Width	280px
Caption	Brady in December 2007
Currentteam	New England Patriots
Currentnumber	12
Currentposition	Quarterback
Birthdate	August 03, 1977
Birthplace	San Mateo, California
Heightft	6
Heightin	4
Weight	225
Debutyear	2000
Debutteam	New England Patriots
Highlights
College	Michigan
Draftyear	2000
Draftround	6
Draftpick	199
Pastteams
Status	Active
Statseason	2010
Statlabel1	Pass attempts
Statvalue1	4,710
Statlabel2	Pass completions
Statvalue2	2,996
Statlabel3	Percentage
Statvalue3	63.6
Statlabel4	TD–INT
Statvalue4	261–103
Statlabel5	Passing yards
Statvalue5	34,744
Statlabel6	QB Rating
Statvalue6	95.2
Nfl	BRA371156

Thomas Edward Patrick "Tom" Brady, Jr. (born August 3, 1977) is an American football quarterback for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). After playing college football at Michigan, Brady was drafted by the Patriots in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft.

He has played in four Super Bowls, winning three of them (XXXVI, XXXVIII, XXXIX). He has also won two Super Bowl MVP awards (XXXVI and XXXVIII), has been selected to six Pro Bowls (and invited to seven, although he declined the 2006 invitation), and holds the NFL record for most touchdown passes in a single regular season. Brady has the fifth-highest career passer rating of all time (95.2) among quarterbacks with at least 1,500 career passing attempts. He was named Sports Illustrated's Sportsman of the Year in 2005. He also helped set the record for the longest consecutive win streak in NFL history with 21 straight wins over two seasons (2003–04).

In 2004 and 2007, Brady was named "Sportsman of the Year" by The Sporting News. He was also named the 2007 NFL MVP, as well as 2007 Male Athlete of the Year by the Associated Press, the first time an NFL player has been honored since Joe Montana won in 1990.

Brady holds numerous regular season and postseason records, including most touchdown passes in a regular season (50), highest single-game completion percentage, regular season or postseason (26/28, 92.9%), most completions in one Super Bowl, most completions in Super Bowl history (career), the highest winning percentage of any quarterback ever during his first 100 starts (76 wins), and the longest streak of games with 3 or more touchdown passes (10 games). Brady is the fourth-fastest player to reach 200 career passing touchdowns (116 games). He is the first quarterback in NFL history to have reached said mark with under 100 career interceptions (he had 88 interceptions).

Early years

Brady was born near San Francisco in San Mateo, California to Tom Sr. and Galynn. He was raised in a Irish American Catholic family of exceptionally gifted athletes. Brady regularly attended 49ers games in the 1980s, where he became a fan of quarterback Joe Montana; since then, Brady has mentioned Montana as one of his inspirations and an idol.

Brady graduated from Junípero Serra High School in San Mateo, California.

Brady was also drafted as a catcher in the 18th round of the 1995 MLB Draft by the Montreal Expos.

College career

Brady played college football for, and graduated from, the University of Michigan. He was a backup his first two years, while teammate and future NFL quarterback Brian Griese led the Wolverines to a share of the national championship in 1997 in the Rose Bowl. When he enrolled at Michigan, Brady was seventh on the depth chart and had an intense struggle to get some playing time. At one point, Brady hired a sports psychologist to help him cope with frustration and anxiety and even considered transferring to Cal. Brady battled for the starting job with Drew Henson, ultimately starting every game in the 1998 and 1999 seasons under Michigan head coach Lloyd Carr. During his first full year as starter, he set Michigan records for most pass attempts and completions in a season (214). Brady was All-Big Ten (honorable mention) both seasons and team captain his senior year. The Wolverines won 20 of 25 games when he started and shared the Big Ten Conference title in 1998. Brady capped that season with a win over Arkansas in the Citrus Bowl. In the 1999 season, Brady led Michigan to an overtime win in the Orange Bowl over Alabama, throwing for 369 yards and four touchdowns.

Professional career

2000 season

Brady was selected with pick #199, a compensatory pick, in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft. According to Michael Holley's book Patriot Reign, the Patriots were considering Brady and Tim Rattay, both of whom had received positive reviews from then-quarterbacks coach Dick Rehbein. Ultimately, the Patriots front office chose Brady. Ironically, even though the Patriots drafted a future superstar in the next to last round, the class of 2000 was a mediocre vintage for quarterbacks: aside from Brady, only Chad Pennington developed into a first-rate pro quarterback as well as Pro Bowler Marc Bulger.

The Patriots made the unusual decision to carry four quarterbacks (instead of three) on the roster. Brady started the season as the fourth string quarterback, behind starter Drew Bledsoe and backups John Friesz and Michael Bishop; by season's end, he was number two on the depth chart behind Bledsoe. During his rookie season, he was 1-of-3 passing, for six yards.

