By Laurie Brookins, Photographs: Daniela Federici

he's one of Brazil's hottest exports, part of that master modeling class from the late '90s that included Gisele Bündchen, Adriana Lima and Ana Beatriz Barros. But when she isn't gracing the cover of the latest Victoria's Secret catalog or starring in a Guess or Armani A/X campaign, Alessandra Ambrosio often can be found on the beach in her native country's idyllic seaside town of Florianopolis, catching a killer wave to feed her surfing addiction.

"Surfing is my passion," Ambrosio says. "Well, surfing and music. When I'm working, I'm always playing with the music and dancing around the studio."

In the 10 years since the Elite modeling agency discovered Ambrosio at age 14, she's managed to artfully balance work and play. That beach house, for example? "I spend a lot of time there in January and February, because it's too cold in New York," she says. "So I'll shoot a job for five days, then head down there for a week, then off to another job. I spend a lot of time on airplanes, but I can't stay away from the beach too long."

Not that she has time for leisurely visits. Ambrosio will rack up more frequent- flier miles when she embarks this month on a cross-country Victoria's Secret tour of Very Sexy cities as one of the lingerie mega-brand's Angel spokesmodels (fellow Angels Heidi Klum and Karolina Kurkova will appear at the Victoria's Secret store at The Forum Shops at Caesars on Thursday, April 19th, from noon to 2 p.m.).

"I love being an Angel; it was the biggest goal of my career," says Ambrosio, who first did the company's famed fashion show in 2000, then was hired to appear in the catalog in 2001. "They always have the most beautiful girls and shoot in the most beautiful places. The shoots are always really upbeat, and the crew is like a little family, which is why the photographs are so beautiful." Ambrosio signed on for the tour to promote the company's launch of its Very Sexy makeup line, and she adds that she was only too happy to become more involved in the beauty side of Victoria's Secret. "I'm a total girl that way," she says. "They send samples of the new fragrance and all the eye shadows and creams and ask my opinion, and I love that. Recently a bag arrived with what seemed like 200 different makeup colors, and I spent the weekend with my friends trying everything" ...

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