Born in Argentina Yamila Diaz Rahi was destined to become a model. Her father was a doctor and mother a health care manager. She belongs to the Lebanese and Spanish descent, and has two sisters, Maria and Yael. 

It was her sheer luck that a modeling agency scout in Buenos Aires spotted her and thus began her success story. After this chance encounter, she flew to Milan where her career as a model began. 

She started off by doing department store catalogues for several years. But it was after her work in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Calendar in 1999 that Yamila skyrocketed to model status. Since her swimsuit and lingerie modeling stint, Yamila has graced the covers of Marie Claire, Elle (US and Spain), the European editions of Max, GQ and Shape. Yamila also joined the beautiful bevy of models for the 2000 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition, including Estella Warren and Laetitia Casta. 

In addition to her work with the Newport News catalogue, Yamila has recently appeared as one of the newest "Cover Girl" models, joining Niki Taylor, and has also appeared in ads for Replay jeans, Ungaro's "Fleur de Diva" perfume, and Italian cosmetics "Bio-Etyc". 

She may not be strutting down the runways for big name designers just yet, but Yamila has just been cast in an important movie role, to appear in an Italian feature film entitled Il pesce innamorato ("Love of the Fishes"), along with Italian actor Leonardo Pieraccioni. 

Yamila has been a cover girl for Harper's Bazaar, Marie Claire, Glamour and Elle. She was the first Latina spokesperson in Cover Girl history. Since it was luck that got her to where she is, Yamila has never allowed herself to develop the diva attitude many models are known for, despite the glamorous life she now leads.

The thing which differnetiates Yamila from rest of the models is her simplicity. She has never allowed to develop the diva attitude many models are known for, despite the glamorous life she now leads. The South American beauty broadens her achievements by developing her language skills -- learning Italian and English -- and delving into literature, most notably Brazilian writers.