Maya Gabeira

Maya Gabeira was born on April 10, 1987, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She started surfing at age 13 and decided to pursue a professional career at 17 while living in Australia. The same year, she moved to Hawaii to train on world-class waves. She quickly became known for her skill, conquering challenging surf spots such as Mavericks, Waimea, Todos Santos, and Dungeons in South Africa. Her early career highlights include becoming the first woman to surf big waves in Alaska in 2008 and the first woman to surf California’s Ghost Trees and Tahiti’s Teahupoo. These achievements established her as a prominent figure in big-wave surfing.

Gabeira has been recognized with numerous awards throughout her career. She won the Billabong XXL Global Big Wave Awards for Best Female Performance four consecutive times from 2007 to 2010. In 2009, she received the ESPY Award for Best Female Action Sports Athlete, followed by the Teen Choice Award for Best Female Action Sports Star in 2010. A significant turning point in her career occurred on October 28, 2013, when she nearly drowned while surfing a massive wave at Praia do Norte in Nazaré, Portugal. This incident led to three spine surgeries and a five-year recovery period. After her recovery, she made a comeback, surfing a 20.8-meter (68-foot) wave in Nazaré in January 2018, which was recognized by Guinness World Records as the largest wave surfed by a woman at that time.

Her career peaked in February 2020 when she set a new Guinness World Record for the largest wave ever surfed by a woman, measuring 22.4 meters (73.5 feet) also in Nazaré. This accomplishment solidified her legacy in the sport and was later documented in the 2022 film ‘Maya and the Wave,’ which also covers the initial dismissal of her record and her fight for recognition. In 2022, Gabeira was appointed UNESCO Champion for Ocean and Youth, extending her advocacy beyond surfing. After two decades in the sport, Gabeira announced her retirement from professional big-wave surfing in January 2025, expressing pride in her role in transforming the industry for women.