There are plenty of challenges in the world today without having to tack on any more of them, but then Valentina Sampaio would know something about challenges that the rest of us might not fully understand. The Brazilian model has been through enough in her life, which honestly isn’t as much as you’d think since many have been accepting of her in many ways since being born transgender and deciding to transition to a female isn’t an easy task for anyone, let alone a child. But given that she’s been through it, been accepted by many and still discriminated against by others it’s very easy to see that life was likely not as easy as it could be at times. But thankfully she’s had a great deal of support throughout her life and been able to continually reach for her dreams no matter who’s tried to keep her down.
Here are a few things about Valentina you might not have known.
10. Her social media following is definitely growing.
The numbers she’s already seeing could easily climb without stopping for a while since so many people are showing great pride in how far she’s come thus far in her career and could easily bump her following up by hundreds of thousands if not more.
9. She was diagnosed as transgender when she was 8.
This seems like a rough time in one’s life and at such a young age to be diagnosed as transgender. Many people would say that it’s one of the hardest things to go through when you’re young, but honestly it seems as though it might be difficult at any age.
8. Valentina has selected not to disclose what her name was before she became female.
This is of course her decision and there might only be a few people that know. She chose this path when she was young and she’s stuck with it for this long, meaning that she’s had to learn what dedication and determination were early on in life. That’s an inner strength that a lot of people don’t seem to posses.
7. She didn’t have to deal with a lot of bullying when she was younger.
Most of those that knew her back in her younger years had already accepted her as a girl so it wasn’t a hard thing to deal with when she went through the transition. This made life at least a little easier for Valentina since she didn’t have to struggle in school quite so much.
6. She was fired from a job for being transgender.
This doesn’t seem like it would be legal but it does appear that the company that fired her did so because they were built on very conservative views that wouldn’t be well-served by keeping on a transgender individual. It might seem very controversial but the idea of those who are attempting to hold to their own beliefs and values is still something that is protected in many ways.
5. As of August she became the first openly transgender model for Victoria’s Secret.
People have been up and down as far as celebrating, congratulating, and being openly proud that a transgender woman has made her way into one of the most exclusive modeling agencies in the world. Some don’t agree while others are in full support since VS has for a long time been seen to be rather exclusive.
4. The chief marketing executive of Victoria’s Secret resigned after she was announced .
He didn’t believe that this was the image that VS needed and was firmly against hiring Valentina, but upon her hiring he decided to simply resign and save a great deal of hassle. Some might agree with him, but it would seem that many aren’t going to miss him.
3. She was discovered by a makeup artist.
People are discovered in the strangest ways sometimes but this actually makes sense considering that she’s been modeling for a while and has been doing her best to get out there and make sure that she gets the exposure that she wants.
2. Fans of Victoria Secret have had mixed reactions.
According to Elizabeth Sloan of Heavy.com some people are wondering whether this is really a good idea since VS has for the longest time been geared towards biological women who were born female, but many upon many people are supportive and want to see the change that is coming about with each passing day when it comes to transgenders in the workplace and how they fill out various roles.
1. Her net worth is around $1.2 million.
Models seem to make a ridiculous amount of money just like any other celebrity that is seen in the public eye and is bound to be noticed more often than many. One could argue whether or not any of them are worth this much but it would be a steep and very heated debate.
Good luck to her in her modeling career, so far it would seem things are going well.
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