while adriana lima rose to massive fame
as a victoria's secret angel
she's more than just a pretty face the
model is a devoted mother to her two
daughters valentina and
sienna and she's showing her girls how
to become more than just their looks
here's why adriana lima is seriously
turning heads
adriana lima was born in northern brazil
but it appears that she wasn't always so
in destroying down runways
she shared with victoria's secret i was
a very shy kid
i always wanted to do everything that
the boys were doing playing football
climbing on trees playing with cars she
initially also had her sights set on
becoming a pediatrician
describing herself as quite the bookworm
in her younger years she told the outlet
i was literally all day into the books
studying studying studying non-stop
i thought i was going to be a
pediatrician and that's what i wanted i
wanted to be a doctor
but it turns out that wasn't the only
thing she felt called to
having attended catholic school she told
harry connick jr there was a time she
also wanted to be
a nun i was very shy you know i'm like i
don't see myself healthy
having a boyfriend and not even talking
to
boys i was that shy modeling came into
lima's life when she was
least expecting it according to the sun
when she was 15 years old she submitted
a photo for a modeling contest
solely to support her friend who didn't
want to enter alone
after a little encouragement from her
loved ones she entered the ford's
supermodel of brazil competition where
she placed
first lima then went on to place second
in ford's supermodel of the world
contest
according to vogue arabia i love what i
do and i'm
out there in the world of representing
myself she was then signed to elite
model management and made the big move
to new york city
from then on lima basically had the
industry wrapped around her finger
modeling came to me by surprise
and everything happened so fast unlike
many aspiring models lima's career took
off fast
her first cover was for the september
issue of marie claire in 1998
and two years later she covered vogue
italia's september issue for their 20th
anniversary
then the following month she landed the
cover of vogue brazil one of lima's
first notable fashion collaborations was
in 2000 when she was named an official
face of guests
but while her career was booming she was
still feeling the insecurities of her
youth
she told birdie in 2019 i can't say that
when i was younger i was totally
confident
the industry is hard and when you're an
unknown model you could either get great
jobs or be rejected
rejection is never easy but you have to
have grit in order to keep going and
hold your head high
it's show time victoria's secret came
knocking on lima's door in 1999.
years later she remembered with the
outlet it was a cotton commercial
it was so cold we were outside shooting
in this long island mansion
the brazilian beauty must have made a
good impression she
immediately landed a spot in the highly
coveted 1999 victoria's secret fashion
show
an executive for parent company l brands
ed razik
labeled lima a model to watch telling e
news
she said that for her it was her first
day as a woman she's just gotten to be a
very hot model in a very short amount of
time
this is where everything started for me
here in new york
lima herself was thrilled to be able to
work with the company telling the outlet
that it was a dream come true
the following year she was officially
named an angel
while lima's professional life continued
to boom so did her personal life and she
struck up a romance with
rocker lenny kravitz in 2001. the couple
kept much of their business
under wraps and out of the spotlight but
the model did make a brief appearance
that yerin kravitz's music video for
yesterday is gone
my dear k the pair then got engaged in
2002
but their love wasn't meant to last i'm
gonna tell you
this anybody below six seven you know
how i call them
friends kravitz later revealed he was
suffering from depression during the
time that their relationship broke down
in 2004 rolling stone reported lenny
would lock himself in his hotel room all
day and dwell on his flaws
the artist's daughter actress zoe
kravitz who's only seven years younger
than the model recalled the time her dad
dated lima
telling elle in 2018 i was short and
brown surrounded by tall girls with
boobs and blonde hair
and my dad was dating supermodels so i
was waking up to adriana lima
in 2006 fans were shocked to learn that
lima had remained abstinent throughout
her engagement to lenny kravitz
in an interview with gq lima who remains
a devout catholic confessed that she was
saving herself
for marriage revealing that she has had
the same patch with other men she added
intimacy is just for after marriage they
have to respect that this is my choice
if there's no respect that means they
don't want me
i'm sorry you can see me changing
i see you later in 2013 the model was
pressed on the topic of her values by
huffpost
all while being called the world's most
voluptuous virgin by gq
after making it clear that she was
feeling awkward about the line of
questioning she said
you have to stick up for your beliefs
it's about what makes you
comfortable following two public
breakups from lenny kravitz and prince
vensus laws of liechtenstein according
to page six
lima found love with nba star marco
yarick the minnesota timberwolf proposed
to the victoria's secret angel on her
27th birthday
after about nine months of dating his
publicist dished to people
he asked and she said yes they are both
incredibly happy and
couldn't be more in love the couple met
through a mutual friend in los angeles
and went on to marry on valentine's day
in 2009.
four years later lima revealed she was
most attracted to yarick's brains and
humor
telling huffpost he's smart and he makes
me laugh he's very funny and he's very
athletic
the pair welcomed their first daughter
valentina in 2009 and later daughter
sienna in 2012.
