Of Portuguese and Amazonian Indian heritage, Caroline (pron: Caro-lini) kicked off her modeling career after she came first in the Dakota-Elite Model Contest.

She then moved from Belém, to São Paulo, one of Brazil's bigger cities, where she landed solid contracts for a good three years. Though she always had work, many of her employers weren't shy in telling her she had a few faults. But this didn't faze her, and the naturally beautiful Brazilian managed to secure a contract in Paris, which was based solely on amateur photos taken of her using a Polaroid camera.

Caroline RibeiroAs unorthodox as it sounds, her idea proved successful, and after working in Europe and then America on temporary contracts, she was signed up by the Marilyn Agency mid-way through the year 1999.

The agency, whose reputation had trebled in the last few years by supporting models such as Helena Christensen and Fernanda Tavares, was quick to realise that Caroline had a distinct look unlike your more 'classic' Bundchen's and Crawford's.

Her unique look attracted the attention of Gucci's head honcho, Tom Ford, and he signed her up for a campaign with his famous label. It is also widely accepted that Ford has since called the South American stunner his 'favourite model', and following her successful work with Gucci, she went on to work with other big name fashion houses.

Valentino, Louis Vuitton and Chanel in particular paid a pricely sum for Caroline's talents, both in terms of ad campaigns and traditional runway modeling. As her star rose, she began appearing in such magazines as Vogue (Italy and America), where she worked with world-famous photographers Mario Testino and Steven Meisel.

In her spare time, Caroline spends time with her boyfriend where she lives in New York, and recently Caroline has completed work for Victoria's Secret and was also a Revlon spokesmodel, which pays very well indeed ($US6 million), and where she goes from here it matters not - she's already conquered the world.

by Sara Templeton