Lais Ribeiro didn’t set out to become a model but, as she told us for SheKnows’ Sustainability Issue, everything fell into place when she was a teenager, allowing her to embark on a successful career walking for brands like Victoria’s Secret, Givenchy, and Gucci.

“I never knew I wanted to be a model, I was going to school to be a nurse,” Ribeiro told us of her career beginnings in a sit-down video interview to accompany her cover story. “Everything worked well. And I was in the right time, on the right spot. It never went through my mind until, you know, I had the opportunity.”