How Model Hunters Search for the Next Gisele — They Start Young

Brazil has always been famous for its stunning women. But since Gisele Bundchen, the world’s top-earning super model, and Victoria Secret superstar Alessandra Ambrosio were discovered years ago in Brazil’s southern countryside — far from the bright lights of Rio de Janeiro — model hunters have scoured rural towns in south Brazil for fresh faces.

The hope is that somewhere in this isolated province, model scouts will find a girl who benefits from the same alluring genetic cocktail of northern European and Latin beauty,  and will break through as the next top model.

We traveled throughout a region in the grips of model-mania, and attended a casting event in Chapeco, Brazil, where parents paid the equivalent of $1,000 US  to give their young kids, some still in elementary school and others still in diapers, a chance to shine in front of the country’s top agents.