The Quiet Revolutionary
Valentina Sampaio made history twice in two years. In 2019, she became the first openly transgender model to appear in a Victoria's Secret campaign. In 2020, she became the first openly transgender model in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. Neither milestone came with a megaphone. Sampaio's approach has always been to let the work speak — and to insist, gently but firmly, that being transgender is the least interesting thing about her career.
Ceara, Brazil
Born in 1996 in Aquiraz, a small coastal town in the northeastern Brazilian state of Ceara, Sampaio grew up in a working-class family. She has spoken about being bullied as a child and finding refuge in fashion magazines — the glossy images representing a world where beauty came in every form.
She began modeling locally as a teenager and was signed by a Sao Paulo agency. Her early career was built on talent, not publicity. She worked steadily in Brazilian fashion before catching international attention.
The International Breakthrough
Sampaio's international career accelerated rapidly:
- 2017: Featured on the cover of Vogue Paris — the first transgender model in the publication's history
- 2018: Signed with major international agencies
- 2019: Appeared in Victoria's Secret's "VS Collective" campaign — a seismic shift for a brand that had, just one year earlier, faced backlash when its chief marketing officer questioned whether transgender models belonged in the VS Fashion Show
- 2020: Featured in Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue — another first
- Has since modeled for L'Oreal, Armani, H&M, and numerous luxury brands
The Victoria's Secret Moment
The significance of Sampaio's VS campaign cannot be overstated. In November 2018, Ed Razek — then Victoria's Secret's chief marketing officer — told Vogue that the VS Fashion Show should not include transgender models because "the show is a fantasy." The backlash was immediate and fierce. Razek apologized. He resigned the following year.
Less than twelve months after those comments, Sampaio was in a Victoria's Secret campaign. The contrast between Razek's words and the brand's subsequent casting was the clearest possible statement that the old Victoria's Secret was over.
Beyond the Milestones
Sampaio has been deliberate about not letting her identity become her entire brand. She models across categories — fashion, beauty, lingerie, swimwear — and insists on being evaluated as a model, not as a symbol. In interviews, she returns consistently to a simple point:
"I am a model who is trans. I am not a trans model. There is a difference."
The Advocacy
Despite her preference for letting work speak, Sampaio has used her platform for LGBTQ+ advocacy:
- Spoken at the United Nations about transgender rights
- Partnered with organizations fighting anti-trans legislation
- Used social media to amplify trans voices, particularly from Brazil, where violence against transgender people remains pervasive
- Her visibility has been credited with helping normalize trans representation in mainstream fashion
Why She Matters
Sampaio proved that the lingerie industry's definition of femininity could expand to include transgender women — not as a novelty, not as a statement, but as a matter of course. Her presence in VS and SI campaigns normalized what had previously been considered radical, and she did it with a quiet professionalism that made the revolution feel inevitable.
"I don't want to be the first forever. I want to be the first of many." — Valentina Sampaio