Girls Man World: Alessandra Ambrosio

Alessandra Corine Ambrósio (Portuguese pronunciation: [aleˈsɐ̃dɾɐ ɐ̃ˈbɾɔzju] (born April 11, 1981) is a Brazilian model. Ambrosio is best known for her work with Victoria's Secret and was chosen as the first spokesmodel for the company's "PINK" line. Ambrosio is currently one of the Victoria's Secret Angels and has modeled for brands such as Next, Armani Exchange, Christian Dior, and Ralph Lauren. Aside from modeling work, Ambrosio serves as an ambassador for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Ambrosio was also selected by AskMen.com as Number 2 out of the "Top 99 Most Desirable Women of 2008". Ambrosio was born in Erechim, Brazil on April 11, 1981. Her parents, who are of Italian and Polish Brazilian descent, own a petrol station. Ambrósio was just eight years old when she decided that she wanted to be a model, after seeing a picture of top covergirl Karen Mulder in a magazine: "I wanted to be like her", she recalls. She enrolled at a modelling class at the age of 12 and at the age of 14 she was one of 20 finalists for an elite modelling competition in Brazil. Ambrosio was always insecure about her large ears and at eleven had cosmetic surgery to get her ears pinned back, though two years later she suffered complications. In 2006, she appeared on The Tyra Banks Show, and said that the surgery was a bad experience and has discouraged her from ever getting plastic surgery again. When Ambrosio was 12 years old, she enrolled in modeling classes, then began modeling for Dilson Stein at age 15. Winning Brazil's Elite Model Look started her modeling career in earnest.

Her first notable modeling job was the cover of Brazilian Elle magazine. Elite passed along some of her Polaroids to Guess which led her booking the Millennium GUESS? campaign along with friend and fellow Brazilian Ana Beatriz Barros. She has since appeared in advertisements for brands like Revlon, Christian Dior, Giorgio Armani, and Ralph Lauren, as well as the Pirelli Calendar. She has walked the catwalks for designers such as Prada, Chanel, and Oscar de la Renta. She has appeared in numerous international magazine covers, including Cosmopolitan, Elle, GQ, Harper's Bazaar, Marie Claire, Ocean Drive, Vogue and the only model to appear on the cover of Glamour in the United States in 2006. In 2004, Ambrosio launched her line of swimwear called Alessandra Ambrosio by Sais, a division of Rosa Chá. It sold 10,000 units in only its first month on the market. Ambrosio was the face for the UK company Next and starred in their first television campaign in 12 years. She is also signed to Storm Model Management in London. On the July, 2009 cover of Marie Claire, Ambrosio appeared in a spread with Sacha Baron Cohen to promote Baron Cohen's 2009 film Brüno. Ambrosio, became the face of Brazilian sportswear brand Colcci costarring with Ashton Kutcher in a steamy denim ad. She was ranked No. 5 on Forbes' The World's Top-Earning Models list, with an estimated earnings of $5 million over the past 12 months (2010–2011).

Ambrosio has made several television appearances, notably a cameo as herself on HBO's Entourage along with Izabel Goulart; The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn; Late Night with Conan O’Brien; as guest judge on Project Runway season 2: Team Lingerie and The Tyra Banks Show, where she was a guest twice. She appeared alongside TV personality, Regis Philbin in a worldwide commercial for Hummer H2. In 2006, she had a cameo on the box-office hit movie, Casino Royale appearing briefly as Tennis Girl #1. Ambrosio guest-starred on How I Met Your Mother (episode: "The Yips") on November 26, 2007 with her fellow Victoria's Secret Angels Adriana Lima, Selita Ebanks, Marisa Miller, Miranda Kerr, and Heidi Klum. Ambrosio's Angel status has brought her to the public's attention, and she is often cited by the popular media as one of the world's sexiest women. As an Angel, she was chosen as one of People magazine's annual "100 Most Beautiful People in the World" in May 2007. Ambrosio is among the world's top-earning models. She dated magazine editor Steve Allain before beginning a relationship with Jamie Mazur. On August 24, 2008, Ambrosio and her fiancé, Californian businessman Jamie Mazur, had their first child, a daughter named Anja Louise Ambrosio Mazur, in Florianopolis, Brazil. Currently she is the National Ambassador for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.