Michelle Kristine da Silva Alves (born September 19, 1978) is a Brazilian model.

Biography

She was born in

Londrina Londrina (, literally "Little London") is a city located in the north of the state of Paraná (state), Paraná, South Region, Brazil, and is 388 km (241 miles) away from the state capital, Curitiba. It is the second largest city in the state and f ...

Paraná Paraná, Paranã or Parana may refer to: Geology * Paraná Basin, a sedimentary basin in South America Places In Argentina *Paraná, Entre Ríos, a city * Paraná Department, a part of Entre Ríos Province In Brazil *Paraná (state), a state ...

, Brazil, as the daughter of a

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

(mother) and an

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

(father). Alves was a student in

civil engineering Civil engineering is a regulation and licensure in engineering, professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads ...

at Brazil's Londrina State University prior to moving to

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

, where she pursued modeling. She describes herself as "always a good student" and "Almost a nerd." Before studying engineering, she was a

karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ), also , is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tī'' in Okinawan) un ...

state champion. She is also a

polyglot Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. When the languages are just two, it is usually called bilingualism. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolin ...

, fluent in

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

and English. Alves is currently living in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

Career

Alves' modeling career began after her parents signed her up for a local beauty contest, which she won and went on to become a finalist in the 1996

Elite Model Look Elite Model Look (formerly known as Look of the Year from 1983 to 1995) is a yearly fashion modeling event held by Elite Model Management, an international model management group. It is used to discover and launch female fashion models in the in ...

contest. After taking a break to continue her education for a year, she moved to São Paulo and then

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

where she began her international modeling career as a

fit model A fit model (sometimes fitting model) is a person who is used by a fashion designer or clothing manufacturer to check the fit, drape and visual appearance of a design on a 'real' human being, effectively acting as a live mannequin. A person is sel ...

for Yves Saint Laurent. In the late 1990s she made a small number of runway appearances for clients such as Celine,

Jean-Louis Scherrer Jean-Louis Scherrer (19 February 1935 – 20 June 2013) was a Parisian fashion designer and couturier. Although he had name recognition and was known for his work, he is mainly noted for being the first couture designer to be sacked from the ...

and

Gianfranco Ferré Gianfranco Ferré (; 15 August 1944 – 17 June 2007) was an Italian fashion designer also known as "the architect of fashion" for his background and his original attitude toward creating fashion design. Early life and education Ferré was born ...

. In 2001 she moved to

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

and received her first three international vogue covers. Alves quickly rose to top model status following her appearance on the cover of

Vogue Italia ''Vogue Italia'' is the Italian edition of '' Vogue'' magazine owned by Condé Nast International. In publication since 1964, it has been called the top fashion magazine in the world. The publication is currently edited by Francesca Ragazzi and ...

in April 2002, which was photographed by

Steven Meisel Steven Meisel (born June 5, 1954) is an American fashion photographer, who obtained popularity and critical acclaim with his work in '' Vogue'' and '' Vogue Italia'' as well as his photographs of friend Madonna in her 1992 book, '' Sex''. He is ...

. In fashion circles she inherited the nickname "The Body", previously attributed to models

Elle Macpherson Eleanor Nancy Macpherson ( ; ; born ) is an Australian model, businesswoman, television host, and actress. She is known for her record five cover appearances for the ''Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue'' beginning in the 1980s, leading to her ...

and

Gisele Bündchen Gisele Caroline Bündchen (, , born 20 July 1980) is a Brazilian fashion model. Since 2001, she has been one of the highest-paid models in the world. In 2007, Bündchen was the 16th-richest woman in the entertainment industry and earned the ...

, thanks to her physique. She was featured in the 2003 and 2005 editions of the ''

Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue 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 ...

'', appeared in two editions of the

Victoria's Secret Victoria's Secret is an American lingerie, clothing and beauty products, beauty retailer. Founded in 1977 by a Stanford graduate student and his wife, Roy Raymond, Roy and Gaye Raymond, the company's five lingerie stores were sold to Les Wexner i ...

Fashion Show, and was also featured in their catalogs and their book celebrating the company's 10th anniversary, entitled ''Sexy''. She was invited to the

Met Gala The Met Gala, formally called the Costume Institute Benefit, is the annual haute couture fundraising festival held for the benefit of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute in Manhattan. The Met Gala was and still is popularly rega ...

