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Adriana Lima
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Image of Adriana Lima
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Height

178 cm / 5 ft 10 in
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Hair Color

Brown
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Eye Color

Blue
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Bust

86 cm / 34 in, Cup Size: B
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Waist

61 cm / 24 in
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Hips

89 cm / 35 in
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Dress Size

EU 36 / US 4 / UK 8
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Shoe Size

Ladies EU 39 / US 8.5 / UK 6 / JP 24.5
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Type(s)

  • Fashion/Runway Model
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Active?

Yes
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Alias Name(s)

  • Adriana Francesca Lima
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Ethnicity

Mixed
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Nationality

flag Brazil
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Residence

flag United States
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Birth Place

Salvador, Bahia, Brazil
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Date of Birth

12 June 1981 ( Age: 28 )

Agencies

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Biography

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Adriana Francesca Lima (born June 12 1981 in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil) is a Brazilian supermodel. Lima is best known for her modeling work as a Victoria's Secret Angel Since 2000 and a spokes model for Maybelline cosmetics.

Adriana is the daughter of Nelson Torres and Maria da Graca Lima, a social worker. Her mother gave to birth to her at the age of 18. When she was six months old, her father walked out on her and her mother. Mainly her mother and grandmother raised Adriana. She has since had an estranged relationship with her father, although recently she has been making attempts to reconcile with him. She has 2 half brothers from her father’s second marriage. The exotic beauty is of African, Native South American and Swiss descent.

Adriana was discovered while shopping at a local mall at the age of 13. She never thought about being a model, although she had won many beauty pageants in elementary school. However, she had a friend at school who wanted to enter a modeling contest and didn't want to enter alone, so Lima entered with her. Both sent in pictures, and the contest sponsor soon asked Lima to come out for the competition. At the age of 15, she entered and finished in first place in Brazil's 1995 Ford Supermodel of the World Search. She subsequently entered the 1996 Ford Supermodel of the World contest and finished second place. Shortly after, Adriana moved to New York City, and eventually moved on from Ford, signing with Elite Model Management. After acquiring representation, Lima's modeling portfolio quickly began to expand, and she appeared in numerous international editions of Vogue and Marie Claire. As a runway model, she has walked the catwalks for designers such as Vera Wang, Christian Lacroix, Emanuel Ungaro, Giorgio Armani, Fendi, Ralph Lauren and Valentino, among others. Lima's first big break came when she was featured in a Vassarette billboard in Times Square. Lima became a GUESS? girl in 2000, appearing in that year's fall ad campaign. She also appeared in the book A Second Decade of Guess? Images.

In 2001, Lima starred in BMW short film, The Follow alongside actors Mickey Rourke, Clive Owen, and Forest Whitaker. Hong Kong film director and internationally renowned auteur Wong Kar-Wai directed the film. She has said that she plans on acting after all of her modeling contracts are up, several years from now. She has also appeared on Ugly Betty in 2008 as herself.

Lima continued to build upon her portfolio, doing more print work for Maybelline, with whom she signed as a spokes model in 2003 and continues to work with, later appearing in the company's first calendar, along with Kemp Muhl, Jessica White, Julia Stegner, and Anna Wang. The calendar is a limited edition release for the 2009 year. Lima has also worked for notable fashion brands bebe, Mossimo, Armani, Bulgari, De Beers, FCUK, Intimissimi, Keds, Swatch, Versace, and BCBG. She also appeared on the covers and in the editorials of other fashion magazines such as Harper's Bazaar, ELLE, GQ, Arena, Cosmopolitan, Esquire, and many more. Her April 2006 GQ cover was the highest selling issue of that magazine for that year. She also appeared in the 2005 Pirelli Calendar and became the face of Italy's cell phone carrier, Telecom Italia Mobile, a move that earned her the nickname, "The Catherine Zeta-Jones of Italy." She gained a massive amount of fame with the mega contract and in total earned her 6 million dollars. She said she is not able to walk down the street in Italy.

Adriana and her fellow angels appeared only in shoes, diamonds and gloves for the November 2007 issue of Vanity Fair celebrating 20 years of supermodels. In February 2008, she was featured on the cover of Esquire, re-creating the classic 1966 Angie Dickinson cover on Esquire's 75th anniversary along with her fellow Victoria's Secret Angels. She has also been in People magazine's 100 most beautiful people in the world list. She also received a star on the Hollywood Walf of Fame with her fell Victoria’s Secret Angels prior to the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show in 2007. In February 2008, she was chosen to be the face of Mexico's Liverpool department store chain and launched the partnership with a press conference, runway show, and summer campaign. She graced the cover of GQ Magazine April 2008 issue and brought a record number of web hits for GQ online.

Adriana is probably best known for her work with Victoria's Secret. She first started working for the company in 1998 in the catalogs and her first fashion show for the company came in 1999. In 2000 she was contracted as a Victoria’s Secret Angel, and has appeared on subsequent shows ever since, opening the show in 2003, 2007, and 2008, in which she also closed the opening segment. Lima has appeared on several television ads for the brand, including the praised and criticized "Angel in Venice" commercial of 2003 with Bob Dylan and her solo Victoria's Secret's Super Bowl XLII ad, the single most-seen ad of the game, watched by 103.7 million viewers. 2008 continued for Lima with hosting the What Is Sexy? program for the E! Entertainment Network and a July tour for the BioFit Uplift Bra launch, with stoped in Long Island, Boston, and Miami Beach. She was also featured in November's Miracle Bra relaunch. Topping the year off, Lima wore the "Fantasy Bra" for the 2008 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. In early 2008 Lima renewed her contract with Victoria's Secret, along with Maybelline for 5 more years. In 2009, Lima launched Victoria's Secret new makeup line, "Christian Siriano for VS Makeup."