in 2011 lima was hit with an enormous
amount of backlash
after the telegraph reported that she
ate no solid foods
starting nine days before the victoria's
secret fashion show the outlet noted
that she drank only protein shakes and
two days prior she would limit her water
intake
12 hours before showtime she would skip
the water altogether
lima said no liquids at all so you dry
out
sometimes you can lose up to eight
pounds just from that
now ask me how many cups of coffee i
ever did
five to ten promise you
five to ten lima later clarified that
she did not follow the diet year
round claiming that it was something she
did strictly for the victoria's secret
show
she told e news i know it's very intense
but i just have an athlete's mind and i
appreciate doing this thing
you look like an angel that's ready to
train i like this let's do it
let's go in 2012 lima's personal trainer
michael olajide jr
shared her diet ahead of the show
telling shape that she was in fact
eating solid foods and adding
she had steamed meats nothing fried
everything was really plain
with no sauces she held back on sodium
especially so her body wouldn't retain
water but that particular show diet
might have been because she had just
given birth to her daughter sienna and
was about to crush it
on the runway in 2012 lima had
everybody talking when she opened for
the victoria's secret fashion show less
than eight
weeks after giving birth to her second
child to get into top angel condition
lima worked closely with her trainer
olajide jr who told shape magazine
her work ethic is out of control when
she gets in her mind she wants to get
something done
she does it i love a challenge elijah
revealed that lima knocked out 14
fitness sessions a week for those
results
adding we only had five weeks to do it
so we were working out twice a day
seven days a week for two to three hours
per session the workouts would
reportedly start at 9am and finish
around midday
lima then returned to the gym around 5
30 pm for a few more hours
clearly this model mama is up for
whatever it takes
unfortunately things didn't last for
lima and her husband marco yarick the
pair announced their separation in 2014
after five years of marriage the two
said in a statement to us
weekly after long and careful
consideration we have decided to
separate
after five years of marriage we are
grateful to be the parents of two
incredible young daughters that we will
continue to co-parent we would greatly
appreciate your respect for our family's
privacy
as we begin this delicate next chapter
for all members of our family
their divorce was finalized in 2016.
what kind of angel am i definitely
i am the angel of wisdom after almost a
decade of rocking her wings
lima was officially named the most
valuable angel in 2017.
at the time she was one of the longest
running angels to ever walk in the show
she joined the ranks of the other most
valuable angels including
alessandra ambrosio taylor hill
josephine skriver
and lily aldridge by all accounts lima's
career was skyrocketing
landing her on forbes list of the
highest paid models
she took home 10.5 million dollars in
2017
which put her just behind chrissy tygan
gisele bundchen
and kendall jenner in earnings reports
peg lima's current net worth at roughly
95 million dollars this
has been my home for the past 18 years
but i think there is always a day that
you have to say
goodbye after walking in just about
every victoria's secret fashion show
since 1999
lima hit the runway for the last time in
2018
at 37 years old and as of 2020 she still
holds the crown as the longest running
victoria's secret angel according to
forbes she had previously hinted at a
possible retirement in december 2017
when she posted on social media
i am tired of the impositions we as
women can't be continuing
living in a world with such superficial
values it's physically and mentally not
healthy what society is imposing
us to be to behave to look lima clearly
has a passion for fashion but she
certainly isn't limiting herself to
modeling for other designers
she put her signature stamp on a 2019
collaboration with puma
explaining that it was her goal to
create activewear that was gorgeous and
functional she told hollywoodlife in the
gym everything has a purpose i do cardio
i jump rope i do boxing so
i will pick my shoes my leggings my
sports bra accordingly
it's the first time that i'm bringing
like a dream and a design and a
collection to life
and i hope you guys will like it then in
2020
lima launched a line with sunglasses
brand prive revo
and announced that she had plans for
even more in the future
as lima explained to refinery29 she
hopes to be known for more than just her
stunning looks
noting i want people to remember that i
worked hard i was kind and i was a good
businesswoman
while lima may have officially retired
from victoria's secret she has no plans
of leaving the modeling industry anytime
soon just after being honored as the
2019 fashion icon of the year
lima marveled at her decades-long career
telling entertainment tonight
i'm really grateful for everyone
photographers victoria's secret all the
companies
everyone that believes in me as a model
and created space and opportunities for
me to become
who i am today i'm just getting started
by the way
since hanging up her wings lima has
modeled for a slew of top designers and
fashion outlets
including bcbg max azria vogue arabia
and vogue spain
and as noted by people magazine she also
starred in a 2019 ad for palms casino
resort in las vegas
but one of the more personal reasons
lima wants to continue modeling
throughout her life is to prove that
women are beautiful at every age
she explained to the daily front row i
want to show the world that a powerful
woman can be beautiful as a mature woman
and as a mom
i use fashion as a tool to inspire women
to take care of themselves
age is not important it's all about how
you carry yourself
lima's optimism and natural beauty will
surely carry her well into a lengthy
career
but judging by how far she's already
come her own words probably explain it
best
as she accepted her fashion icon award
she assured the audience
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