written by erika janes photographed by daniel doperalski
ais Ribeiro is apologizing — and it’s completely unnecessary. The Brazilian supermodel logged on to Zoom for her SheKnows interview sporting a black workout tank top and a slicked-back ponytail — but she worries it’s not the glamorous look people expect. She is a Victoria’s Secret Angel, after all.
Outfit: Dior | Rings & Bracelet: David Yurman | Ear cuffs: Maalicious
the sustainability issue 2024
written by giovana gelhorn | photographs by jerome duran
Lais Ribeiro Is Leaving a Legacy
One With Nature
The Brazilian supermodel opens up about the challenges of motherhood, launching her own non-profit and staying true to her nature-loving roots.
While Br_dge is a new project, Ribeiro’s love for nature is anything but. After all, being born and raised in Piauí, located in the Northeast of Brazil, Ribeiro was surrounded by the best of what nature has to offer from the very beginning.
“I grew up in the Parnaíba River,” she says of the river that separates Piauí and the neighboring state of Maranhão. “I learned how to swim in that river. My son learned how to swim in the river. Even today, every time I go to my hometown, the whole family goes to the river.”
Ribeiro was still a teenager — and a single mom — when she left river life behind and moved to New York City after a national modeling competition in Brazil proved to be her big break.
However, she never let that move keep her from finding her way back to nature. “I'm lucky that my job gives me the opportunity that even if I'm [based in] New York, I'm shooting in the Bahamas, I'm in Hawaii,” she says. “It always gave me that [feeling of] ‘lucky me’ to be around nature.”
Today, Ribeiro lives with Noah and their kids in Miami in a home with a lush, verdant backyard — which happened to be the location for her SheKnows photoshoot — that she lovingly describes as their “very own Amazon Rainforest.”
“It's my family’s little oasis to relax and recharge,” she says of the space. “Alexandre found a turtle the other day!”
In many ways, the backyard became a passion project for the couple; part tropical oasis, part sustainable grocery store and taste of home. “Right now we have starfruit, guava, oranges, grapefruit, jackfruit, blueberries, mango, avocado, eggplant, spinach, and so much more growing back there,” she says. “I love to eat my produce.”
Of course, that didn’t come without some effort. “We moved here three years ago and there was nothing,” she says, tilting her laptop to show the gorgeous baobab tree next to her bedroom window. “We literally planted everything you can imagine.”
Being a Mom First
While Ribeiro is a hands-on mom now, she spent the majority of her son’s first five years building her career and supporting him from afar while he remained in Brazil with her family. As we all know, that worked out professionally — but it came with a hefty personal price.
“It was the five hardest years of my life,” she admits, and from the beginning of our interview, the emotion that she still feels about that time in their lives is evident. She recounts one particularly searing moment, when she heard her young son call Ribeiro’s own mother “mom.” It’s something that stings to this day. “I knew it wasn’t on purpose,” she says. “It was deeper because I wasn't there.”
Today, Alexandre knows that “everything that I did was for him,” Ribeiro says proudly. But that experience of having to parent from afar — and the desire to be able to have her son with her — shaped much of her early years in the industry. “I was never that girl who wanted to buy this or that,” she says. “I always wanted to buy my apartment, bring my son, bring my mom, bring my family close to me.”
“I was never that girl who wanted to buy this or that… I always wanted to buy my apartment, bring my son, bring my mom, bring my family close to me.”
That happened in 2013, when she brought 5-year-old Alexandre to New York City to live with her. The joyful moment came with another challenge, as Alexandre was diagnosed with autism shortly after.
“I didn't know much about autism when we first found out, so it was a shock,” she says of the diagnosis. “It scares you, as a mother, because you don't know how it's going to affect them and what kind of life they will have. I had to immerse myself in the special needs community and work with organizations to best understand his needs and how I can fully support him.”
