"Be sure what you want and be sure about yourself. Fashion is not just beauty, it's about good attitude. You have to believe in yourself and be strong."

"Every work has the bad side, and people will be mean to you, and when you're young, you don't know how to defend yourself."



"Fashion is about good energy. It's about feelings. That's what I have to give the people, good energy and good feelings."

"For makeup, I love Shu Uemura. For my skin, I don't like to use much lotion or any soaps. I just let mother nature do her job."

"For the moment I like my body. I don't think it's the best one, but I don't have anything I don't like about it-yet."

"Here in the big city people spend their time thinking about work and about money; they don't give some value to friendships and it can be depressing."

"I didn't know anything about fashion. I couldn't believe it when I got here. I don't know how I'm sitting here right now speaking English."

"I just think they're really insecure about themselves sometimes. I know all the girls, but we all work a lot and don't have time to hang out together. They're all really nice; I've never had a problem with any model."

"I like to go to the movies or read."

"I like to travel all over the world and learn new cultures. Not that many people have the opportunity to do that."

"I live inside the plane! I never have time to unpack; I'm always leaving in two days again. At the beginning it was really fun."

"I missed out on everything. Sometimes on the street I see teenagers hanging out and going to the movies, going to concerts, and I get so jealous."

"I think I want to be an actress. But first I need to try to get a better accent!"

"I try to control what I eat, but the truth is I can't. I tried to give up meat last week, but I only lasted three days."

"I used to be very shy. When I first started, I had to go to a casting, and I had to go in a bikini. I thought I was too skinny. But I went in and got the job! And that's how I started."

"I was in a fashion show and I had on a strapless top. When I got to the end the top was down."

"I was so embarrassed about mispronouncing words. I just knew how to smile."

"I would like just one time to be on the cover of Italian Vogue."

"I wouldn't say it's competitive. I think everyone has their time. Gisele is having her time, and Shirley had her time, and maybe I will have my time."

"I'm a teenager, but I'm independent-I have my own apartment, I have my own life. And I think I have learned more than any of those teenagers have in school. I learned to be responsible, leaving my family and coming here alone."

"I'm from San Salvador. It is small compared to Sao Paolo. We are really slow there. People work half a day and then go to the beach. People have time."

"I've never been to the gym. I do nothing."

"If one day I have a daughter and my daughter wants to be a model, I would never let her!"

"If you look around Brazil you see pregnant women everywhere. Here you don't see that as much. There the only thing they do is babies, babies, babies! Especially the poor families."

"Modeling is a tough job, your co-workers are your rivals, it really puts a damper on your perspective of other girls."

"My best moment was taking the plane when I came to New York. My family was really poor, and we would never have had the money to take a plane."

Spokesmodel of XOXO.

Spokesmodel of Armani Jeans.

Spokesmodel of Guess?.

Spokesmodel of Victoria's Secret.

Ranked #57 in Maxim's Hot 100 2003, ahead of Naomi Watts and behind Salma Hayek.