Tasha de Vasconcelos

Tasha de Vasconcelos was born in Beira, Mozambique, with Portuguese ancestry on her father's side and British on her mother's side. Her old European background is very evident in her multilingual diversity and her capacity to interact with different cultures. Due to social unrest in Africa her family moved to Canada, where Tasha went on to study international relations at the University of British Columbia. In 1998 Tasha graduated in International Strategy at the Centre for Diplomatic and Strategic Studies in Paris. Tasha's modelling career began when she was spotted in Canada. A highly successful career as an international model was established with New York photographer Steven Meisel shooting Tasha for her first Vogue cover. Her acting debut was with a part in French movie _Riches, belles, etc. and 'Grace Jones' in the original Bond films. Among her sporting skills, Tasha is an outstanding horsewoman and pentathlon competitor. Tasha's other great passion is helping underprivileged children, supporting charities such as the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund and the Association for Drug-addicted Children in Portugal. She is a goodwill representative for UNICEF to Bolivia for malnourished children and to Algeria for war-ravaged children. Tasha is also the goodwill ambassador appointed by Bolivia's first lady for the "Children of Pailaviri" project.