Victoria's Secret "Angel" Adriana Lima

Adriana Francesca Lima was born on June 12, 1981, in Salvador da Bahia, Brazil. The blue/gray-eyed Brazilian beauty can attribute her exotic good looks to her French, Portuguese, Native-American, and Caribbean heritage.

Her climb from obscurity to glam girl occurred after placing second in the Ford Supermodel of the World Contest at the age of 13. Three years later, she headed to one of the fashion centers of the world, New York, and signed with Elite Model Management. Once there, her modeling portfolio began to expand exponentially, after appearing in Vogue (Italy) in 1997, as well as Vogue (UK), I-D (UK), Marie Claire (Brazil), and Vogue (Italy) in 1998. Adriana also appeared in Vogue (U.S., Germany, UK) and Marie Claire (Italy) in 1999.

One of Adriana's most notable catwalk appearances was in the Victoria's Secret summer 2000 swimwear catalog, where the Brazilian beauty shared the spotlight with a bevy of supermodels such as Heidi Klum and Laetitia Casta.

Those who have not had the pleasure of seeing Adriana in a fashion spread may have caught her in advertisements for Anna Sui Jeans, bebe, Gasoline, Mossimo, BCBG, Keds, Guess?, and XOXO.

But it's her job as a Victoria's Secret "Angel" that has fueled her fame the most, especially after appearing in network television's Victoria's Secret fashion show in 2001 and 2003. In 2001, she also appeared in the short film, The Hire: Follow, with Mickey Rourke.

In 2004, Adriana Lima received a lot of press when she appeared in a Victoria's Secret ad co-starring musician Bob Dylan, in which she's walking around Venice in nothing but lingerie, heels and a pair of wings -- it's for Victoria's Secret's "Angels" collection.

Before her modeling days, Adriana always hoped to help children and thanks to her newfound popularity, she is able to work with orphans in Brazil.