Alessandra Corine Ambrosio was undoubtedly one of the most popular Angels strutting down the runway at this year's annual Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, which aired Tuesday night on CBS.

Ambrosio has came a long way to fame and success. She was born in the Brazilian city of Erechim on April 11, 1981 to gas station-owning parents. At the age of 12, she enrolled in a modeling class, and by the age of 14, she was one of 20 finalists for the 1996 Elite Model Look national competition for Brazil.

The Brazilian supermodel was always insecure about her large ears, so she went under the knife of painful cosmetic surgery only at the age of 12 to have her ears pinned back. As a result, Ambrosio had suffered complications two years later, which she admitted that it was a bad experience and has discouraged her from getting plastic surgery again.

At age 15, she began modeling for Dilson Stein. Her first notable modeling job was her debut cover of Brazilian Elle magazine. Alessandra Ambrosio has since appeared in advertisements and campaigns for famous brands, including Christian Dior, Georgio Armani, Ralph Lauren and Revlon. She has walked the runways for couture fashion houses, such as Prada, Chanel, and Oscar de la Renta. She has also appeared over 70 covers of international magazine: she was featured on Elle, GQ, Cosmopolitan, Harper's Bazaar, Marie Clair, Glamour and Vogue.

In 2004, Ambrosio launched her own line of swimwear called "Alessandra Ambrosio" by Sais, a division of Rosa Chá. It instantly sold 10,000 units in only its first month on the market. She was selected as the first spokesmodel for the Victoria's Secret "PINK" line in the same year.

In 2005, she walked the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show runway wearing memorable lingerie made entirely out of candy. In the 2008 edition of the Fashion Show, she walked the runway only three months after giving birth to her first child, and opened the show the following year in 2009. The 2011 show featured her wearing the heaviest Angel wings, which weighed 30 lbs, ever made for the show. In 2012, Ambrosio was crowned to wear the floral "Fantasy Bra."

In addition, Ambrosio was ranked No. 5 on Forbes' "The World's Top-Earning Models" list, with estimated earnings of $5 million over the year 2010-2011. She came in No. 6 on the list last year, estimated to have earned $6.6 million only in one year. While she dropped off this year's top 10 list, Forbes calls her a "likely candidate to make the list next year," while she still has a reported net worth of $40 million.

Mother of two, the 32-year-old model Alessandra Ambrosio certainly knows how to turn her good looks into a business.