Emanuela de Paula was born April 25, 1989 in Cabo de Santo Agostinho, Pernambuco, Brazil is a Brazilian model. She has been the face of UK retailer Next for the past two seasons and can be seen in the 2009 Pirelli Calendar. Emanuela de Paula was born to a White Brazilian mother and an Afro Brazilian father. "I am what we call mulata". She has stated to be one of the few models to represent Black women in the fashion industry.

She first took an interest in modeling at the age of nine and quickly booked a supermarket advertisement. By the age of 15, de Paula was visiting modeling agencies. She signed with the Marilyn Agency, the first agency she visited. Her first season was in NY City in 2005, and yielded runway work for the likes of Ralph Lauren, Bill Blass and Zac Posen, as well as a story for W, photographed by Michael Thompson. Her other runway credits include Alexandre Herchcovitch, Colcci, Diane von Furstenberg, Jennifer Lopez Sweetface, Kenneth Cole, Lacoste, Lucy In The Sky, Rebecca Taylor, Salinas, Tommy Hilfiger, and Yigal Azrouel, and she has appeared in campaigns for Alexandre Herchcovitch, the Swedish brand Gina Tricot, Cavalera, DKNY, GAP Body, Hush Puppies, MAC, Mixed, Prescriptives, Sephora, Tommy Hilfiger, Top Shop and Victoria Secret. Her editorials include Allure Magazine, French, Marie Claire, Vogue, and Women's Wear Daily.

By the age of 20, de Paula had landed two makeup campaigns: M.A.C. Barbie Collection and Prescriptives. She walked at the Victoria Secret fashion show 2008. According to Forbes, de Paula ranked the eleventh highest paid supermodel for 2009, earning $2.5 million. She currently resides in NY City, and has walked runway for Sao Paulo Fashion Week, home to the largest fashion shows in Brazil. She has been praised by Naomi Campbell and Anna Wintour of Vogue.