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; , she holds the distinction of being the only Brazilian 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 ...

'', photographed in

Bahia Bahia () is one of the 26 Federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo (state), São Paulo, Mina ...

for the 1978 issue.

Life and career

Before embarking on her modeling career, João studied communication at the

Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro The Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (; PUC-Rio) is a Jesuit, Catholic, pontifical university in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is the joint responsibility of the Catholic Archdiocese of São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro and the So ...

. 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 generall ...

DPZ. They placed her on the market of advertising and fashion, starting with an ad to

Johnson & Johnson Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is an American multinational pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical technologies corporation headquartered in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Its common stock is a c ...

. Among others, she photographed for famous Brazilian magazines like ''Claudia'' and ''

Nova A nova ( novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. All observed novae involve white ...

'' and worked with renowned photographers of the country as such as José Antonio and Luis Tripoli.

Personal life

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 an American actress. She made her acting debut, three weeks after turning 15, in an episode of ''All My Children'' in 1995 and next took on the recurring role as Nikki Munson in ''As the World Turns'', g ...

, 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 Models 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