NEW BEDFORD, MA – Alana Monteiro, the New Bedford-born supermodel, actress, and R&B singer-songwriter, has welcomed her first child with former collegiate basketball player Marcus Wills. Monteiro shared the news publicly via her Instagram account, marking a new chapter in her life after more than a decade building one of the most recognizable careers in American fashion.
Monteiro, 28, has appeared on over thirty magazine covers across publications including Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Elle, Marie Claire, and Grazia. Signed with Wilhelmina Models and Next Model Management, she ranks in the Top 50 Social on Models.com and is listed among the Top 100 Black female models worldwide, alongside names such as Naomi Campbell and Tyra Banks.
Beyond the runway, Monteiro has built a diverse creative portfolio. Her campaigns for Nike, Reebok, Under Armour, Gap, and Macy’s have run in thousands of stores and on Times Square billboards. She has appeared in Netflix’s Someone Great, Disney’s Emmy Award-winning Hocus Pocus 2, and on television series including Power and Orange Is the New Black. Her original R&B singles — “High,” “Ghosting,” and “Miss No More” — have charted on Billboard and reached global Spotify playlists in Europe, Asia, and Latin America.
The father, Marcus Wills, is a former basketball guard who grew up in New Bedford, Massachusetts — the same city where Monteiro was raised. Wills graduated from New Bedford High School in 1995 after a standout career that included back-to-back All-State honors from both the Boston Globe and Boston Herald, a Nike Top 100 All-American selection, and the Massachusetts Sportsman of the Year award. He remains the all-time leading scorer in New Bedford High School history. At the collegiate level, Wills played at Northeastern University, where he averaged nearly 10 points per game and earned All-Freshman honors in the North Atlantic Conference, before completing his career at the University of Maine.
After his playing days, Wills remained connected to basketball as a trainer and founder of his own player development organization.
Monteiro announced the pregnancy on Instagram. The post is available here: https://www.instagram.com/p/DV0txGPjSzm/
“Becoming a mother is the most meaningful thing I have ever done. This baby is everything,” said Monteiro.
About Alana Monteiro
Alana Monteiro is an American model, actress, singer-songwriter, and dancer born on March 13, 1997, in New Bedford, Massachusetts. She is represented by Wilhelmina Models and Next Model Management and has appeared in fashion publications including Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Elle, and Grazia. Her global brand campaigns have reached thousands of retail locations and Times Square. As a recording artist, her R&B singles have charted on Billboard and appeared on international Spotify playlists. She has acted in Netflix, Disney, and network productions and in 2025 launched the Alana Monteiro Modeling Camp in New Bedford. More information is available at www.alanamonteiro.com.
