Miss-Delectable
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THE SUPERMODEL WHO'S DEAF - Sunday - News - Sunday Mirror
'So many agencies said I was beautiful.. but didn't sign me because I can't hear'
As the world's top models gather for London Fashion Week, one of the most beautiful girls won't hear the cheers as she struts down the catwalk.
Gorgeous Brenda Costa - who has graced glossy mags and fronted international ad campaigns for Guess and L'Oreal - was born deaf.
But her determination to succeed has ensured she's risen to the top of a business obsessed with image.
The 24-year-old Brazilian says: "I've never seen being deaf as a problem. I have grown up with it and it's just a part of who I am.
"I actually think it has made me a better person - it has made me stronger and more patient with other people and their faults.
"I'm a fighter and I think it's important for other girls to know they shouldn't give up on their dream just because they are a bit different."
Born in Rio de Janeiro, Brenda was determined to follow in the footsteps of her mother, who was a model.
She says: "I look a lot like my mother, we have the same skin and hair."
And she has a lot more to thank her mother for. Rather than making her learn sign language, Brenda's parents sent her to a speech therapist when she was three and then on to a mainstream school. Brenda's first language is Portuguese but she has also taught herself English and French. She can lip-read and talks with plenty of facial expressions and gestures to make herself understood.
But despite her stunning looks, Brenda's disability made agencies wary and she was forced to fight for her dream.
She says: "They all said how beautiful I was but said they would not be able to work with me because I was deaf. But I refused to give up."
Eventually the owner of 40deg Models spotted Brenda's potential. He understood her because he had a deaf son - and signed her on the spot.
Since then, leggy 5ft 10in Brenda has strutted down catwalks in Milan, Paris, New York and London.
Now she has also been signed by the UK's Premier Models agency and her autobiography, Silent Beauty, has just been published in France.
But the headstrong beauty has faced more than her fair share of battles along her journey to success.
When she shared a flat in New York with 14 other girls, three of the models would bitch about her in front of her - not realising she could lip-read. "They would talk about how I wouldn't make it as a model and make fun of me. Then I landed a big campaign that none of them could get... and that said it all," she smiles.
'So many agencies said I was beautiful.. but didn't sign me because I can't hear'
As the world's top models gather for London Fashion Week, one of the most beautiful girls won't hear the cheers as she struts down the catwalk.
Gorgeous Brenda Costa - who has graced glossy mags and fronted international ad campaigns for Guess and L'Oreal - was born deaf.
But her determination to succeed has ensured she's risen to the top of a business obsessed with image.
The 24-year-old Brazilian says: "I've never seen being deaf as a problem. I have grown up with it and it's just a part of who I am.
"I actually think it has made me a better person - it has made me stronger and more patient with other people and their faults.
"I'm a fighter and I think it's important for other girls to know they shouldn't give up on their dream just because they are a bit different."
Born in Rio de Janeiro, Brenda was determined to follow in the footsteps of her mother, who was a model.
She says: "I look a lot like my mother, we have the same skin and hair."
And she has a lot more to thank her mother for. Rather than making her learn sign language, Brenda's parents sent her to a speech therapist when she was three and then on to a mainstream school. Brenda's first language is Portuguese but she has also taught herself English and French. She can lip-read and talks with plenty of facial expressions and gestures to make herself understood.
But despite her stunning looks, Brenda's disability made agencies wary and she was forced to fight for her dream.
She says: "They all said how beautiful I was but said they would not be able to work with me because I was deaf. But I refused to give up."
Eventually the owner of 40deg Models spotted Brenda's potential. He understood her because he had a deaf son - and signed her on the spot.
Since then, leggy 5ft 10in Brenda has strutted down catwalks in Milan, Paris, New York and London.
Now she has also been signed by the UK's Premier Models agency and her autobiography, Silent Beauty, has just been published in France.
But the headstrong beauty has faced more than her fair share of battles along her journey to success.
When she shared a flat in New York with 14 other girls, three of the models would bitch about her in front of her - not realising she could lip-read. "They would talk about how I wouldn't make it as a model and make fun of me. Then I landed a big campaign that none of them could get... and that said it all," she smiles.
