Alessandra Corine Ambrósio (; born 11 April 1981) is a Brazilian and American model. She is known for her work with Victoria's Secret and was chosen as the first spokesmodel for the company's PINK line. She was a Victoria's Secret Angel from 2004 to 2017 and has modeled for fashion houses such as Christian Dior, Armani, Ralph Lauren, and Next. Ambrosio was ranked number five on Forbes list of the highest-paid models, estimated to have earned $6.6 million every year. 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 annual "100 Most Beautiful People in the World" in May 2007. Ambrosio is considered one of the icons in the fashion industry. Early life Alessandra Corine Ambrósio was born on 11 April 1981 in Erechim, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, the daughter of Lucilda and Luiz Ambrósio. She has a younger sister named Aline. She is of Italian and Polish descent. Her paternal grandmother, Joana Eugênia Groch, was an immigrant from Poland, who arrived in Brazil as a child in 1929. She died in 2017, at age 93. She enrolled at a modeling class at the age of 12, and at the age of 14, she was one of 20 finalists for the 1995 Elite Model Look national competition for Brazil. Ambrosio was always insecure about her large ears, and at the age of 11, she had cosmetic surgery to have her ears pinned back, though two years later she suffered complications. Career Modeling When Ambrosio was 12 years old, she partook in modeling classes and then began modeling for Dilson Stein at age 15. Competing in Brazil's Elite Model Look competition started her modeling career in earnest. Her first notable modeling job was shooting the cover of Brazilian Elle magazine. Elite passed along some of her Polaroids to Guess which led her booking the Millennium GUESS? campaign. Ambrosio has since appeared in advertising campaigns for Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana, Calvin Klein, Oscar de la Renta, Christian Dior, Escada, Fendi, Giorgio Armani, Guess, Emporio Armani, Moschino, Gap, Hugo Boss, Ralph Lauren, Saks Fifth Avenue, Macy's, Revlon, and the Pirelli Calendar. She has walked the catwalks for designers such as Prada, Chanel, Dolce & Gabbana, Givenchy, Christian Lacroix, Bottega Veneta, Escada, Tommy Hilfiger, Christian Dior, Marc Jacobs, Louis Vuitton, Balmain, Ralph Lauren, Halston, Vivienne Westwood, Giles