Valentina Sampaio: Brazilian model and actress

In 2020, Sampaio became the first transgender model to appear in Sports Illustrated.

Sampaio was born in Aquiraz, Ceará, Brazil.

At eight years of age, her psychologist said that she was 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.

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.

In November 2016, she first walked her first runway at São Paulo Fashion Week. Soon after, L'Oréal made a short movie about Sampaio, which they released on International Women's Day, and later the company made her one of the company's brand ambassadors.

She is a L'Oréal Paris spokeswoman along with several other Brazilian women including: Grazi Massafera, Taís Araújo, Juliana Paes, Isabeli Fontana, Emanuela de Paula, Ágatha Moreira, and Sophia Abrahão.

In February 2017, Sampaio received international media attention after appearing on the cover of Vogue Paris and becoming the first transgender model to appear on the magazine's cover. Later that year, she also appeared on the covers of Vogue Brasil and Vogue Germany. She is the first openly transgender woman to be featured on both magazines' covers as well.

Other magazine cover appearances of Sampaio's include Vanity Fair Italia, Elle Mexico, and L'Officiel Turkiye. She has also worked with brands such as Dior, H&M, Marc Jacobs, Moschino, L'Oréal, and Philipp Plein.