Who is Adriana Lima? Victoria’s Secret model and devout Catholic – here’s what we know
Adriana started modelling at age 15 and is the longest running Victoria's Secret Angel
ADRIANA Lima is Victoria's Sectret's longest running model and is also a spokesmodel Maybelline cosmetics.
The Brazilian , she came in fourth on the Forbes top-earning models list, estimated to have earned $7.3 million in one year.#
In 2013, she came in third place and in 2014 she came in second place with earnings of $8 million. In 2015, she came in second place with earnings of $9 million.
Here is everything we know about Adriana...
Who is Adriana Lima
Adriana started modelling at age 15 and is the current brand ambassador for Barcelona-based clothing brand Desigual.
She never thought about being a model, even though she had won many beauty pageants in elementary school.
But she had a friend at school who wanted to enter a modeling contest and did not 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.
Soon after she entered the Ford's "Supermodel of Brazil" model search and won.
Three years later she moved to New York and signed with Elite Model Management and appeared in several international editions of Vogue and Marie Claire.
As a runway model, she has paraded for big name designers such as Fendi, Christian Dior, Prada, Alexander McQueen, John Galliano and Louis Vuitton.
She also became a Guess girl in 2000, appearing in the brands Autumn ad campaign.
She has continued to grace the cover of well-known magazines like GQ throughout her career.
But she is best known for her work with Victoria's Secret.
Her first fashion show for the company was in 1999 and a year later she was contracted as an Angel.
she has worn the fantasy bra in 2008 and 2010.
She opened the show for the fifth time in 2012 - just two months after giving birth to her second child.
Which charities does Adriana support?
Adriana does work with an orphanage in Salvador, where she helps with the construction to expand the orphanage and buys clothes for the children.
She has also appeared on the Turkish version of Deal or No Deal and donated all of her prize money to a hospital in Istanbul for children fighting leukemia.
Lima is also a a devout Roman Catholic and attends mass every Sunday.
Career controversies
While Adriana has been a successful model for many years, her career has not been without controversy.
In 2011 she sparked outrage when she told The Daily Telegraph that she stops drinking liquids nine days before a show - consuming only protein shakes - because it can help you lose up to eight pounds.
She also revealed she works out twice a day in the three weeks leading up to a show, but defended herself saying she doesn't stick to such a strict regime all year round.
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