Meet Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid's Brazilian model wife and their only child

Anne De Paula is originally from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She played soccer and was a goalie growing up.  She got involved with modeling at the young age of 12, and then she got signed at 14. She went on to become a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model four times.

The model shared with Sports Illustrated: "I was a goalkeeper for five or six years. That was everything I wanted to do. I started playing when I was eight, nine years old. Because I started modeling at 13, I had to stop. How can I have pretty hands and still play soccer? It's been a while since I played. But if I had a couple weeks off, I would start again."

Anne also revealed what her priorities in life are and shared: "I have a goal first of leading my town and helping my family and friends lead a better life. The reason I left my country is not because I don't love it, but the opportunities are here. But I do everything for the people I love. I want to buy my family my house."

She continued: "My biggest goal is to make the people I love happy and give them everything I can. In business, after modeling, I want to invest and start a business. I could start my own brand or my own clothing line. I would love to be able to share with people the things I love."

How did Joel and Anne meet?

The two met at a mutual friend's dinner party in 2018 during which they didn't interact much. Anne initially didn't know who he was, however, she quickly realized that he was a basketball player when he stood up and towered over everyone. 

They started off as friends, and shared many similarities such as playing soccer growing up, speaking French, dreaming of having a family, and both being immigrants pursuing a dream, being that she is originally from Brazil and he arrived from Cameroon.

She recalled to ESPN: "It started off as a beautiful friendship. We FaceTimed every day for a while. He just has this personality where he wants to motivate you. His friends, his family and now with Arthur. He pushes all of us to be the best of ourselves. That's the type of person you want to have around."

Anne gushed about Joel in their early dating stages to Maxim and said: "I am very chill, and it's not easy to catch my attention since I am never looking for anything when I am single. But now that I have a boyfriend, I would say that he caught my attention by just being himself. Also, by liking soccer and speaking French…I love the language and speak it as well."

When asked about her celebrity crush, she expressed without hesitation: "My man is my crush all day, every day."

The two welcomed their son Arthur Elijah de Paula Embiid in 2020 and they tied the knot in 2023. Their son was named after Joel's late brother, who passed away in 2014 due to a tragic car accident.

Joel hopes for more children in the future. After the birth of this newborn, he enthusiastically wrote on social media: "First of 11 or more? Trying to convince her but I'm not winning so far. I'm just trying to build a soccer team. But for real, I'm so excited for the future and my life has a new meaning. Kudos to @annedepaula_ for being so strong and giving me the Greatest Gift our life can offer."