Born in Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil, Tavares was appearing in local shows at the age of nine, and at just 13 she won the "Elite Look of the Year" contest.

She would later go on to appear in numerous other popular magazines, including ELLE,[2] Cosmopolitan, Allure,[3] and the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.

[4] Since 1998, Tavares has walked for many notable designers, including Chanel,[4] Emanuel Ungaro, Versace, Blumarine, Chloé, Christian Lacroix, Prada,[4] Salvatore Ferragamo, Valentino, John Galliano, Sonia Rykiel, Yohji Yamamoto, Hervé Léger, Missoni, and Gap.

Tavares has helped promote[clarification needed] brands like Versace, Chloé, Giorgio Armani, Dolce & Gabbana,[5] Louis Vuitton,[4] Mano, Nine West, Zoomp, and was a top figure in the Ralph Lauren[4] Spring 2000 collection.

She also enjoys swimming and jogging and she is good friends with fellow Brazilian model, Gisele Bündchen.