Isabela Valadeiro is a Brazilian actress, singer, and model. She has two full titles in the Recording Industry Association of America, as well as several credits on TV programs that air in the states of Texas and California. She was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and grew up in Brazil as a child of two Portuguese parents. After her family immigrated to the United States, she attended the University of California at Los Angeles, majoring in political science with a focus on international affairs.
When Valadeiro began working in the United States, in the early 1990s, she settled in New York City, eventually becoming known as one of the first models to wear a waffle iron under her clothing while promoting a clothing line in Manhattan. Her career spanned many years, with various stints in the Fashion Institute of America, appearing in numerous music videos, and working with fashion designer Jean Paul Gaultier on his run for president of France. She also appeared in a series of movies, including “One Hundred Greatest Moments in Television”, “The Perfect Score”, and “Vanity Fair”. In between jobs, Valadeiro pursued modeling, traveling to such locations as Paris and London. She even appeared on the reality television show “Survivor” for a point during its run, which earned her enough recognition to warrant a second season on the show.
Her acting career didn’t last long, however, as after completing a string of films that failed to catch mainstream audiences, she entered semi-retirement. She and her husband, guitarist Andres Segovia, decided to try their luck in the world of surfing, traveling to Key Largo, Florida, in order to build a wave for the first competitive surfing event in the United States. Despite early success, the couple soon decided that their lifestyle would not support a career in surfing, and in 1996, they filed for divorce. Four years later, with Valadeiro now a mother to a young son, she decided to pursue her acting dreams once again. This time around, she chose to try something different: playing the lead role in the animated musical “How I Live Now”, playing the role of Lucinda, a widowed playwright, along with her son, Michael Winner (voiced by Chris Sarandon).