Valentina Sampaio

Last updated

Valentina Sampaio
Born (1996-12-10) 10 December 1996 (age 27)
Aquiraz, Ceará, Brazil
Occupation(s)Model, actress
Years active2016–present
Modeling information
Height1.77 m (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in) [1]
Hair colorBrown
Eye colorGreen
Agency The Lions (New York)
Women Management (Paris)
Monster Management (Milan)
Premier Model Management (London)
Uno Models (Barcelona)
Iconic Management (Berlin)
M1 (Miami)
Modelwerk (Hamburg)
Photogenics LA (Los Angeles)
Chic Management (Sydney) [2]

Valentina Sampaio (born 10 December 1996) is a Brazilian model and actress. She became Victoria's Secret's first openly transgender model in August 2019, [3] and became the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue's first openly transgender model in 2020. [4] In 2024, she and Alex Consani became the first two transgender women to walk in the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show.

Contents

Early life

Valentina Sampaio was born in a fishing village in Aquiraz, Ceará, which is in Northeastern Brazil. Her mother is a schoolteacher and her father is a fisherman. [5] Valentina Sampaio is of African, Dutch and Native Brazilian descent. [6]

At eight years of age, her psychologist identified her as transgender, but she did not start calling herself Valentina until she was 12. She has said in many interviews that she was not bullied for her gender identification. [7] A 2017 New York Times profile of Sampaio mentioned that her parents "were always supportive and are very proud" of her, and her classmates were also very accepting because she said that "they already saw me as a little girl." [5]

Sampaio studied architecture in Fortaleza, but she dropped out at 16 to study fashion. It was there that a makeup artist discovered her and signed her with a São Paulo modeling agency. [7] [8]

Modeling career

In 2014, a clothing company fired Sampaio from her first modeling job because of her transgender identification. Although she was supposed to be in one of their ad campaigns, the company – which she has not disclosed – told her that the brand was conservative and its clients would not be receptive to a transgender model. [9] Despite this hurdle at the very beginning of her career, she left her home state of Ceará for the first time to act in an independent film in Rio de Janeiro that later debuted at São Paulo Fashion Week. [9]

In November 2016, she walked her first runway at São Paulo Fashion Week. Soon after, L'Oréal made a short film about Sampaio, which they released on International Women's Day, and later the company made her one of the company's brand ambassadors. [7] She is a L'Oréal Paris spokeswoman along with several other Brazilian women including: Grazi Massafera, Taís Araújo, Juliana Paes, Isabeli Fontana, Emanuela de Paula, Agatha Moreira and Sophia Abrahão. [10]

In February 2017, Sampaio received international media attention after appearing on the cover of Vogue Paris and becoming the first transgender model to appear on the magazine's cover. [11] Later that year, she also appeared on the covers of Vogue Brasil and Vogue Germany. She is the first openly transgender woman to be featured on both magazines' covers as well. [12] [13] Other magazine cover appearances of Sampaio's include Vanity Fair Italia, Elle Mexico, and L'Officiel Turkiye. She has also worked with brands such as Dior, H&M, Marc Jacobs, [14] Moschino, L'Oréal, and Philipp Plein. [15] She is now signed with New York modeling agency The Lions. [14]

On August 2, 2019, Sampaio indicated her association with Victoria's Secret PINK on her Instagram account, [16] making her the first openly transgender Victoria's Secret model. [17] Her agent confirmed that VS PINK had hired Sampaio for a catalog photo shoot to be released sometime in August 2019. [18] [19]

In 2020, Sampaio became the first transgender model to appear in Sports Illustrated . [20] In late 2021, she became an Armani Beauty Ambassador. [21]

On October 15, 2024, Sampaio and Alex Consani became the first two transgender models to walk in the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. [22]

Advocacy

She is an advocate for transgender equality and awareness; she has fought against her home country's discrimination of transgender people. [23]

Filmography

Television

YearTitleCharacter
2017 A Força do Querer ("Force of Will", English title Edge of Desire)Herself [24]

Film

YearTitleCharacter
2017Berenice ProcuraIsabelle [25]

Related Research Articles

<i>Sports Illustrated</i> Swimsuit Issue American magazine published by Sports Illustrated

The Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue is published annually by American magazine Sports Illustrated and features female fashion models, celebrities and athletes wearing swimwear in various locales around the world. The highly coveted cover photograph has been considered as the arbiter of supermodel succession. The issue carries advertising that, in 2005, amounted to US$35 million in value. First published in 1964, it is credited with making the bikini, invented in 1946, a legitimate piece of apparel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ana Beatriz Barros</span> Brazilian model

Ana Beatriz Barros is a Brazilian model, known for her multiple appearances in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue and for her work with Intimissimi, GUESS, Bebe, Victoria's Secret, Chanel cosmetics, and Jennifer Lopez's JLO fashion line.

