How I’m Teaching My Children About Their Brazilian Roots

Camila Alves is Momtastic’s October celebrity guest editor. Since breaking into the fashion industry at age 19, the Brazilian beauty has excelled as a model, designer, and entrepreneur. In July 2012, she was named the face of Macy’s I.N.C. International Concepts, and appeared in television commercials, as well as print campaigns for the brand. Camila became the host of the third season of the hit reality show “Shear Genius” on Bravo in 2010. Five years before that, she partnered with her fashion designer mother, Fatima, to create the MUXO handbag line. After the success of their initial launch of high-end accessories, they developed a more affordable MUXO collection for QVC.Camila was born in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, and spent her childhood on the beaches of Bahia and the farmlands of Minas Gerais. At 15, she moved to Los Angeles to pursue her dream career in fashion. Though she arrived speaking only Portuguese, Camila picked up English while cleaning houses and waiting tables, as she worked to break into the modeling industry.These days, Camila balances her growing design and modeling career with her role as a busy mother of three children -- Levi, 6, Vida 4, and Livingston, 1, whom she shares with her actor husband Matthew McConaughey. The couple met in 2006 and got married in June 2012 in Austin, Texas, where they live. Together, they’re co-founders of j.k.livin, a foundation that supports healthy lifestyles for young people across the United States.