Tasha De Vasconcelos: Mozambican-British Model with a Passion for Helping Underprivileged Kids

Born on August 15, 1966, in Mozambique, Tasha de Vasconcelos Mota e Cunha is a Supermodel with an international profile as well as an actress who has appeared on the stage, television, and film.
However, her true vocation is in her humanitarian work. Tasha has undertaken special missions for the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund in South Africa, and served as Goodwill Volunteer for UNICEF, first for children suffering from malnutrition in Bolivia, then for childhood victims of war in Algeria.
She has also worked in Mozambique with UNAIDS as Special Campaigner for Children. Honored for her humanitarian work by UNESCO, she was also named in 2009 as official ambassador of the Pasteur Institute – a first for this renowned international leader in medical research.
She has been nominated Ambassador for humanitarian causes supported by Louis Vuitton. In 2008, she became the global face of Nivea worldwide for the next five years.
AMOR Association (Aide Mondiale Orphelins Réconfort) is an international charity founded by Tasha de Vasconcelos in 2006, with the support of Prince Albert II. Working with trusted local agencies and international partners, AMOR aims to contribute to significant reductions in global infant and maternal mortality rates.
Towards this aim, AMOR provides medical services to mothers at risk and appropriate care for orphans. The first AMOR project, launched in April 2009, is the AMOR Kasese Maternity Clinic in Malawi. A country at the epicenter of the HIV/Aids pandemic, Malawi suffers one of the worst maternal mortality rates in the world, almost 1,000 per 100,000 live births.
Tasha de Vasconcelos was born in Beira, Mozambique, with Portuguese ancestry on her father’s side and British on her mother’s side. Her old European background is very evident in her multilingual diversity and her capacity to interact with different cultures. Due to social unrest in Africa her family moved to Canada, where Tasha went on to study international relations at the University of British Columbia. In 1998 Tasha graduated in International Strategy at the Centre for Diplomatic and Strategic Studies in Paris.
Tasha’s modelling career began when she was spotted in Canada. A highly successful career as an international model was established with New York photographer Steven Meisel shooting Tasha for her first Vogue cover. Her acting debut was with a part in French movie Riches, belles, etc. (1998) with ‘Claudia Cardinale’, Marisa Berenson and ‘Anouk Aimee’. She studied acting at the Cours Florent (France) and the Central School of Speech and Drama. She went on to play the sexually liberated minx Lauren in the leading female role opposite ‘Paul Kaye’ in the BBC comedy series “Perfect World” (2000).
Then followed the remake of Murder on the Orient Express (2001) (TV) for CBS with Tasha playing a Russian jewel thief opposite Alfred Molina. Her next UK appearances were in “Largo Winch” (2001) as a feisty independent writer and love interest of Paolo Seganti and in “Relic Hunter” (1999) playing the part of a warrior princess. Both launched in the US, with Largo Winch also distributed in Europe. But Tasha’s other great passion is helping underprivileged children.