In addition to her native Portuguese, Lima speaks English, French, and a bit of Italian. In her free time, she loves reading novels by her favorite author, Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Although she has appeared in a few commercials with cars, she has admitted that she has yet to learn how to drive and receive her driver's license.Lima was shy around boys when she was younger, not receiving her first kiss until she was 17 years old. They were watching a movie during the kiss. Afterwards, he went directly to her mother to ask if he could marry her. In an interview with GQ in the April 2006 issue, Lima told the magazine that she is a devout Catholic who attends church every Sunday and is a virgin. "Sex is for after marriage." she explained. "They [men] have to respect that this is my choice. If there's no respect, that means they don't want me." US GQ dubbed her as "The World's Most Voluptuous Virgin." When she was younger, she studied to become a nun and often takes a Bible backstage to read. She works out regularly. She jumps rope, does cardio, and has a custom-tailored boxing routine. Although she admits to eating healthfully and in the past being on low carb diets, her weakness is meat. Her inspirations are Bettie Page and Marilyn Monroe. Sophia Loren often inspires her as well. An adorer of classical music, as well as black and white films, she cites Beethoven as her favorite composer and the piano sonata as her favorite sound.

In 2009 she married Serbian basketball player Marko Jarić; they wed in a private civil ceremony in Jackson Hole, Wyoming on Valentines Day. The couple plan on having a more public ceremony with friends and family in June of 2009. Lima plans on having four children some day.

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. She also stands for animal rights. She appeared on Var mısın? Yok musun? which is the Turkish version of Deal or No Deal where her prize money went to a hospital in Istanbul for Children fighting leukemia.

Trivia

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  • She does charitable work helping with an orphanage, "Caminhos da Luz" (Ways of Light), located in her hometown.
  • She 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.
  • Her religion is Roman Catholic. She is very religious and wears a scapular around her neck.
  • She has admitted that she was shy around boys when she was younger, not receiving her first kiss until she was 17 years old.
  • She dislikes travelling and never leaves the house without sunglasses.
  • She is trained in Capoeira and Mixed Martial Arts.
  • She was ranked #97 in Forbes.com's Highest Paid Celebrities list (2006).
  • She was ranked #99 in Forbes.com's 100 Most Powerful People list (2006).
  • She was ranked #57 in Maxim's Hot 100 (2003).
  • She was ranked #1 in AskMen.com's Top 99 Women (2005).
  • She was ranked #4 in AskMen.com's Top 99 Women (2006).
  • She has been romantically linked to celebrities in the past, including rocker Lenny Kravitz, New York Yankees superstar Derek Jeter, Prince Wenzeslaus of Liechtenstein, and Denny of Timbalada.
  • Her best friend is Oluchi Onweagba.

Quotes

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  • "Modeling is a tough job, your co-workers are your rivals, it really puts a damper on your perspective of other girls."
  • "Fashion is about good energy. It's about feelings. That's what I have to give the people, good energy and good feelings."
  • "I guess I would like to be a child doctor. A pediatry ... how do you call it, pediatrician? Do I like kids? No, not really. [laughs] No I'm joking! Of course I do! If anyone doesn't like children they should be smited down ... just like, ZAP! [more laughs]"
  • "It's insane! Some people ask me for my autograph and a picture, but mostly they will follow me around. They follow me into bathrooms! They lack subtlety as well. Rome is the worst, I've had a group of about 30 people and then a load of photographers surround me in a circle while I'm trying to [walk] with André."
  • "I wouldn't change anything about my life. I am afraid that if I did things might have turned out differently and I am currently living my dream. If that means I had to live a poor [life] and I have to deal with demons then I will do it. I got through everything and I am very proud of myself ... Life without a father was confusing at times, I didn't know if I was to blame and I didn't know anything about him ... I love my mother and I have a bond with her that most people don't share with their own mothers. It all worked out."
  • "Actually when I was little I was afraid of cameras and having my picture taken. So in all the pictures of me when I am 5 or so I'm crying because, you know, I was afraid of the flash."
  • "People ask me if he (Lenny Kravitz) was good in the bed. And I always say 'I don't know!' ... Quite honeslty I don't, and never have, cared."
  • "I have to shave! Okay? You don't have any monkeys on the runway of course. It's okay I'm joking! [laughs] I'm joking - monkeys [more laughs]"
  • "I think evil for a man not to have personality, not to have a heart. Because the style or the money does not matter to me. It's heart alone that I care about."
  • "Everyone always comes to me and asks, 'What are your plans?' And I always say, 'I don't have any plans because in life things happen when you do not expect them to happen.' What has to happen will happen. I'm here and I'm living each day. I don't know what's gonna happen tomorrow, but I want to live what I have today, in the present. And whatever comes tomorrow, I'm totally open to accept everything."
  • "Sex is for marriage, [men] have to respect that this is my choice. If there's no respect, that means they don't want me."

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