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

and

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

. Alves has signed contracts with

Valentino Valentino may refer to People * Valentino (surname), including a list of people with the name * Valentino (given name), including a list of people with the name Mononymous persons * Valentino (fashion designer) (born Valentino Clemente Ludovic ...

Christian Dior Christian Ernest Dior (; 21 January 1905 – 24 October 1957) was a French fashion designer and founder of one of the world's top fashion houses, Dior, Christian Dior SE. His fashion house is known all around the world, having gained promi ...

Escada Escada SE is a luxury women's designer clothing company headquartered in Aschheim, Germany. The company is owned by Regent, L.P., an international private equity firm led by investor Michael Reinstein. The company was founded in 1978 by desi ...

Ralph Lauren Ralph Lauren ( ; ; born October 14, 1939) is an American fashion designer, philanthropist, and billionaire businessman, best known for founding the brand Ralph Lauren (brand), Ralph Lauren, a global multibillion-dollar enterprise. He stepped do ...

Missoni Missoni is an Italian luxury fashion house based in Varese, Italy, Varese, and known for its colourful knitwear designs. The company was founded by Ottavio Missoni, Ottavio ("Tai") and Rosita Missoni in 1953. History Early beginnings The busin ...

Miss Sixty Miss Sixty (stylized as MISS SIXTY or MISS 60) is an Italian fashion brand specializing in denim ready-to-wear and fashion accessories. History Micky Hassan founded Miss Sixty in 1991. In 2000, they launched their own line of footwear, followed ...

Michael Kors Michael David Kors (born Karl Anderson Jr. August 9, 1959) is an American fashion designer. He is the chief creative officer of his brand, Michael Kors, which sells men's and women's ready-to-wear, accessories, watches, jewelry, footwear, and f ...

, GAP,

Emporio Armani Giorgio Armani S.p.A. (), commonly known as Armani, is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in Milan by Giorgio Armani which designs, manufactures, distributes and retails haute couture, ready-to-wear, leather goods, shoes, accessories, and ...

, Michael Kors Swimwear, H&M,

Calzedonia Oniverse Holding S.p.A. (), known as Oniverse (formelly Calzedonia Group) is an Italian people, Italian fashion and retail company headquartered in Dossobuono, near Verona, Italy. Founded in 1986 by Sandro Veronesi (entrepreneur), Sandro Verone ...

, AKRIS and holds a deal with Yves Saint Laurent for their fragrance Cinéma's campaign. She has worked with photographers such as

Patrick Demarchelier Patrick Demarchelier (; 21 August 1943 – 31 March 2022) was a French fashion photographer. Early life and education Born near Paris in 1943 to a modest family, Demarchelier spent his childhood in Le Havre, Normandy, with his mother and fo ...

, Bruce Weber,

Gilles Bensimon Gilles Francis Charles Bensimon (; born 29 February 1944) is a French fashion photographer and the former International Creative Director of ''Elle'' magazine. He has also been the photographer for the reality television series ''America's Next ...

Mario Sorrenti Mario Sorrenti (born October 24, 1971) is an Italian-American photographer best known for his spreads of nude models in the pages of ''Vogue'' and ''Harper's Bazaar''. Early life Sorrenti was born in Naples, Italy, and moved to New York City at ...

, Nick Knight, Steven Klein, Phil Poynter, Walter Chin,

Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin Inez van Lamsweerde (born 25 September 1963) and Vinoodh Matadin (born 29 September 1961) are a Dutch-American fashion photographer duo, whose work has been featured in fashion magazines and advertising campaigns. They also produce independent ar ...

and

Richard Avedon Richard Avedon (May 15, 1923 – October 1, 2004) was an American fashion and portrait photographer. He worked for ''Harper's Bazaar'', '' Vogue'' and '' Elle'' specializing in capturing movement in still pictures of fashion, theater and ...

. Alves was featured on the covers of more than 100 major fashion magazines, including international editions of ''Vogue'', ''Elle'', ''Marie Claire'', ''French'', ''Esquire'', ''L'Officiel'', ''Harper's Bazaar'', ''Amica'' and ''Glamour''.

References

External links

* * * 1978 births Living people People from Londrina Brazilian female models 21st-century Brazilian women {{Brazil-model-stub