Caroline Ribeiro
By Sara Templeton
 Another
day, another Brazilian bombshell...
But then Caroline isn't just another Amazonian warrioress
out to complain to the owner of a nouveau-chic vegan bar for
socialites that her Pellegrino isn't chilled to what she
believes is an optimum temperature.
Far from it, in fact, as this top model has been on the other
end of the pitch, oft criticised for her lack of curves and
less-than-perfect teeth.
Caroline Ribeiro Magalhaes was born in Belém do Para,
a town that is very much a part of the Amazonian province
of Brazil. The date was September 20, 1980, and it is widely
accepted that Caroline always had aspirations to become a
performer, and chiefly - a model.
Of Portuguese and Amazonian Indian heritage, Caroline (pron:
Caro-lini) kicked off her modeling career after she came
first in the Dakota-Elite Model Contest.
She then moved from Belém, to São Paulo, one
of Brazil's bigger cities, where she landed solid contracts
for a good three years. Though she always had work, many of
her employers weren't shy in telling her she had a few faults. But this didn't faze her, and the naturally beautiful Brazilian
managed to secure a contract in Paris, which was based solely
on amateur photos taken of her using a Polaroid camera.
 As
unorthodox as it sounds, her idea proved successful, and after
working in Europe and then America on temporary contracts,
she was signed up by the Marilyn Agency mid-way through the
year 1999.
The agency, whose reputation had trebled in the last few
years by supporting models such as Helena Christensen and
Fernanda Tavares,
was quick to realise that Caroline had a distinct look unlike
your more 'classic' Bundchen's and Crawford's.
Her unique look attracted the attention of Gucci's head honcho,
Tom Ford, and he signed her up for
a campaign with his famous label. It is also widely accepted
that Ford has since called the South American stunner his
'favourite model', and following her successful work with
Gucci, she went on to work with other big name fashion houses.
Valentino, Louis Vuitton and Chanel in particular paid a
pricely sum for Caroline's talents, both in terms of ad campaigns
and traditional runway modeling. As her star rose, she began
appearing in such magazines as Vogue (Italy and America),
where she worked with world-famous photographers Mario Testino
and Steven Meisel.
In her spare time, Caroline spends time with her boyfriend
where she lives in New York, and recently Caroline has completed
work for Victoria's Secret and was also a Revlon spokesmodel,
which pays very well indeed ($US6 million), and where she
goes from here it matters not - she's already conquered the
world.
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