For Marianne Fonseca, lymphatic drainage was part of growing up in Brazil. Her mother introduced her to the practice when she was just 13, and it became a ritual she carried with her as her modeling career took her around the world. Years later, that familiar part of Brazilian beauty culture would inspire Gente Beauty, the body care brand she founded to bring a little of Brazil's beauty culture to women everywhere.
Born in Uberlândia, Brazil, Fonseca entered the modeling world at 15, moving to São Paulo and balancing school with castings. By 16, she was working in China, the beginning of a career that would take her to 17 countries. She eventually signed with Elite Models in the United States and worked with major names including Lancôme, Hugo Boss and Dior.
© Kristina BumphreyAfter nearly two decades in fashion, Fonseca began thinking seriously about creating something herself. She knew firsthand how difficult it could be to find the body treatments she loved outside Brazil, and she believed there was a market for products that could make those rituals part of an everyday routine.
She launched Gente Beauty in 2022, bringing familiar Brazilian ingredients like Amazonian guaraná and açaí into her body care products. She also brought a little piece of home into the packaging, taking inspiration from the famous wave-patterned sidewalks of Copacabana and Ipanema.
Convincing investors was more difficult than she expected. For seven months, Fonseca pitched her business, only to hear that her numbers weren’t strong enough. She also encountered people who struggled to see beyond her modeling career. However, she didn’t give up, and in 2025, she finally secured an investment from Webster Capital, giving Gente the support it needed to grow.
© Marc PiaseckiFonseca has kept busy in 2026. In March, she introduced Scent #02, a lymphatic drainage oil created with her husband, Drew Taggart of The Chainsmokers. The fragrance combines black orchid and ylang-ylang, inspired by the sensuality she associates with Brazilian and Latin culture. A few months later came Belly Firm, a body cream launched alongside a collaboration with Brazilian designer Gustavo Silvestre and his Ponto Firme initiative, which supports artisans through handmade crochet.
Today, Fonseca is finding success in an industry that once questioned whether a model could build a serious business. With Gente reaching more customers and a growing collection of products, she's showing that her experience in front of the camera was only one chapter of her career. The next is unfolding with her name behind the brand and her Brazilian heritage at its heart.
