Growing up in Angola during the African nation’s civil war and raised by older siblings, Maria Borges has hardly had a charmed childhood. But she’s making up for lost time now.

With the famed casting director James Scully as her cheerleader, the Portuguese-speaking stunner caught the eye of Riccardo Tisci and scored a Givenchy runway exclusive, followed by another, and she walked Tom Ford’s comeback collection. She also nabbed spreads in LOVE, Italian Vogue, and CR Fashion Book before becoming one of six black models in Raf Simons’ couture collection for Dior in July, his first time using darker skinned girls at Dior.