Adriana Francesca Lima was born on June 12, 1981 in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. At the tender age of 13, Adriana entered the Ford Supermodel of the World Contest, where her unique beauty, derived from her Native-Brazilian, African-Brazilian, Portuguese, French, and Caribbean heritage, won her second place. Moving to New York at age 16, Adriana joined the Elite Model Management and further pursued her modeling career, landing a campaign for the fashion designer Anna Molinari's clothing line.