Valentina Sampaio is a Brazilian model and actress. She became
Victoria's Secret's first openly transgender model in August 2019, and
became the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue's first openly
transgender model in 2020.Valentina Sampaio was born in a fishing
village in Aquiraz, Ceará, which is in Northeastern Brazil. Her
mother is a schoolteacher and her father is a fisherman.At eight years
of age, her psychologist identified her as transgender, but she did
not start calling herself Valentina until she was 12. She has said in
many interviews that she was not bullied for her gender
identification. A 2017 New York Times profile of Sampaio mentioned
that her parents "were always supportive and are very proud" of her,
and her classmates were also very accepting because she said that
"they already saw me as a little girl."Sampaio initially studied
architecture in Fortaleza, but she dropped out at 16 to study fashion.
It was there that a makeup artist discovered her and signed her with a
São Paulo modeling agency.
Victoria's Secret's first openly transgender model in August 2019, and
became the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue's first openly
transgender model in 2020.Valentina Sampaio was born in a fishing
village in Aquiraz, Ceará, which is in Northeastern Brazil. Her
mother is a schoolteacher and her father is a fisherman.At eight years
of age, her psychologist identified her as transgender, but she did
not start calling herself Valentina until she was 12. She has said in
many interviews that she was not bullied for her gender
identification. A 2017 New York Times profile of Sampaio mentioned
that her parents "were always supportive and are very proud" of her,
and her classmates were also very accepting because she said that
"they already saw me as a little girl."Sampaio initially studied
architecture in Fortaleza, but she dropped out at 16 to study fashion.
It was there that a makeup artist discovered her and signed her with a
São Paulo modeling agency.
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