing with Elite Model Management. Her early career consisted mostly of fashion editorial work (with early appearances in international editions of Vogue and Marie Claire in 1997/1998), as well as runway work (Christian Lacroix, Valentino, and others).

Lima's first big break came when she was featured in a Vassarette billboard in Times Square. Her print career followed, and like many other famous names (Claudia Schiffer, Laetitia Casta, Eva Herzigova), Lima became a GUESS? Girl in their 2000 Costanoa and has face campaign.
Lima continued to build upon her entry, doing more print work (Maybelline, bebe, Mossimo, BCBG) and gracing the cover and editorials of more high fashion magazines (Harper's Bazaar, ELLE). Probably best known for her Victoria's Secret work and Angel status (along with Heidi Klum and Gisele Bündchen), Lima first graced the VS runway in 2000, and was the show opener for the 2003 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show.

In 2001 Adriana Lima starred in BMW Films short, The Follow alongside actors Mickey Rourke, Clive Owen, and Forest Whitaker. In the film, Owen's character is hired to follow Lima's, who is suspected of cheating on her famous husband, played by Rourke. The film had a runtime of 8:47 including credits, was written by Andrew Kevin Walker, and directed by Wong Kar-Wai. Even though her performance received rave reveiws and she was offered other big parts for movies such as Kill Bill, Terminator III, and The Matrix Revolutions Lima made it clear that acting is not her priority and that she only did The Follow because it was a short film.

Adriana Lima is currently one of the most respected and in demand models in the business and is the third highest paid model in the world (behind Gisele Bundchen and Kate Moss). She is currently represented by New York's DNA Models, Brazil's Elite Models and the European Ford Models.