Alessandra Ambrosio

Early life Ambrosio was born on 11 April 1981 in Erechim, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, to Lucilda and Luiz Ambrósio. She has a younger sister named Aline. Their paternal grandfather was an Italian emigrant from Padua, and their paternal grandmother was a Polish emigrant.

Having always been insecure about her large ears, Ambrosio had cosmetic surgery to have her ears pinned back 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 Deacon, Kenzo, Emanuel Ungaro, Philipp Plein, and Oscar de la Renta. Ambrosio was the face for the UK company Next and starred in their first television campaign in 12 years.

In 2006, Ambrosio appeared on The Tyra Banks Show and said that the ear surgery she had as a kid was a bad experience and has discouraged her from ever getting plastic surgery again.

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 denim ad. In October 2011, Ambrosio became Vogues blogger, commenting on her wardrobe by posting one photo of herself each day for a month. On 12 August 2012, she appeared in the 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony representing the Brazilian fashion tradition on the handover segment to Rio de Janeiro City.

In spring 2014, Ambrosio launched her own fashion and lifestyle brand named Ále by Alessandra in a collaboration with American retailer Cherokee. The line features casual wear to formal attire and is aimed at females between 18 and 35 years old. The apparel line was first shown by Southern California-based retailer Planet Blue. For this brand, Ambrosio used her intellectual property company, Silver Sunrise LLC, which works with Cherokee as its global licensing agent.

Ambrosio was chosen by NBC alongside fellow Brazilian model Adriana Lima as the channel's food and culture correspondents for the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Victoria's Secret By 2006, Ambrosio was selected as the first spokesmodel for the Victoria's Secret "PINK" line. In the 2008 edition of the Fashion Show, she walked the runway three months after giving birth to her first child, and opened the show the following year in 2009. The 2011 show saw her wearing the heaviest wings ever made for the show while pregnant with her second child.

In 2012, Ambrosio was chosen to wear the "Fantasy Bra". The Floral Fantasy Bra, crafted by London Jewelers, was valued at $2.5 million. It featured amethysts, rubies, sapphires, and diamonds all set in rose and yellow gold.

In 2014, she was chosen to wear Fantasy Bra, alongside fellow model Adriana Lima. The Dream Fantasy Bra, crafted by Mouawad featured diamonds, rubies, sapphires, and gemstones, held together with 18-karat gold strings. Both of the bras was valued at $2 million.

After the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in 2017, Ambrosio posted on her Instagram that she will be retiring from walking Victoria's Secret Fashion Shows.

In October 2024, seven years after her retirement, Ambrosio returned to the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. The following October, she walked for the brand once more, marking her 18th appearance. In 2025, she participated in the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show for a 19th time.

Television and film appearances Ambrosio has made several television appearances, notably a cameo as herself on HBO's Entourage; The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn; Late Night with Conan O'Brien; A guest judge on Project Runway Season 2: Team Lingerie and twice on The Tyra Banks Show. She also appeared on America's Next Top Model in the series' 20th cycle.

In 2006, she had a cameo in the box-office hit film Casino Royale, appearing briefly as Tennis Girl #1. Ambrosio guest-starred on the How I Met Your Mother episode "The Yips" on 26 November 2007 with her fellow Victoria's Secret Angels Adriana Lima, Selita Ebanks, Marisa Miller, Miranda Kerr, and Heidi Klum. She also made a cameo appearance during the New Girl episode "Prince".

Ambrosio made her acting debut in the Brazilian telenovela Verdades Secretas, which premiered on Rede Globo on 8 June 2015, playing the role of former top model Samia. She appeared as herself in the 2016 film, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows.

Personal life Ambrosio became engaged to American businessman Jamie Mazur, founder of RE/DONE jeans, in 2008. The couple have a daughter (born 2008) and a son (born 2012). Ambrosio announced on 27 March 2018 that she and Mazur had split.

Ambrosio serves as an ambassador for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

In March 2019, Ambrosio launched her beachwear brand, GAL Floripa, in partnership with her sister, Aline, and her childhood friend, Gisele Cória.

In November 2020, Ambrosio revealed that she had acquired American citizenship.

In summer 2026, Ambrosio got engaged to Australian jewellery designer Buck Palmer.

Filmography

Film Year Title Role Notes 2006 Casino Royale Tennis Girl 2015 Daddy's Home Karen Mayron 2016 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows Herself 2017 Double Dutchess Daddy's Home 2 Karen Mayron

Television Year Title Role Notes 2004 Herself 1 episode 2005–2006 2 episodes 2005 Project Runway Episode: "Team Lingerie" 2006 Late Night with Conan O'Brien 1 episode 2007 Entourage Victoria's Secret Angel #1 Episode: "Less Than 30" How I Met Your Mother Herself Episode: "The Yips" 2010 Gossip Girl Top Model Episode: "The Undergraduates" 2013 America's Next Top Model Herself Episode: "The Guy Who Gets a Weave" 2014 New Girl Episode: "Prince" 2015 Australia's Next Top Model 1 episode Verdades Secretas Samia Recurring role (season 1) 2018 Germany's Next Topmodel Herself Episode: "Drag Edition" The Final Table Episode: "Brazil" 2019 MasterChef Episode: "Hot & Spicy"American Housewife Young Katy Season 4, Episode 1 'The Minivan' Cameo 2020 Germany's Next TopmodelHerself Episode: "Everybody comes to Hollywood"

Music videos Year Title Artist 2016 "M.I.L.F. $" Fergie 2016 "Wolves" Kanye West