Cintia Schneider Dick, known as Cintia Dicker, is a Brazilian model and actress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ana Hickmann</span> Brazilian model

Ana Lúcia Hickmann is a Brazilian television presenter, businesswoman and former model who has worked for Victoria's Secret, Nivea, L'Oreal, Wella, Clairol and Bloomingdales. She has appeared in the South African version of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, on the Italian version of GQ, and on the covers of Brazilian Vogue, Marie Claire, and Elle. She currently co-hosts a daytime TV show in Brazil and owns her own clothing, jewellery, cosmetics and accessories brand. Hickmann is also famous for her legs of 120 cm, and was once listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as "the model with the longest legs". She has been named as one of the most beautiful women in the world by GQ Italia in 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Izabel Goulart</span> Brazilian model (born 1984)

Maria Izabel Goulart Dourado is a Brazilian fashion model. She is best known as having been one of the Victoria's Secret Angels from 2005 to 2008 and for her work with Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue and Armani Exchange.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raica Oliveira</span> Brazilian model

Raica Oliveira is a Brazilian model known for her work with numerous companies, including Emanuel Ungaro, Dior, Dolce & Gabbana, Yves Saint Laurent, Vogue, Chanel, Lancôme, Victoria's Secret, Pepe Jeans, Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, JLO, H&M, Elle, Marie Claire, TNG, Ann Taylor and XOXO. As of 2008, she has been working as a fashion reporter for Jornal Record.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fernanda Motta</span> Brazilian model, actress, and television host

Fernanda Motta is a Brazilian model, actress, and television host. She is the host of the reality TV show Brazil's Next Top Model, the Brazilian version of the show, created by Tyra Banks.

Oluchi Onweagba-Orlandi is a Nigerian model based in New York City. Growing up in the suburbs of Lagos, she won "The Face of Africa" contest at the age of 16.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Irina Shayk</span> Russian fashion model (born 1986)

Irina Valeryevna Shaykhlislamova, known professionally as Irina Shayk, is a Russian fashion model. She received international recognition when she appeared as the first Russian model on the cover of the 2011 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. In 2022, the website Models.com placed her on their list of the New Supers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lily Aldridge</span> American model

Lily Maud Aldridge is an American model. She was a Victoria's Secret Angel from 2010 to 2018. She also appeared in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, alongside Chrissy Teigen and Nina Agdal, for the 50th anniversary cover in 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barbara Palvin</span> Hungarian model (born 1993)

Barbara Palvin Sprouse is a Hungarian model and actress. She first appeared in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue in 2016. In 2019, she became a Victoria's Secret Angel. She is also ambassador for Longines & Armani Beauty

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bregje Heinen</span> Dutch fashion model (born 1993)

Bregje Heinen is a Dutch fashion model and actress. In 2011, she became a Victoria's Secret Angel. She first appeared in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue in 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sara Sampaio</span> Portuguese model (born 1991)

Sara Pinto Sampaio is a Portuguese model best known for being a Victoria's Secret Angel. She is a Giorgio Armani beauty ambassador and works for Calzedonia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blanca Padilla</span> Spanish model

Blanca Padilla is a Spanish model whose "boundless beauty" has seen Givenchy name her their beauty muse and seen Victoria's Secret come calling. Blanca Padilla is one of the best known Spanish models internationally.

Lais Oliveira Navarro, is a Brazilian model best known for walking the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show 2016 and being exclusive for the Louis Vuitton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leyna Bloom</span> American actress, model, dancer, and activist

Leyna Bloom is an American actress, model, dancer, and activist. She has attracted press as a trailblazer for transgender performers in the entertainment and fashion industries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kelsey Merritt</span> Filipino model

Kelsey Alaine Merritt is a Filipino-American model best known for being the first Filipino woman to walk in the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show and to feature in Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.

