In the world of fashion, where one trend is made moot by the time the sun sets, it is not often that you come across someone as eternally beautiful as our next profiled model - Adriana Lima.

You could talk about the average shelf-life of a top-class model, but Adriana is one babe you won't easily forget.

Born in 1982, Adriana grew up in Salvador, Brazil. Her heritage spans French, Portuguese, Native-American and even Caribbean.

The result is a visage unlike any other.

She grew up in a very small town, much like her Brazilian co-workers - Gisele Bundchen and Ana Beatriz Barros - only to become one of the new millennium's brightest fashion personalities.

Adriana came second in the Ford Supermodel of the World contest after having defeated all opposition in the 1996 Ford Supermodel of Brazil contest. After this, Adriana was signed on with Elite Model Management at age 16, soon after which she moved to New York, New York (sorry, I just had to!).

From here, things just exploded for the Brazilian. She's been featured in just about every national Vogue magazine plus Marie Claire and has posed in fashion shows for Christian Lacroix, Fendi, Randolph Duke, Ralph Lauren, Giorgio Armani, Valentino, Emporio Armani, Richard Tyler and Emanuel Ungaro to mention a few. She also had a big presence at Victoria's Secret Summer 2000 Swimwear Catalogue (shot in Cannes). Plus she has been photographed by some of the world's most famous button clickers - Steven Meisel, Peter Lindbergh and Ellen von Unwerth.

Popular, wanted, in demand. These are words that spring to mind when talking about Adriana. Don't be surprised to see Adriana Lima as one of the world's top supermodels in a few years, as she possesses all the qualities needed for such success.

However, Adriana is still but a young girl, she is still a very shy person and tends to giggle a lot. Even so, she still gets jelous seeing teenagers out and about, going to movies and what not, as she never had the opportunity to partake in the simple pleasures when she was younger.

The thing that amazes most about Adriana is her attitude. Thanks to a lot of overpaid, snooty supermodels, the idea that all fashion high-flyers must be bitchy has become commonplace. Not for Adriana.

The Brazilian model startles people just as much with her fresh, kind and sometimes naive attitude as she does with her dazzling beauty. Beyond her public image, Adriana has an Argentinian boyfriend and she likes to read and watch movies in her spare time. She warms to the idea of becoming an actress, but conceeds that her accent needs mucho work.

A rather startling fact about Adriana is that in four years she's never been to the gym. She puts it down to genes - so do we. She eats plenty of meat, loves chocolate and if it wasn't for the 'supermodel' tag, drop-dead good looks and fancy clothing, we'd think she was an everyday 19 year old! Her family is 100 per cent behind her, because just like normal people, she gets homesick, too.

She has perfectly formed calves (if a little skinny), wonderful thighs, real breasts and those diamond eyes really help to differentiate her from an already overcrowded cat-walk. Designers really like using her and you can be sure that in future she will be wanted by all the big names.

What more needs to be said about Adriana Lima? She's beautiful,she's got talent and she's got a refreshing attitude. It would be excellent to see her in the upper echelons of the fashion scene and the rate at which things are traveling for the belle, this may happen sooner rather than later.

By SARA TEMPLETON