Biography of Adriana Lima

Adriana Francesca Lima (born June 12, 1981) is a Brazilian model best known as a Victoria's Secret Angel since 2000 and a spokesmodel for Maybelline cosmetics from 2003 to 2009. At age 15, Lima finished first place in Ford's "Supermodel of Brazil" competition and took second place the following year in the Ford "Supermodel of the World" competition before signing with Elite Model Management in New York City.

Lima never thought about being a model, although she had won many beauty pageants in elementary school.

Lima continued to build upon her portfolio, doing more print work for Maybelline, for whom she worked as a spokesmodel from 2003

In 2006, São Paulo Fashion Week released a calendar featuring twenty-five Brazilian models, including Lima. The calendar was accompanied by a movie containing interviews with the models, which was broadcasted at GNT in Brazil and then hit the shelves as a DVD.

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 fellow Victoria's Secret Angels Alessandra Ambrosio, Karolina Kurkova, Izabel Goulart and Selita Ebanks. She appeared only in shoes, diamonds and gloves for the November 2007 issue of Vanity Fair celebrating 20 years of supermodels with her fellow Angels. That same year, after visiting Turkey, Lima signed a contract with Doritos to appear in print campaigns and commercials which began airing in Turkey in April.

In 2006, Lima ranked as the fifth highest paid supermodel. In 2007 and 2008, she ranked as the world's fourth highest paid supermodel by Forbes Magazine.

Lima is probably best known for her work with Victoria's Secret. Her first fashion show for the company came in 1999, and since being contracted as an Angel in 2000, she 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 Topping the year off, Lima wore the "Fantasy Bra" for the 2008 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. In 2009, Lima launched the company's new makeup line, "Christian Siriano for VS Makeup."

Lima's first acting role was the wife, alongside Mickey Rourke and Forest Whitaker, in The Follow (2001), a short film in BMW's series The Hire, starring Clive Owen. She also appeared with her fellow Angels in a guest spot playing herself in the series How I Met Your Mother in November 2007.

In 2008, Lima appeared on the American television series Ugly Betty, where she played herself and made friends with the series' title character, played by America Ferrera. According to her publicist, Liza Anderson, "Adriana has always been a huge fan of Ugly Betty and is thrilled for the opportunity to make a guest star appearance."

Since her rise to fame, Lima is often cited by popular media as one of the world's sexiest women. Lima was listed in the 2005 Forbes' edition of The World's Best-Paid Celebrities Under 25

In addition to her native Portuguese, Lima speaks English, French, and a bit of Italian. Lima was shy around boys when she was younger, not receiving her first kiss until she was 17 years old. Afterwards, he went directly to her mother to ask if he could marry her.

She has been romantically linked to musician/singer Lenny Kravitz,

In May 2009, it was reported that Lima had applied for Serbian citizenship,

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