Alessandra Ambrosio was part of the deluge of Brazilian models that emerged after Gisele Bündchen opened the floodgates. One of the star models of that group, of which fellow Victoria's Secret/Guess? Model (and best friend) Ana Beatriz Barros is a member, she accumulated quite a career in the late 1990's into the next century.
- As an early teen, she enrolled in a modeling class and subsequently was entered in the Elite modeling agency's 1996 Look of the Year competition. Though she did not win, she was offered an Elite contract one year after.
- Her first modeling job was the cover of the Brazilian Marie Claire, and Ambrosio followed with other editorial work, but it was not long after that the Marcianos at Guess signed Ambrosio for their fall Millennium campaign in 2000. Her lucrative print career began with being a Guess? Girl and continued with deals with Revlon and Victoria's Secret.
- Ambrosio walked the VS runway for the first time in 2001 and continued to be a fixture in subsequent shows. Ambrosio was also picked to be the spokesmodel for the 2004 Pink line by Victoria's Secret.
