Xuxa

Maria da Graa Meneghel was born on March 27, 1963, in the town of Santa Rosa, a southern region of Brazil that was dominated by German and Italian immigrants. She was the youngest of seven children, five of whom survived. Big brother Bladimir gave her the moniker Xuxa, which stuck with her for life.

Her father Luiz Floriano was a military man, and got stationed in the postcard city of Rio de Janeiro when she was 7. At age 15 she was followed home by a magazine publisher who spotted the pretty blue-eyed blonde in the train and invited her to audition to be a model. A year later, she was on the cover of a magazine.

In 1980, Xuxa posed for another magazine with other Brazilian models and the great soccer legend Pel. The smitten athlete wooed the young model and the two embarked on a six-year romance, which propelled her career forward. She knew she was big when the Brazilian edition of Play..boy invited her for a photo shoot: in Brazil, posing for Play..boy marks the pinnacle of a woman's career.

She was only 20 when she was given her own variety TV show, Clube da Criana (Children's Club). She was an instant hit: her candor on camera and her way with kids (they all received kisses) caught the attention of Latin America's media giant, Globo TV. In 1985, Globo TV took her as its own.