Oluchi Onweagba

In 2005 she married Italian designer Luca Orlandi. The couple has 2 sons together.

She does charity work in Africa with LEAP Africa and NIPRO. She has lent her image to their campaigns free of charge.

Oluchi Onweagba was born on August 1, 1980, in Lagos, Nigeria. She grew up with her brother and sister in Lagos. Her father was a civil servant and her mother was a nurse.

She struggled with her self-image throughout her youth. She struggled with being too thin.

At the age of 17 her friend convinced her to give modeling a try. She tried out for the "Nokia Face of Africa" competition and won.

Winning the "Nokia Face of Africa" competition in 1998 launched her modeling career. Part of the prize was a modeling contract with Elite Model Management.

She made her debut on the runway in 1998. It was for designer Marc Bouwer.

In 1998, she was selected as the cover girl of Nars Cosmetics.

In August of 1998 she was photographed by Steven Meisel for the Italian cover of Vogue.

September of 1998 was the end to a great year for her. She walked the runways in Paris, Milan, and New York for world-class brands like Gucci, Chanel, and Christian Dior.

One of Oluchi's biggest modeling milestones is her work with Victoria's Secret. To be in their annual fashion show just once is an achievement in itself, and she walked the runway 7 straight years.

Another one of her big achievements was her work with Sports Illustrated. She appeared in their swimsuit issue for four consecutive years from 2005 to 2008.

In 2008 she opened her own agency in Africa called OModel Africa. Her goal is to use the exposure her career gave Africa to make careers for aspiring African models.