Valentina Sampaio Becomes First Openly Transgender Model Hired By Victoria’s Secret

Victoria’s Secret is bringing a new face to its upcoming PINK campaign, a face that not only represents the LGBTQ community but also represents the brand’s motives towards increasing inclusivity throughout their company. Brazilian model Valentina Sampaio has officially become the first transgender model to hired by Victoria’s Secret.

On August 1, Sampaio shared a photo of herself on Instagram and tagged Victoria’s Secret PINK’s Instagram account. In the caption of the picture she also included hashtags like, #vspink, #campaign, and #diversity, which even further confirmed that Sampaio has teamed up with this brand.

Sampaio also shared a video to her Instagram the next day, which appears to also be taken when working for the PINK Campaign. The video of her caption was, “never stop dreaming genteee.”

Sampaio’s agent Erio Zanon confirmed to CNN that she was hired by Victoria’s Secret.

Friends of Sampaio and members of the LGBTQ community are thrilled about a transgender model being included as one of the faces of such a major brand. Orange is the New Black star Laverne Cox, commented, “Wow, finally!”

Another Victoria’s Secret and Brazilian model, Lais Ribeiro, also shared a tweet about how happy she was to see a transgender model work in the fashion industry.