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Isabeli Bergossi Fontana was born on
July 4, 1983, in Curitiba, in the Paraná region of Brazil. She has two
siblings; brothers Harrison and Heric. By the time she was 12 years of
age, Isabeli told her mother that she wanted to become a model.
In 1996, she was a finalist in an Elite Model Look Contest in São Paulo,
and the following year, at the age of only 14, she traveled from her
native Brazil to Milan, to start working as a model. This move helped
Isabeli see her home as those from other countries see it; "Everyone wants
to know about Brazil," she admits.
In 1999, when she was 16, Isabeli appeared in the Victoria's Secret
catalog. This generated a bit of a stir in the fashion world, since
Victoria's Secret reportedly violated its policy of only hiring models
that were 21 or older. But such controversy helped, rather than harmed,
Isabeli's prospects, especially in an industry that worships youth to
extremes. A case in point: Isabeli revealed that when she was 16, clients
complained that she looked too young; when she was 17, they thought she
looked too old. C'est la vie in the world of fashion.
She landed work with such world-famous labels as Valentino, Versace, bebe,
and Ralph Lauren, strutting down fashion runways of New York, Paris and
Milan. She appeared in international editions of well-known magazines like
Vogue, Marie Claire and Elle, and also worked on a campaign for M.
Officer, a hot, up-and-coming design house in Brazil, in which Isabeli was
photographed in provocative poses that kept everyone guessing. She was
also one of the models to appear in the coveted Sports Illustrated
swimsuit edition in 2002 and 2003.
Isabeli now lives in New York with her fiancé, fellow model Alvaro
Jacomossi. Despite the hustle and bustle of her new home, Isabeli doesn't
get caught up in Manhattan's flashy nightlife. She goes to movies with
Alvaro and enjoys music. Isabeli recently became a mother and she's
thinking of taking up acting. |
