Nationality: (Luanda) Angolan
Ethnicity: Angola, African
Ms. Borges is 5’11Ft Tall. She speaks Portuguese & English.
Ms. Borges is an Angolan fashion model. She was named Forbes Africa Magazine’s top model of 2013. She is a Riccardo Tisci favorite and calls him her “godfather“. Maria Borges made history on 10 November 2015 by being the first black model to ever walk in the Victoria’s Secret fashion show whilst wearing her natural afro hair.
Maria Borges was born in Angola and raised by her siblings during the Angolan Civil War.
She was discovered in 2010 when she placed second at the Angolan edition of the contest Elite Model Look.
In 2012, she signed with Supreme Agency. One month later, she debuted her first Fashion week where she walked 17 runways. For her second season, she was a Givenchy exclusive. Borges has appeared in editorials for French, Italian, British, Spanish, German, and Portuguese Vogue, German and Australian Harper’s Bazaar, Brazilian Marie Claire, French Numèro, V, W, i-D, and Interview.
In 2017, Maria Borges was the first African woman to feature on the cover of the American version of ELLE, 20 years after Sudanese model Alek Wek in 1997.
She has walked the runways for Anna Sui, Badgley Mischka, Balmain, Banana Republic, Blumarine, Carolina Herrera, Costello Tagliapietra, Custo Barcelona, Daks, Diane von Fürstenberg, Dior, Dsquared2, Elie Saab, Emanuel Ungaro, Emporio Armani, Erdem, Ermanno Scervino, Gianfranco Ferre, Giorgio Armani, Givenchy, Jason Wu, Jean Paul Gaultier, Jeremy Scott, Jonathan Saunders, Kenzo, Loewe, Marc Jacobs,[4] Marchesa, Margaret Howell, Matthew Williamson, Max Mara, Maxime Simoens, Missoni, Monique L’huillier, Moschino, Naeem Khan, Narciso Rodriguez, Oscar de la Renta, Philipp Plein, Posche Design, Ports 1961, Prabal Gurung, Ralph Lauren, Ralph Rucci, Salvatore Ferragamo, Temperley, Tom Ford, Trussardi, Versace, Victoria’s Secret, Vionnet, Wes Gordon and Zac Posen, among others.
In 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016 she walked the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show.
You will also see her this year for the 2017 Victoria Secret Fashion Show.
She has appeared in campaigns for Givenchy, Tommy Hilfiger, H&M, Bobbi Brown, C&A, L’Oréal, Mac Cosmetics, and Forever 21.
Born and raised in Angola before making the move to New York, Maria Borges made headlines as the first ever model to sport Afro hair on the Victoria’s Secret catwalk in 2015, as well as becoming a L’Oréal Paris spokesmodel in 2016. Here, she shares her beauty secrets with Vogue, and tells us what it means to her to represent women of color in the fashion and beauty industries.
I like to moisturize my skin with an oil, morning and night. And I’ll do masks too, usually I’ll choose a clay mask, they’re really good. In my work I’ve also really learned how important it is to clean your skin before you go to bed. I’ve been using L’Oréal Paris’s Fine Flowers Cleansing Cream, which I love. I really like trying out all the new products when they come in.
On hair
It feels so good to wear my natural hair in my work and to represent girls around the world like me. It’s an honor. I hope I can give girls hope to follow their dreams. And then this opportunity with L’Oréal Paris has opened so many doors for me, and I’m so glad to be able to represent with my natural hair.
On make-up
L’Oréal Paris’s True Match is my favorite foundation. It can be really hard to find foundations for my skin tone, but with True Match you really do get a perfect match. It’s incredible. Generally though I go quite natural with make-up. Natural-looking lipsticks and always mascara – I think I like L’Oréal Paris’s Miss Baby Roll mascara the most.
On fitness
I work out a lot actually, I really like exercise. And I try to make my diet really healthy too, though I’m not a fan of salad. I really love to dance, so I like to do Zumba. And I do boxing, yoga classes – all kinds of things. It’s fun to mix it up.
Maria Borges Model Beauty Interview | British Vogue
Ms. Borges (above) as one of the models for Victoria Secret Fashion Show.
Flying first class
Working in Paris, France
Shopping
