Introducing Ana Sofia Henao

"I usually wear jeans, a T-shirt and tennis shoes... no make-up though."

- Ana Sofia Henao, on her casual wardrobe style.

Ana Sofia Henao, also known as Angel, was born on the 19th of June in 1982 in the then small town of Medellin, Antioquia, Columbia. Before she had even celebrated her 10th birthday, Ana Sofia knew that she wanted to be a model, but a big obstacle stood in her way; her body type. In her own words, Ana Sofia says she grew up "very, very chubby" and really did not have the right shape to get into modeling. It didn't help that classmates and neighborhood kids teased her and said that she looked like a barrel. In spite of all, Ana remained persistence and her shape as well as her life changed 3 short years later.

At the age of 13 Ana got her first experience as a young model at a 1994 photo shoot that earned her a whole 60 pesos; small change for a high-end fashion model, but to young Ana Sofia, it was a big payday. Now she was truly a professional and the money gradually began to flow, Soon she was getting regular work by modeling seasonal clothes from several Colombian chain stores.

Ana Sofia's true breakthrough into professional modeling came at age 16 when she was hired to pose for a swimsuit catalog named Onda De Mar. At only 27 years of age, she has become a large asset to the projects that she's a part of. Both men and women now knew her name and it was her plan to use that popularity to further her modeling career

It was her "SoHo" shoot that earned her the title of the Colombian "Lolita"," who drives kids, teenagers, parents, and grandparents mad", is the envy of most women of that country. In 1997, she was selected to model for the Onda de Mar catalog. Her career began to blossom after her appearance in the magazine Shock and a major modeling assignment for designer Carlos Pinel's clothing line

With the success of the Carlos Pinel gig, Ms Henao's career has begun to develop and flourish. After Pinel, she modeled for Wexler and was also involved as a model for Scribe notebooks for more than five years. Between 1998-2000 Ana became the Colombian face for Skechers joining the ranks of such beauties as Christina Aquilera, Ashlee Simpson, and Britney Spears. In 2000, she was named as the most beautiful woman in Colombia in a countrywide survey.

Ana is best known for her appearance in Crystal Gold commercials; a popular Colombian beer. One of Ana Sofia's career highlights came in 2001 when she was named "Angel of 2001" in Colombia, sharing the award with Natalia Paris, a fellow Colombian model who helped pave the way for Ana Sofia.

Since that award, Ana has maintained a steady diet of work that has included bikini modeling and pitches for Cervesa Cristal Oro, a Colombian beer. In addition to her current modeling, Ana is back in school studying corporate relations and communications, and hoping to get into acting at a later point down the road. Until that day comes, this soft-spoken Columbian "Angel" will continue to grace us with her beauty and exotic presence.