When Isabeli was a young girl, she told her mum that she wanted to be a model. Growing up in Brazil, this probably sounded like the wandering musings of a bored child to her mother, but little Isabeli wasn't just daydreaming...

Today, the name Isabeli Fontana reaches far and wide, and she's now a well-known model in major consumer markets, such as the UK, Italy, France, America and Spain.

And despite being a very successful teen model, Isabeli hasn't fizzled out early in her career, and is well aware of how fickle the fashion industry is and how often 'use-by' dates get bandied about by agents.

But where did it all start for the Brazilian brunette?

Born into a family of five - mum, dad, and her two brothers Heric and Harrison - Isabeli Bergossi Fontana started to realise she was capable of great things when in 1996 at age 13 she was a finalist at an "Elite Model Look" contest in São Paulo.

Some will argue that a 13 year old being signed up by an agency would rob a child of her youth and innocence and her life would irrevocably damaged as a result. And what can one say to such opinions?

Well, speculation and common sense would agree with such an argument, but in today's society of web logs, tamagotchi toys and dental tracking devices, we must accept that youth is more fleeting than ever before. Perhaps older folk should be thankful for their fancy free and guiltless youth...

So, in 1997, at just 14 years old, Isabeli moved to Milan where she began working as a professional model. Again, too young for such a leap? Philosophical questions arise, particularly ones about temptation and children not being able to make logical decisions in the face of fame fortune and a never-ending supply of icecream. But I digress...

While many were quick to suggest that she was too young to be thrust into such a hectic, bitchy, image-focussed, make-up encrusted world, the real controversy came two years later in 1999...

Isabeli Fontana appeared in the hugely successful and highly lucrative Victoria's Secret lingerie catalogue aged just 16 years old. And this was when the company had previously stated that it's policy was to sign models no younger than 21 years old.

And while there was quite a storm about the ethics of using such a young model, it did nothing but help elevate Isabeli's profile.

Following her highly controversial Victoria's Secret shoot, Isabeli was seemingly attacked by rapid fashion houses keen to get some of the Fontana magic. As such, she was quickly signed by the likes of Versace, Ralph Lauren and Valentino. She traveled the world and strutted her stuff on New York, Parisian and Milanese catwalks, not neglecting work in Brazil, either.

As far as magazines go, Isabeli Fontana has graced the pages of the hugely popular Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition in 2002 and 2003, and has appeared in the big three fashion mags: Marie Claire, Elle and Vogue.

Recently becoming a mother - her child's name is Zion - Isabeli Fontana currently lives in New York with partner Alvaro Jacomossi, also a rather ravishing model. And while she may have started modeling much earlier than most - evidenced by her amazingly classy strutting style - Isabeli Fontana still has plenty of fuel left, and isn't likely to fade into the background anytime soon.

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links
Isabeli Fontana's profile in the FMD-database

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