Adriana Lima's parents — her father left, her mother raised her alone, and it shaped everything
Adriana Lima’s parents are Nelson Torres, a carpenter, and Maria das Graças Lima, a social worker. Her father left the family when she was six months old, and she was raised primarily by her mother in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, a formative experience that deeply shaped her resilience and values.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Key takeaways
- Adriana Lima was raised by her mother, Maria das Graças Lima, after her father left when she was six months old.
- Adriana Lima’s mother worked as a social worker, while her father, Nelson Torres, was a carpenter.
- Lima grew up in Salvador, Brazil, before beginning her modelling career as a teenager.
- Nelson died in 2015, while Lima has continued to maintain a close public connection with her mother.
Profile summary
Full name | Adriana Lima |
Gender | Female |
Date of birth | 12 June 1981 |
Age | 45 years old (as of 2026) |
Zodiac sign | Gemini |
Place of birth | Salvador, Bahia, Brazil |
Current residence | Los Angeles, California, United States |
Nationality | Brazilian |
Ethnicity | Mixed |
Religion | Christianity |
Sexuality | Straight |
Height in inches | 5'10'' |
Height in centimetres | 178 |
Weight in pounds | 123 |
Weight in kilograms | 56 |
Hair colour | Dark brown |
Eye colour | Blue |
Father | Nelson Torres |
Mother | Maria das Graças Lima |
Relationship status | Married |
Husband | Andre Lemmers III |
Children | Valentina, Sienna, Cyan |
Profession | Model, actress and television personality/producer |
Net worth | $95 million |
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Meet Adriana Lima's parents, Nelson Torres and Maria das Graças Lima
Adriana Lima is known worldwide for her successful modelling career, particularly her long association with Victoria’s Secret. She was born on 12 June 1981 to Nelson Torres and Maria das Graças Lima. The model grew up in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, in a modest family with her mother as her main source of support. Explore more details about Adriana Lima’s family below:
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Nelson Torres
Adriana Lima’s father, Nelson Torres, worked as a carpenter in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. He left the family home when the model was only six months old, leaving her mother to raise her as a single parent.
Though estranged during much of her childhood and rise to fame, Adriana later reconnected and spent time with him before he died in 2015.
Maria das Graças Lima
Maria das Graças Lima raised Adriana Lima largely on her own in the Castelo Branco neighbourhood of Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, after Adriana’s father, Nelson Torres, left the family when she was just six months old.
As a state social worker, Maria worked hard to support her daughter while Adriana was growing up, long before her modelling career took her to the international stage. Lima has often spoken about her mother’s lasting influence, particularly in shaping her confidence and her approach to beauty. In a 2016 Marie Claire interview, Lima said,
And the women who taught me to be a strong, confident person are my grandmother and my mom.
Lima also recalled how her mother influenced her beauty habits from an early age, remembering one detail that stayed with her as she entered the modelling industry:
In fact, my first memory of beauty is my mother's lipstick. She has a simple and casual style, but she always wore a burgundy or red lip colour—and still does…When I became a model, makeup artists told me that accentuating just one feature, like your eyes or lips, prevents your face from looking overdone.
She continued:
We also used to do beauty treatments together when I was growing up in Brazil. I would go with my mom to the nail salon. And once a week, we would make a homemade hair mask by mashing up an avocado.... To this day, she still sends me Brazilian almond oil that I use as body moisturiser.
In a 2016 Allure interview, Lima also credited her mother with teaching her that true beauty is about more than appearance, saying:
My mother taught me at a very young age that beauty comes from within. A happy and smiling girl is the most beautiful girl in the room. Makeup is there to enhance the inner beauty that you exude.
Does Adriana Lima have any siblings?
Adriana Lima does not have any full siblings and was raised as an only child by her mother. However, she does have paternal half-brothers from her estranged father's later marriage.
FAQs
- Who is Adriana Lima? Adriana Lima is a Brazilian supermodel and businesswoman best known as the longest-running Victoria's Secret Angel from 1999 to 2018.
- Where is Adriana Lima from? She is from Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, where she was raised in the Castelo Branco neighbourhood.
- What is Adriana Lima’s age? Born on 12 June 1981, Adriana Lima is 45 years old as of 2026.
- Who are Adriana Lima’s parents? Her parents are Nelson Torres, a carpenter, and Maria das Graças Lima, a social worker.
- What ethnicity is Adriana? The popular model personally identifies as Afro-Brazilian. She has a diverse ethnic background that includes African, Portuguese, Native Brazilian, Japanese, Swiss, and West Indian heritage.
- Does Adriana Lima have African ancestry? Adriana Lima has African ancestry as part of her multi-ethnic background.
- What happened to Adriana Lima's dad? Her father walked out on the family when she was just six months old, but she later reconciled with him before he died in 2015.
- Is Adriana Lima an only child? She is the only child of her mother, but she has paternal half-siblings through her father.
Adriana Lima’s parents, Nelson Torres and Maria das Graças Lima, had very different roles in her childhood. Her father left when she was just six months old, while her mother raised her alone in Salvador, Brazil. That experience became an important part of Lima’s early life as she grew from a child raised by a single mother into one of the world’s most successful supermodels.
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Proofreading by Kola Muhammed, copy editor at Legit.ng.
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