Looking back now, Ribeiro says that the hardest part of his diagnosis was other people’s ignorance. “I remember many people, especially in the northeast of Brazil, who would say, ‘This is pickiness,’” she remembers. “It's not — and it's a very serious thing.”
Her advice these days can be summed up in one word: respect. “Respect other people's space and being because they're just being themselves,” she says. “They're not trying to provoke.”
With that said, being Alexandre’s mom has taught Ribeiro so much. “I think he's the freest person I ever met in my entire life,” she says of her teenage son, with her eyes once again swelling with tears. “He is so comfortable in his own skin, you know?”
Alexandre shares a great connection with his mom, as well as one with his family, Brazil, and, of course, the environment. Ribeiro is proud of just about everything her son does, but she’s especially proud of how connected he still is with nature — even if it takes some effort to get him away from his computer and out of his room (aka his “cave”).
“We go to Hawaii a lot, [where there are] waterfalls, feet on the ground, no shoes for like, a whole month,” she says. “I think you just have to keep exposing them to the best that you can.”
With time, Alexandre’s even picked up some of his mom’s “green” habits. “One of my favorite things I've seen from him is how he pays attention more to recycling,” she says. “We have a waste bin dedicated to recycling, and he’s started doing it on his own without me having to remind him.” As any parent of a teenager can attest to, that’s quite a win!
With her modeling career and her home life established, Ribeiro felt the urge to do something greater for the environment than the small, everyday things so many of us do — from swapping single-use plastic for to-go coffee tumblers, stainless steel straws and refillable, eco-friendly packaging to conserving energy by keeping her lights off until it’s dark (which she does religiously). She wanted to make a real impact.
That feeling was only exacerbated after a trip to Piauí. “It was 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit) every single day,” she remembers. “People go to work and then they come back to eat their food and take a nap because it's so hot outside and nobody can be outside,” she says, adding that places like those will have the “first people to die” when global warming intensifies even further.
She was also inspired by her husband and mother-in-law’s philanthropic efforts (the two founded the Noah’s Arc Foundation, a non-profit that provides diverse opportunities for kids to make a positive impact on themselves and their community). So, in one full swoop, Ribeiro left her team in 2021 and began looking for someone who truly “understood” her and could help her turn her ideas into action. That’s when she connected with Navarro, an agent she had known for many years.
“He came here and we're talking and he's like ‘I'm doing a lot of impact work,’” she recalls. “I was like, ‘Wait, what?’” In one sentence, Navarro not only got a business partner, but a client, too.
Speaking with Navarro, it seems their collaboration was actually a long time coming. Turns out, he felt her spark for philanthropy at an event they worked on many years prior. “It was beautiful,” Navarro remembers. “I could see that the more [she] worked with people, the more I could see that she was more passionate and emotional about it. That’s when I knew she's about this life.”
Fast forward a few years: Ribeiro and Navarro co-founded Br_dge in 2023, a non-profit that raises awareness and brings attention to “meaningful causes” across four pillars: agroforestry, brain health, financial education, and ocean preservation. “They are core to building a foundation to healthy living and career,” Ribeiro says of the four principles.
“Br_dge is literally what the name is,” she continues. “It's trying to [make] a bridge in between these people that need the support and us using our voice and trying to help each other.”
For Navarro, Ribeiro’s commitment and leadership throughout it all “wasn't a surprise to me.”
“She was already a leader,” he says. “She's a leader in her own community and her own family and her friends.”
At the end of 2023, Br_dge hosted its first major activation, the ‘Evening for the Amazon’ event in Miami which included a silent auction in aid of the BOA foundation, a non-profit that works with indigenous communities to preserve and protect sacred land, culture, and ancient wisdom. A-list guests included major designers, models, brand owners, and philanthropists; the event also raised $10,000 for the Foundation in just one night.
“It's not only about making money. It’s also about making the difference and using your platform for a better cause.”