2001 season

The Patriots opened the season with a 23–17 loss at Cincinnati, with Bledsoe as the starting quarterback. Their second game, and home opener, on September 23, was against their AFC East rival, the New York Jets. Bledsoe was again the starter, when in the fourth quarter he suffered internal bleeding after a hit from Jets linebacker Mo Lewis. Bledsoe returned for the next series, but was replaced with Brady for that Pats' final series of the game. New York would hold on to win, 10–3, and the Patriots fell to 0–2 on the season.

Brady was named the starter for the season's third game, against the Indianapolis Colts. In his first two games as starter, Brady posted unspectacular passer ratings of 79.6 and 58.7, respectively, in a 44–13 victory over the Colts (in their last season in the AFC East) and a 30–10 loss to the Miami Dolphins.

In the Pats' fifth game, Brady began to find his stride. Trailing the visiting San Diego Chargers 26–16 in the fourth quarter, Brady led the Patriots on two scoring drives to force overtime, and another in overtime to set up a winning field goal. Brady finished the game with 33 pass completions on 54 attempts, for 364 yards, and two touchdowns. The following week, Brady again played well during the rematch at Indianapolis, with a passer rating of 148.3 in a 38–17 win. The Patriots went on to win 11 of the 14 games Brady started, and six straight to finish the regular season, winning the AFC East and entering the playoffs with a first-round bye. Brady finished with 2,843 passing yards and 18 touchdowns and earned an invitation to the Pro Bowl.

In Brady's first playoff game, against the Oakland Raiders, he threw for 312 yards and led the Patriots back from a ten-point fourth-quarter deficit to send the game to overtime, where they won on an Adam Vinatieri field goal. A controversial play in that game came when, trailing by three in the fourth quarter, Brady lost control of the ball after being hit by fellow Wolverine Charles Woodson. Oakland initially recovered the ball, but, citing the "tuck rule," which states that any forward throwing motion by a quarterback begins a pass even if the quarterback loses possession of the ball as he is attempting to tuck it back toward his body, referee Walt Coleman overturned the call on instant replay, ruling it an incomplete pass rather than a fumble.

In the AFC Championship Game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Brady injured his knee, and was relieved by Bledsoe. The Patriots won the game and were immediately instituted by Las Vegas oddsmakers as 14-point underdogs against the NFC champion St. Louis Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI.

The score was tied with 1:21 left in the Super Bowl and the Patriots were at their own 15—with no timeouts—when sportscaster and Super Bowl-winning coach John Madden said he thought the Patriots should run out the clock and try to win the game in overtime. Instead, Brady drove the Patriots' offense down the field to the Rams 31 before spiking the ball with seven seconds left. The Patriots won the game on another Adam Vinatieri field goal as time expired. Brady was named MVP of Super Bowl XXXVI while throwing for 145 yards, one touchdown, and no interceptions, becoming the then-youngest quarterback to ever win a Super Bowl.

2002 season

Brady and the Patriots finished the year at 9–7, tied with the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins for the best record in the division; however, the Jets won the division on the third tiebreaker, and the Patriots missed the playoffs.

Although posting a career-low single-season rating of 85.7, Brady threw for a league-leading 28 touchdown passes and 921 more yards than in 2001, though his fourteen interceptions would turn out to be a career high.

Despite not playing in the game, Brady was present at Super Bowl XL, as the official coin tosser and as part of a celebration of Super Bowl MVP Award winners.

and Jabar Gaffney, after throwing for his record-breaking 50th passing touchdown of the season at Giants Stadium.]]

2006 season

Brady led the Patriots to a 12–4 record and the fourth seed in the AFC playoffs despite having an almost completely new receiving corps. In the regular season, Brady threw for 3,529 yards and 24 touchdowns. He was not among the players initially selected to the Pro Bowl, although he was offered an injury-replacement selection when Philip Rivers was forced to withdraw (which he declined).

In the postseason, the Patriots first hosted their division rivals, the New York Jets, in the wild-card round. The Patriots defeated the Jets 37–16, as Brady went 22–34 for 212 yards and two TDs. In the divisional round, the Patriots traveled to San Diego to take on the Chargers. This was Brady's first playoff game in his home state of California. Brady and the Patriots struggled against the Chargers, whom many had picked as favorites to win Super Bowl XLI. With eight minutes left in the fourth quarter and the Patriots down by eight points, Brady and the Patriots started a key drive that would ultimately decide the game. After a 49-yard pass play to Reche Caldwell, a Stephen Gostkowski field goal gave the Patriots a 24–21 win.

