Monique Elias: Glitz, Glamour & Jiu Jitsu Chokes
Few stories capture what Jiu Jitsu can do to a life quite like Monique Elias's. The lifestyle of a catwalk model is something regularly championed in the mainstream media — evocative stories of…
Few stories capture what Jiu Jitsu can do to a life quite like Monique Elias's. The lifestyle of a catwalk model is something regularly championed in the mainstream media, evocative stories of glamorous parties, expensive clothes, fame and fortune. As always, there's a yin to the yang, and the fashion industry has long been rife with less-publicised truths about 'fast' living and unhealthy lifestyles. Having been fully immersed in that world as a successful model living in London, Elias could never have predicted how much her life would change.
From the catwalk to the BJJ tatami
The girl from gaucho country, Porto Alegre, in the south of Brazil, left her modelling career behind entirely. Instead of strutting down the catwalk, Monique Elias walked onto the jiu jitsu tatami looking to choke people, and she turned out to be very good at it.
Elias became an IBJJF black belt world champion, a WPJJC champion and one of the most talented female Jiu Jitsu athletes of her generation, representing the powerhouse Alliance team. When we first profiled her in 2016, she had just hit top gear at exactly the right time, claiming gold over Luiza Monteiro in California that June.
Watch it: Monique Elias vs Luiza Monteiro, 2016 Jiu Jitsu Worlds final.
A role model before women's Jiu Jitsu boomed
Reading her story back from 2026, what stands out is how early Elias was to a conversation that now feels everywhere. When she spoke to us about her huge lifestyle change, embracing Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and being a role model for women in our sport, female black belts headlining cards was still a novelty. Today, athletes like Ffion Davies, Mayssa Bastos and Beatriz Mesquita are household names to BJJ fans, and a young girl walking into almost any academy will find women on the mats ahead of her. Stories like Monique's, trading a life the world calls glamorous for one that actually is, helped build that path.
See you on the mats.
Originally published in Jiu Jitsu Style magazine, September 2016. Refreshed for 2026.