Who is Valentina Sampaio? Victoria’s Secret’s First Openly Transgender Model

Valentina Sampaio will be the first openly transgender model to hit the runway with Victoria’s Secret. The Brazilian-born model was recently hired by the struggling retailer and will appear in the company’s 2019 Pink back-to-campus campaign, CNN reported. Here’s everything we know about Sampaio and her rise to Victoria’s Secret stardom.

1. Sampaio was born in Aquiraz, Ceaŕa, Brazil.
2. She is 20-years-old.
3. She knew she was transgender at that age of 8 and changed her name to Valentina when she was 10 years old, according to Hollywood Life.
4. Sampaio has modeled for L’Oreal.
5. She also walked the runway during São Paulo Fashion Week.
6. She has appeared on the covers of German Vogue, Brazil Vogue, Elle Brasil, and L’Officiel Brasil.
7. She was the first openly transgender model on the cover of any edition of Vogue, appearing in the Vogue Paris March issue.
8. She will walk the runway in the August Pink back-to-school campus fashion campaign with Victoria’s Secret and is expected to wear lingerie, loungewear, and a bevy of accessories, Hollywood Life reported.
9. She showed off some behind the scenes moments with Victoria’s Secret on Instagram. She captioned the video post, “ Never stop dreaming genteee #staytuned #bastidores #new #vspink #campaign #representatividade #diversity #beauty #selfie #life #fashion #usa #vstorm #valentinasampaio.”
10. Sampaio is proud to represent the transgender community and “she hopes this opportunity shall be another step to break barriers,” her manager, Erio Zanon told E! News.
11. She has gained support from other Victoria’s Secret Angels including Lais Ribeiro and actress Laverne Cox, who wrote, “Wow finally!” on her Instagram account.