Maria João Brewster (''née'' Sousa Leão; born 12 February 1955) is a Brazilian former model. She made a career as a photographic model in the 1970s and is the only Brazilian to date (until 2020) to appear on the cover of ''

Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue The ''Sports Illustrated'' Swimsuit Issue is published annually by American magazine ''Sports Illustrated'' and features female fashion models, celebrities and athletes wearing swimwear in various locales around the world. The highly coveted co ...

'', photographed in

Bahia Bahia ( , , ; meaning "bay") is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo, Minas Gerais, and Rio de Janeiro) and the 5th-largest b ...

for the 1978 issue.

Biography

Before embarking on her modeling career, João studied communication at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro. She began her career through her friend, photographer Pedro Liborio, who sent her photos to the

advertising agency An advertising agency, often referred to as a creative agency or an ad agency, is a business dedicated to creating, planning, and handling advertising and sometimes other forms of promotion and marketing for its clients. An ad agency is generally ...

DPZ. They placed her on the market of advertising and fashion, starting with an ad to Johnson & Johnson. Among others, she photographed for famous Brazilian magazines like ''Claudia'' and '' Nova'' and worked with renowned photographers of the country as such as José Antonio and Luis Tripoli. João is married to Alden Brewster, an American partner of Banco Icatu. She is the mother of actress

Jordana Brewster Jordana Brewster (born April 26, 1980) is a Panamanian-American actress. Best known for her role as Mia Toretto in the ''Fast & Furious'' franchise, she made her acting debut in an episode of ''All My Children'' in 1995 and next took on the recu ...

, with whom she starred in an advertising campaign in the United States in 2015, and lives in New York City with her family.

References

External links

Swimsuit Issues
at sicollection.com. 1955 births Living people People from Rio de Janeiro (city) Brazilian female models Brazilian expatriates in the United States Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro alumni {{Brazil-model-stub