A blonde bombshell got her big break as a glamour model thanks to the patronage of the one and only Diego Maradona.
The Argentina icon changed the course of football history with his achievements for club and country – lifting two Serie A titles with Napoli and the World Cup with La Albiceleste. While it’s not quite as seismic as his on-field exploits , he also set Antonela Avellaneda on a different path, by funding her first naked photoshoot.
El Diego, who would have celebrated his 64th birthday last week but for his untimely death in November 2020, loved the company of beautiful women almost as much as he adored the beautiful game. And according to Antonela, he took a shine to her when she was still a starry-eyed teenager.
For the curvaceous beauty, a Maradona fanatic who has since become a reality TV star and Playboy model, the shoot was a dream come true. Speaking to Splash in the summer of 2023, she described the football genius as “the love of my life”.
Antonella said: “Diego is the love of my life. My star, idol. I met him when I was very young. I sold this type of shoot. It was just exclusive.
(Image: antonela_avellaneda)
“My video never went viral. We did shoots in more exotic places, with exotic costumes.”
Well before the days of social media, the now 42-year-old explained how she captured Maradona’s attention. She said: “I sold it to him in a book.
“It was really cool. He was able to see in me a star and beauty that I didn’t realise.
“For me, it was a huge force, a star of his size and he spoke to me: ‘You are the most famous woman I know in my life’.
(Image: antonela_avellaneda)
(Image: EPA)
“For me, it was an honour. I miss him so much.”
On what she did with the money, she revealed: “I was 18-years-old, I paid for Digital Marketing college.
“I helped my family. I set up a store, I bought a car at the time, a Corsa. It was my first car, it was great.
“I invested in my career in modelling. I travelled to Chile, to Mexico.
(Image: antonela_avellaneda)
(Image: antonela_avellaneda)
“For me, it was very good because, otherwise, I would never have arrived in Brazil.”
Antonela, who was born in Argentina but is a naturalised Brazilian citizen, made headlines when she posed for Playboy Portugal in 2019.
She had previously been on the cover of the men’s – ahem – lifestyle and entertainment magazine twice, in 2003 and 2004 respectively.
(Image: antonela_avellaneda)
Antonela, who wowed fans in South America when she participated in the fourth edition of Big Brother Brazil, didn’t stop there – she also competed for the prestigious title of ‘Miss Butt Brazil’.
Antonella explained that she had since sold raunchy content to VIP clients. “It’s directly with me through my Instagram, exclusive content,” she said.
“As I’ve already done Playboy, my exposure has already been too much. I do rehearsals every week, but I sell exclusively to VIP clients.”