In the AFC championship, the Patriots faced the Indianapolis Colts. The Patriots and Colts had faced each other twice in the previous three postseasons at Foxboro; this game, however, was played at Indianapolis. The Patriots led at halftime, 21–6; however, the Colts staged a comeback, resulting in a last minute interception thrown by Brady, and a Patriots loss.

2007 season

Playing with a dramatically overhauled receiver corps—in the 2007 offseason, the Patriots acquired wide receivers Donté Stallworth, Wes Welker, Kelley Washington and Randy Moss; tight end Kyle Brady; and running back Sammy Morris—Brady enjoyed what some sports writers have described as the best season ever by a quarterback. Brady, along with Moss, decided to withdraw from the 2008 Pro Bowl. The average score of a 2007 Patriots regular season game would be 37–17 by the end of the year. Brady not only led the Patriots to a 16–0 record, outscoring opponents by more than a 2-to-1 margin, but attained numerous career, franchise, and NFL records and milestones:

Week 6: Visiting Dallas, he had a career-high five passing touchdowns in a . The win tied him with Roger Staubach for the most wins ever by a starting quarterback in his first 100 regular-season games, with 76. Week 7: In a at Miami, he had yet another record day, with six passing touchdowns, setting a franchise record. He also had the first perfect passer rating of his career.

Week 8: In a at home against Washington, he threw three touchdowns, giving him a career-best 30 for the season; his previous best was 28—in an entire season—in 2002 and 2004. The win also gave Brady a victory over every NFL franchise except New England.

Week 9: In a come-from-behind at Indianapolis, he threw for another three touchdowns, for a total of 33 on the season; his 32nd touchdown of the season, to Wes Welker, broke Babe Parilli's Patriots record of 31 touchdowns in a season—in five fewer games. It was also the ninth consecutive game in which he had thrown three or more touchdowns, breaking Peyton Manning's NFL record of eight.

Week 11: Following the Patriots' bye week, Brady threw for another five touchdown passes in a of Buffalo, breaking Steve Grogan's franchise record for career touchdown passes with 185.

Week 12: In a over Philadelphia, he only threw for a single touchdown, ending his streak of three-touchdown games at ten, but reached 25,000 regular-season passing yards.

Week 13: In another come-from-behind win, a against the Baltimore Ravens, he became the fourth quarterback—after Kurt Warner, Peyton Manning, and Dan Marino (who did it twice)—to throw 40 touchdown passes in a season.

Week 14: In a against Pittsburgh, he threw four touchdowns, putting him third all-time for touchdown passes in a single season with 45, behind Peyton Manning in 2004 and Marino in 1984. It was his eleventh game with at least three touchdown passes, beating Marino's 1984 record of ten. He also reached the 4,000 yards passing mark for the second time in his career.

Week 15: Brady, making his 108th consecutive regular-season start at quarterback, surpassed Joe Ferguson for the fourth-longest streak in NFL history, after Brett Favre, Peyton Manning, and Ron Jaworski.

Week 16: Brady's third touchdown of the day was the Patriots' 71st total touchdown of the season, breaking the NFL record of 70 set by the Miami Dolphins in 1984. This was his twelfth game of the season with three or more touchdown passes, extending his own NFL record. This was also the Patriots', and Brady's, 18th consecutive regular-season win, tying the NFL record they set in 2003 and 2004.

Week 17: Brady threw two touchdown passes; his second touchdown was his 50th, breaking Peyton Manning's 2004 record of 49. The pass was also Randy Moss' 23rd touchdown catch of the season, breaking Jerry Rice's record of 22 in a season. The win finished off the first 16–0 season in NFL history, and was the Patriots' 19th consecutive regular season win, breaking their own 2003–2004 league record of 18. Brady finished 398/578 for 4,806 yards (#3 all-time) and 50 touchdowns (#1 all time) versus only eight interceptions, and a 117.2 passer rating (#2 all-time). His 398 completions were fifth all-time. Brady was named the NFL MVP for this season, as well as Offensive Player of the Year.

2007 playoffs

In the Patriots' first playoff game, an AFC Divisional game against Jacksonville, Brady began the game with an NFL postseason record sixteen consecutive completed passes, and finished the game with 26 completions in 28 attempts, a completion rate of 92.9%. That mark is the highest single-game completion percentage (for passers with at least 20 attempts) in NFL history, regular season or postseason. With the win, the Patriots matched the Dolphins as the only team to win 17 consecutive games in one season.

