Vanessa de Oliveira

Discovered at the age of 16 by the owner of "Dijon", Brazil's most important fashion house in 1986, Vanessa de Oliveira became the label's Top Model and was catapulted to celebrity status overnight. In just over a year from her discovery, she was on the cover of every major magazine in the country and was featured on programs like "Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous". In 1989, just before completing 18, she was invited by Eileen Ford to live in her home in New York and be a part of the prestigious Ford Model Agency. Instead, Vanessa decided to renew her contract with "Dijon" and accept a role in the Brazilian box office hit, "Os Trapalhões na Terra dos Monstros". After marrying producer George Fauci in 1992, Vanessa de Oliveira left "Dijon" and launched her own fashion label, hosted her own talk-show and achieved record sales with her popular exercise-video, "Fitness com Vanessa de Oliveira". Since then, Vanessa has regularly made guest appearances on TV shows as herself. In 1997, Vanessa appeared in the MTV Brasil award winning, Best Video - "Garota Nacional". To this day, Vanessa de Oliveira has graced the pages of magazine editorials and has maintained appearances in celebrity events, fashion shows and television talk shows, promoting and endorsing products like her luxurious "Vanessa de Oliveira Health Club & Spa". In 2004 and 2005 she hosted the national television broadcast of "Carnaval" for the Rede TV Network. After refusing several invitations to take on roles as a television actress, in 2006, at the age of 37, Vanessa de Oliveira accepted the role of Suzana, on the nationally televised prime-time hit series, Bicho do Mato.