Adriana Francesca Lima (born June 12, 1981 ) is a Brazilian model known for her work with Victoria's Secret and Maybelline cosmetics. Lima was discovered at age 13, and entered and finished first in Brazil's Ford Supermodel of the World competition at 15, finishing second the following year before signing with Elite Model Management in New York City.

Early life and family

Lima is of African, Native South American and Swiss descent. She was born in the northeastern coastal town of Salvador, Bahia, Brazil on June 12, 1981. Her father, from whom she was estranged for most of her life, is Nelson Torres, and her mother, Maria da Graça Lima, was a social worker who gave birth to Lima at the age of 18.Fact: date=September 2008 Lima revealed that her father walked out on her family when she was six months old,Fact: date=September 2008 but has been making recent attempts to reconcile.Fact: date=September 2008 In late 2007, Lima revealed on the Hollywood Walk of Fame that although she is her mother's only child, she has two half brothers, aged 7 and 11, from her father's second marriage. Coming from a poor family, her first time leaving her country and first time on a plane was when she was 15.From limited means accessed 2007-06-23 She was raised mainly by her mother and grandmother.Fact: date=September 2008

Modeling career

Lima never thought about being a model. 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.Adriana discovered Soon after, at the age of 15, 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 in second place.Adriana Lima biography, Maybelline, accessed August 28, 2005 Three years later, Lima moved to New York City and signed with Elite Model Management. After acquiring representation, Lima's modeling portfolio began to expand by leaps and bounds, and she appeared 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 and 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.Adriana Lima Profile in the FMDdatabase. Accessed 2007-06-23.