Isabela Rangel Grutman goes from modeling to launching her own clothing line
MIAMI - Browsing through Isabela Rangel Grutman's Instagram, with a substantial following of over 480,000, it's evident she leads a glamorous life.
From striking modeling shots for renowned brands to exotic travel photos and snapshots of her socializing with her husband, restaurateur and nightclub owner David Grutman's close-knit circle of famous friends, Isabela exudes comfort in the spotlight.
But this Brazilian-born beauty reveals it hasn't always been this way.
"So even though you're having this life and you're doing all this stuff that you're also a little bit shy?" asked CBS News Miami's Lisa Petrillo.
"So, my whole like childhood, I was super shy. I wouldn't talk to anybody. I wouldn't be doing this right now. My dad used to say 'say something to me' all the time," Grutman said.
"And I'm very like, quiet and reserved and I still have that inside of me.
But I think being a model and like life and Dave in the past few years it was like a forced thing for me to just be a little more outspoken ."
Married for eight years to David Grutman, she met him at the age of 23 while modeling in New York. Now at 31, the couple shares their life with two daughters, 6-year-old Kaya and 4-year-old Vida, in their sprawling, art-filled apartment in downtown Miami, complete with a personal chef.
"Everything happened really fast. He actually asked my parents for my hand in marriage two months after we were dating," she said, He came to Brazil and the first time that he was meeting them, he was like, could I please ask Isabella to marry me in Portuguese?"
"He like had it on his phone. It was the cutest thing."
They caught David off guard while touring their home. Petrillo asked him what made their 8-year marriage work.
"It's a real partnership. It's not just a thing, I depend on her for everything. She's, you know, she's part of my lifestyle, my business, my love, everything," David said.
"You're going to make me cry," said Isabela blushing.
Isabela plays a significant role as the brand manager in her husband's Groot Hospitality Group, which includes the Goodtime Hotel on South Beach and numerous high-end restaurants, including their newest eatery, Casadonna in Miami. Their high-profile friends David and Victoria Beckham showed up on opening night recently to support.
"So, what is the good and the bad behind all of that for you guys when you're together,?" asked Petrillo.
"Like in all the places, there's so many paparazzi. In Miami is a little bit more chill, she said.
But it's very interesting because we all grew up like watching them and then now it's like they're my best friends and it's just a whole crazy situation. But I love them very much and like, I love that we trust each other a lot."
In 2022, Isabela launched her online clothing line, "Rangel," which focuses on eco-friendly clothing as she shows us in her closet.
"All the fabrics are sustainable', she said showing off a blazer from her line.
She also has a gold jewelry line called Isa.
But her most passionate project is one she co-founded with her friend Rachael Russell Saiger. It's the annual Styles Saves Back-to-School Event. This past August, 15,000 kids from underserved Miami-Dade schools received all-new back-backs school supplies uniforms anything and everything to get them started.
"We make sure that we give them brand new. Why?
Because we want to give them that confidence. So they show up to school, they feel good about themselves and they just have that confidence to start the school year, " she said.
"What do you really want for your girls?" Petrillo asked.
"I want them to be really good people kind and I think that it's something that it lacks in a lot of like kids nowadays," she said.
"You know, l for me, the most important thing is that they care, they care about others.
They are kind, they have compassion and that's my main thing."
And when it comes to Miami, for her, it's all about the warmth of the people.
"I think it's very warm. The people are like come over like let's have a barbecue, it's very open and I think it comes from the Latin community around us.
And you know, I'm Brazilian, so I love it. I feel at home here.
For more information on Rangel, click here.
