Alessandra Corine Ambrósio (born April 11,[3] 1981) is a Brazilian model. Her last name is spelled Ambrósio, but the diacritic mark is omitted in her modeling work. It is often spelt 'Ambrosia' in English for the purpose of creating a pun.[citation needed] She was described by Tyra Banks as "The future of the modeling world".[4] She is best known for her work with Victoria’s Secret and was chosen as their first spokesmodel for Victoria's Secret PINK line. She is currently one of Victoria’s Secret Angels[5] and the face for the UK company Next.[6] Aside from modeling work, she represents as the National Ambassador for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.[7] Ambrosio was also selected by AskMen.com as Number 2 out of the Top 99 Most Desirable Women for 2008.[8]
Ambrosio was born in a small town of Erechim, Brazil on April 11, 1981 to petrol station-owner parents. She is of Italian and Polish descent.[9][4] She was just eight years old when she decided she wanted to be a model, after seeing a picture of top covergirl Karen Mulder in a magazine. "I wanted to be like her," she recalls.[4] However, she felt insecure about her appearance, particularly of her large, obvious ears. So at 11, she had cosmetic surgery done to get her ears pinned back. She had complications from the surgery for the two years following.[10] In 2006 on The Tyra Banks Show, she said that the surgery had been a bad experience for her and that she was discouraged from having plastic surgery again. She has a sister named Aline Ambrosio, and a cousin named Samantha, who also models.[11]