Still, Ribeiro’s goals with Br_dge are much greater than that kind of green. “It's not only about making money,” she says. “It’s also about making the difference and using your platform for a better cause.”
Making an Impact
Bottega Veneta skirt, Kanika Goyal Label Vegan leather top
Andreeva dress
Fe Noel top and skirt, Cled ring
Jil Sander long vest, Cled earrings
Bottega Veneta skirt, Kanika Goyal Label Vegan leather top
Andreeva dress
Stella McCartney dress
Fe Noel top and skirt, Cled ring
Andreeva dress
Fe Noel top and skirt, Cled ring
Photographs: Jerome Duran
Styling: Kelly Brown
Creative Direction: Danielle Giarratano
Hair: Humberto Romero
Makeup: Daniela Gozlan
VP, Video: Reshma Gopaldas
Senior Video Editor: Allie O'Connell
Video Editor: Sarah Wallace
Video Director: Creative Fox Films
Video Assistant: Sten García
Back to Digital Issue
Stella McCartney dress
Fe Noel top and skirt, Cled ring
Being a Mom First
Making an Impact
Bottega Veneta skirt, Kanika Goyal Label Vegan leather top
aís Ribeiro is apologizing — and it’s completely unnecessary. The Brazilian supermodel logged on to Zoom for her SheKnows interview sporting a black workout tank top and a slicked-back ponytail — but she worries it’s not the glamorous look people expect. She is a Victoria’s Secret Angel, after all.
From the very start of our conversation, back in February, it’s clear that these days, Ribeiro has a long list of priorities that take precedence over primping for a Zoom call. In fact, if she had time on her hands, maybe she wouldn’t be Zooming in for this interview from her home in Miami and would be back in her native Brazil, partying in carnival. Alas, “to want is not to be able to,” she says in Portuguese about the celebration. “There’s so much to do.”
Since becoming a mom and a model at the age of 18, Ribeiro, who grew up in the small town of Miguel Alves, Piauí, has been all business. In addition to maintaining a thriving career and parenting her now-15-year-old son Alexandre, Ribeiro married former NBA basketball player Joakim Noah in 2022 and became a stepmom to his kids, 7-year-old Leia and 5-year-old Emaan.
And while all these commitments are certainly enough to keep the 33-year-old busy, Ribeiro recently embarked on yet another adventure: Br_dge, a non-profit that she co-founded with her agent and business partner Carl Navarro in 2023. Br_dge organizes large activations to raise awareness and funding for meaningful projects in agroforestry, brain health, financial education, and ocean preservation in Brazil, Miami, and beyond.
L
From the very start of our conversation, back in February, it’s clear that these days, Ribeiro has a long list of priorities that take precedence over primping for a Zoom call. In fact, if she had time on her hands, maybe she wouldn’t be Zooming in for this interview from her home in Miami and would be back in her native Brazil, partying in carnival. Alas, “to want is not to be able to,” she says in Portuguese about the celebration. “There’s so much to do.”
Since becoming a mom and a model at the age of 18, Ribeiro, who grew up in the small town of Miguel Alves, Piauí, has been all business. In addition to maintaining a thriving career and parenting her now-15-year-old son Alexandre, Ribeiro married former NBA basketball player Joakim Noah in 2022 and became a stepmom to his kids, 7-year-old Leia and 5-year-old Emaan.
And while all these commitments are certainly enough to keep the 33-year-old busy, Ribeiro recently embarked on yet another adventure: Br_dge, a non-profit that she co-founded with her agent and business partner Carl Navarro in 2023. Br_dge organizes large activations to raise awareness and funding for meaningful projects in agroforestry, brain health, financial education, and ocean preservation in Brazil, Miami, and beyond.
L
Andreeva dress
Andreeva dress
Stella McCartney dress
Jil Sander long vest, Cled earrings, THEMOIRÈ bag
Bottega Veneta skirt, Kanika Goyal Label Vegan leather top