Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid got married to longtime girlfriend Anne de Paula, a Brazilian model, in July 2023. Currently, Embiid is just hoping to return from knee injury in time for the NBA Playoffs.

For now, we will get to know about Mrs. Process, how did she meet Embiid, what made her busy before she caught the eye of the Cameroonian, and more. Ladies and gentlemen, here's Joel Embiid's wife Anne de Paula.

Who is Anne de Paula?

Joel Embiid and Anne de Paula getting married.

Anne de Paula came into this world on March 31, 1995. She was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, hundreds of thousands of miles away from Joel Embiid’s homeland of Cameroon in South Africa. Anne is a Roman Catholic, which is not much of a surprise, considering she’s from Brazil.

According to The Famous People, Anne grew up with a passion for soccer, a sport that’s revered in Brazil. Embiid could definitely relate to this, as Cameroon is also big on the sport.

Perhaps if Embiid didn’t grow up to be so tall, he would have had pursued a career in soccer instead of basketball. Nevertheless, Embiid remains an avid follower of football.

How did Joel Embiid, Anne de Paula meet?

Embiid wasn’t particularly looking for anything romantically serious when his and Anne’s paths crossed the first time. In fact, their initial encounter was a totally random one. Anne didn’t even have a clue at the time what Embiid was into when she first saw him.

Per Ramona Shelburne of ESPN: “He met de Paula when he wasn't looking for anyone. They just happened to attend the same dinner with a mutual friend in New York City in 2018. And as she remembers it, neither of them really said much during dinner. She didn't even realize he was a basketball player until he stood up at the end of the meal and she saw how tall he was.”

Joel Embiid, Anne de Paula's relationship blooms

People started to think that there was something between Embiid and de Paula that same year, but their relationship only became apparent once Sixers owner Michael Rubin shared a post on Instagram congratulating Embiid and de Paul on their engagement. Prior to that, Embiid spoke with GQ about his love life, though he didn't name de Paula in that interview:

Joel Embiid's girlfriend was already doing modeling for Sports Illustrated’s Swimsuit Issue. Here’s how SI described her for a short profile:

“Brazilian model Anne de Paula made her SI Swimsuit debut as part of the 2017 SI Swimsuit model search, where she shot in body paint. She won the fan vote that year and became a 2018 SI Swimsuit rookie. Anne is a proud dog mom and splits her time between New York City and Philadelphia.”

Being in New York City and Philly most of the time meant she was always just around the epicenter of Embiid Mania, who was drafted by the Sixers in 2014.

It was not hard to see how the two fell for each other, as they share plenty of similarities. Anne and Joel both love soccer. They know how to speak French. An excerpt in Shelburne’s profile of Embiid also revealed that the two shared the dream of having a family:

“It started off as a beautiful friendship,” she says. They both loved soccer, both spoke French and both wanted a family more than anything. “We FaceTimed every day for a while. … He just has this personality where he wants to motivate you. His friends, his family and now with Arthur — he pushes all of us to be the best of ourselves.”

Do Joel Embiid, Anne de Paula have kids? 

RECOMMENDED (Article Continues Below)
76ers' Kelly Oubre and Joel Embiid and Knicks' Mitchell Robinson

Sam DiGiovanni ·

Knicks 76ers Game 4 Prediction

RB Hayek ·

76ers' Cam Payne in front of the NBA playoffs logo

Sam DiGiovanni ·

Their wish to have a family became a sweet reality two years into their relationship when the couple welcomed Arthur Elijah de Paula Embiid to the world in September 2020.

A social media superstar himself, Embiid didn’t waste much time to show the world how proud he was to become a father, posting an image on Instagram of him with Arthur shortly after his son’s birth. He even joked about wondering whether Arthur is the first of 11 more children with de Paula.

Speaking of which, Anne de Paula even managed to pose for Sports Illustrated’s 2021 Swimsuit Calendar despite being three months pregnant with Arthur. Talk about dedication to her craft. As of this writing, Anne has over 244,000 followers on Instagram.

When did Joel Embiid and Anne de Paula get married? 

Joel Embiid and Anne de Paula finally tied the knot on Saturday, July 22, 2023. They got married in Southampton, New York, with plenty of photos and videos of their celebration making the rounds on social media. Plenty of Embiid's Sixers teammates were in attendance, and they also got Brian McKnight to perform.

So there you have it. Whenever you want to share trivia about the Sixers big man, don't forget to include some tidbits on Joel Embiid's wife Anne de Paula.