The following is a timeline of transgender history. Transgender history dates back to the first recorded instances of transgender individuals in ancient civilizations. However, the word transgenderism did not exist until 1965 when coined by psychiatrist John F. Oliven of Columbia University in his 1965 reference work Sexual Hygiene and Pathology; the timeline includes events and personalities that may be viewed as transgender in the broadest sense, including third gender and other gender-variant behavior, including ancient or modern precursors from the historical record.

Alex Consani is an American model and influencer. She started modeling in 2015 and became the world's youngest transgender model at the time at age 12. After signing with IMG Models in 2019, she started using TikTok in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic and became popular online for her comedic videos. In 2024, she and Valentina Sampaio became the first transgender models to walk for the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show.

References

  1. ↑ Gustavo Abreu (21 February 2017). "Valentina Sampaio: a modelo brasileira que têm orgulho de ser ícone o movimento transgênero". Redação Donna. Donna. Archived from the original on 6 July 2018. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
  2. ↑ "Valentina Sampaio - Model". Models.com. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  3. ↑ Woodyatt, Amy (5 August 2019). "Victoria's Secret hires Valentina Sampaio, its first openly transgender model". CNN Style. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
  4. ↑ Ali, Rasha. "Valentina Sampaio makes history as first openly transgender Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model". USA Today. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  5. 1 2 Thomas, Dana (1 March 2017). "French Vogue's March Cover Features a Transgender Model". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 5 August 2019.
  6. ↑ Zarnosa, Laura (10 July 2020). "Brazilian model Valentina Sampaio becomes first transgender Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model". Yahoo. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
  7. 1 2 3 Hanbury, Mary (8 May 2016). "Victoria's Secret has reportedly hired its first openly transgender model. Here's everything we know about her". Business Insider. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
  8. ↑ "Brazil Transgender Model Valentina Sampaio 'Fighting For Better World'". NDTV.com. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
  9. 1 2 Kaiser, Anna Jean (5 June 2017). "Meet The Transgender Model Who Broke Fashion's Highest Barrier". BuzzFeed. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
  10. ↑ "Modelo transgênera Valentina Sampaio é a nova porta-voz da L'Oréal Paris". Huff Post. 7 July 2016. Archived from the original on 10 December 2017. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
  11. ↑ "Primeira transexual capa da Vogue Paris, brasileira diz: "Evoluí com o preconceito"". Época. 19 February 2017. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
  12. ↑ "Valentina Sampaio em dose dupla na Vogue Brasil de dezembro". Vogue. 1 December 2017. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
  13. ↑ "Ícone trans, modelo Valentina Sampaio é destaque na Vogue alemã". Ig. 27 July 2017. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
  14. 1 2 "For Valentina Sampaio, Victoria's Secret Is Only the Beginning". Vogue. 8 August 2019. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
  15. ↑ Sloan, Elizabeth (5 August 2019). "Valentina Sampaio: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know". Heavy.com. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
  16. ↑ "Valentina Sampaio on Instagram: "Backstage click @vspink 💕💕 #bastidores #new #vspink #campaign #representatividade #diversity #beauty #selfie #model #life #fashion #usa…"". Instagram. Archived from the original on 25 December 2021. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
  17. ↑ "Valentina Sampaio Becomes the First Transgender Model to Work with Victoria's Secret". People. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
  18. ↑ Hauser, Christine (5 August 2019). "Victoria's Secret Casts First Openly Transgender Woman as a Model". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 6 August 2019.
  19. ↑ Rivas, Mekita (August 2019). "Victoria's Secret Hires Valentina Sampaio, Its First Transgender Model". refinery29.com. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
  20. ↑ Okwodu, Janelle (10 July 2020). "Valentina Sampaio Makes History as Sports Illustrated's First Trans Model". Vogue. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  21. ↑ "Valentina Sampaio, model and activist, reveals her top beauty secrets". Glamour UK. 31 December 2021. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  22. ↑ https://www.them.us/story/alex-cosani-valentina-sampaio-first-trans-transgender-models-to-walk-victorias-secret-fashion-show
  23. ↑ Westhoff, Kiely (11 July 2020). "Valentina Sampaio becomes Sports Illustrated's first trans model". CNN. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
  24. ↑ "Top trans Valentina Sampaio exalta participação em 'A Força do Querer': 'Livre'". Terra. 20 October 2017. Archived from the original on 28 September 2020. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
  25. ↑ "Valentina Sampaio fará sua estreia no cinema: "gravei todos os tipos de cena. Foi intenso!"". Vogue. 21 March 2017. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.