Evelina Pereira (born 11 May 1978) is a Portuguese film, television, and stage actress, singer, and top model who was crowned Best Model of the World in 2002.[2] As the 22nd holder of the title, she became the first woman and second person from Portugal to win Best Model of the World.[2]

Evelina Pereira
Pereira on 4 April 2015
Born (1978-05-11) 11 May 1978 (age 46)[1]
Porto, Portugal[1]
Occupations
  • Actress
  • model
  • singer
Years active1995–present
Notable work
TitleBest Model of the World
Term2002 (with Kıvanç Tatlıtuğ)
PredecessorŞenay Akay
Sylvain Larochell
SuccessorYuliya Lishchuk
Stefan Alie
Height1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[1]
Beauty pageant titleholder
TitleBest Model of the World 2002[1]
Hair colourBlonde
Eye colourBrown
Major
competition(s)
Best Model of the World
(winner)[1]

She studied singing, piano, and violin at the Porto Music Conservatory. In 1999, she was a lead singer in the pop girl group Antilook with fellow models Luísa Beirão, Raquel Loureiro, Rute Marques, and Vera Deus.

She has played roles in a variety of films and television series, including the 2003 Portuguese drama film The Fascination, 2007 American comedy heist film Ocean's Thirteen, 2007 American martial artsbuddy action comedy film Rush Hour 3, 2009 Portuguese short drama film Eu, Ofélia, 2010 Portuguese–American mystery and action drama film Backlight,[3] and the 2011 American romantic comedy film Friends with Benefits starring Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis.[4] Backlight, in which Evelina Pereira played the lead character Helena, was the second highest-grossing Portuguese film in 2010.[5]

Her television work includes appearances in Made in Portugal (1995), Herman 98 (1998), O Amigo Público (1998), Gala Portugal Fashion (1999), Mundo VIP (2001), Só Visto (2005), Nip/Tuck (2006), Fama Show (2009), Entourage (2009), DeLuxe (2010), As Tardes da Júlia (2010) 5 Para a Meia-Noite (2010), A Última Ceia (2010), and Destino Imortal (2010).

Pereira lived in Italy, England, France, Greece, Spain, and Brazil. She speaks fluent English, French, Italian, and Spanish in addition to her native language Portuguese. In 2015, she moved to New York City and is currently living in Los Angeles County, California.

Early life

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Evelina Pereira was born on 11 May 1982 in Porto, northwestern Portugal, to a family of artists. She got involved in theatre productions, ballet, and jazz dance at a very young age. She studied singing, piano, and violin at the Porto Music Conservatory. She was a lead singer in the all-female band Antilook that consisted of four other models, Vera Deus, Rute Marques, Raquel Loureiro, and Luísa Beirão.

Pageantry

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Best Model of the World

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Pereira competed in the 15th Best Model of the World pageant and won the title "Best Model of the World" on 30 November 2012,[1] succeeding Best Model of the World 2011 Şenay Akay of Turkey.[2] As the 22nd holder of the title, she became the first woman from Portugal to win Best Model of the World.[2] This is the second time that Portugal has won the title, after Miguel Teixeira won the male division in 1996.[2]

Acting career

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She has played roles in a variety of films and television series.

Her debut film role was in the 2003 Portuguese drama film The Fascination. She has acted in American and Portuguese films, including the 2007 American comedy heist film Ocean's Thirteen, 2007 American martial artsbuddy action comedy film Rush Hour 3, 2009 Portuguese short drama film Eu, Ofélia, 2010 Portuguese–American mystery and action drama film Backlight,[3] and the 2011 American romantic comedy film Friends with Benefits starring Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis.[4]

Backlight, in which Evelina Pereira played the lead character Helena, was the second highest-grossing Portuguese film in 2010.[5]

Her television work includes appearances in Made in Portugal (1995), Herman 98 (1998), O Amigo Público (1998), Gala Portugal Fashion (1999), Mundo VIP (2001), Só Visto (2005), Nip/Tuck (2006), Fama Show (2009), Entourage (2009), DeLuxe (2010), As Tardes da Júlia (2010) 5 Para a Meia-Noite (2010), A Última Ceia (2010), and Destino Imortal (2010).

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
2003 The Fascination Journalist Patrícia Neves
2007 Ocean's Thirteen Informer
2007 Rush Hour 3 Foreign Minister
2009 Eu, Ofélia Short film
2010 Backlight Helena
2011 Friends with Benefits Belgian

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1995 Made in Portugal Herself
1998 Herman 98 Herself Episode: "1.13"
1998 O Amigo Público Herself (as Antilook)
1999 Gala Portugal Fashion Herself Television film
2001 Mundo VIP Herself
2005 Só Visto Herself
2006 Nip/Tuck Muse
2009 Fama Show Herself Episode: "17 May 2009"
2009 Entourage Bianca
2010 DeLuxe Herself Episode: "16 January 2010"
2010 As Tardes da Júlia Herself Episode: "22 January 2010"
2010 5 Para a Meia-Noite Herself Episode: "27 January 2010"
2010 A Última Ceia Herself
2010 Destino Imortal Valentina

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f "Evelina Pereira". fashionmodeldirectory.com. Fashion Model Directory. Archived from the original on 12 April 2017. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Winners". bestmodeloftheworld.com. Istanbul: Best Model of the World. 2017. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  3. ^ a b "Filme "Contraluz", de Fernando Fragata, estreia hoje" [The film Backlight, by Fernando Fragata, comes out today]. Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). 22 July 2010. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  4. ^ a b "Justin Timberlake derrete-se com Evelina Pereira" [Justin Timberlake falls in love with Evelina Pereira]. Record (in Portuguese). 22 July 2010. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  5. ^ a b "Filmes nacionais mais vistos – 2004/2005 (Dados até 01 de Julho de 2015)" [Most visited national films – 2004/2005 (Data until 1 July 2015)] (PDF). ica-ip.pt (in Portuguese). Instituto do Cinema e do Audiovisual [Institute of Cinema and Audiovisual]. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 July 2015. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
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Evelina Pereira at IMDb