Statistically, Brady did not fare as well in the against the San Diego Chargers, throwing three interceptions (including his first interception in the red zone since the playoff loss to Denver). Nevertheless, the Patriots won their 18th game of the season, 21–12, to advance to the Super Bowl for the fourth time in seven seasons. Brady, with the 100th win of his career, also set an NFL record for the fewest games needed by a starting quarterback to do so: his 100–26 record is sixteen games better than Joe Montana's. In Super Bowl XLII, Brady was pressured heavily and sacked five times. The Patriots did manage to take the lead with a Brady touchdown to Moss with less than three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, but the Giants were able to score a last-minute touchdown to upset the Patriots 17–14.

Awards

Brady won numerous NFL awards during the season: he was voted FedEx Express NFL Player of the Week (an award for quarterbacks) four times (in Weeks 6, 7, 11, and 17), selected as AFC Offensive Player of the Week five times (in Weeks 3, 6, 7, 14, and 17), and AFC Offensive Player of the Month for both September and October. On 2008-01-05, Brady was named the NFL MVP, garnering a record-tying 49 of 50 possible votes (the other vote went to Brett Favre), making him the first Patriot to ever win the award. He was also named NFL Offensive Player of the Year, receiving 35.5 of 50 votes.

on August 28, 2009.]]

2008 season

Brady did not play any of the 2008 preseason due to a right foot injury from the previous AFC Championship game. In the Patriots' against the Kansas City Chiefs at Gillette Stadium, Brady's left knee was seriously injured midway through the first quarter on a hit by Chiefs safety Bernard Pollard; he left the game and did not return. The team later confirmed that Brady would need surgery, and that he had been placed on injured reserve for the remainder of the season. It is believed he tore both his anterior cruciate ligament and his medial collateral ligament. The injury ended Brady's streak of 111 consecutive starts (fourth in the list of most consecutive starts by an NFL quarterback, behind Brett Favre, Peyton Manning, and Ron Jaworski). Dr. Neal ElAttrache performed the anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction at the Los Angeles Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic October 6, using Brady's patellar tendon graft to replace the torn ligament, and also repaired his medial collateral ligament, through a separate incision in his left knee. An infection in the wound resulted in further debridement surgery several times since the original procedure. Brady underwent IV antibiotics for this infection which, at the time, threatened to delay his rehab.

2009 season

In his first official game back from injury, Brady threw for 378 yards and two touchdowns in the 2009 season opener against the Buffalo Bills. In the final minutes of the game, the Patriots were down 24–13 before Brady and Benjamin Watson connected on two straight touchdowns to lead the Patriots to a 25–24 win. Brady was named the AFC Offensive Player of the Week for the 13th time in his career for his performance.

On October 18, 2009, in an early season snowstorm, Brady set an NFL record against the Tennessee Titans for most touchdowns in a single quarter, throwing five (two to Moss, one to Faulk, and two to Welker) in the second quarter. Brady finished the game with six touchdowns, tying his career best, and 380 yards, completing 29 of 34 attempts, finishing with a nearly perfect passer rating of 152.8. The Patriots' 59–0 victory over the Titans tied the record for the largest margin of victory since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger, and set a record for largest halftime lead in NFL history (they led 45–0). He was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week again for his performance. In Week 16, Brady set a Patriots regular season record with an 88.5% completion percentage against the Jacksonville Jaguars; he was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week after the game.

Brady would finish the 2009 regular season with 4,398 yards passing and 28 touchdowns for a 96.2 rating, despite a broken right ring finger and three fractured ribs, all which were suffered over the course of the season. He was selected as a reserve to the 2010 Pro Bowl and named the 2009 NFL Comeback Player of the Year.

Brady ended the 2009 season throwing 3 interceptions in a Wild Card playoff loss to the Baltimore Ravens, 33–14, his first career home playoff loss, and the first playoff loss at home by a New England Patriots quarterback since 1978.

2010 season

On September 10, 2010, Brady signed a four-year $72 million contract extension making him the highest-paid player in the NFL. The extension includes $48.5 million of guaranteed money and will likely keep Brady with the Patriots through the 2014 NFL season. The news of the contract occurred on the same day Brady escaped uninjured from a 6:30 a.m. car accident with what the Boston Herald called, "a road scofflaw".

Brady became the quickest to achieve 100 regular season wins by helping his team defeat the Miami Dolphins 41–14 on October 4, 2010.

On November 21, 2010, Brady tied Brett Favre's record of winning 25 consecutive regular-season home starts, in a 31–28 win over the Indianapolis Colts. Brady's last regular-season loss at home was on November 12, 2006, a 17–14 loss to the New York Jets. On December 6, 2010, Brady set an NFL record by winning 26 consecutive regular-season home starts, in a 45–3 victory over the New York Jets.

On December 19, 2010, in a 31–27 home win over the Green Bay Packers, Brady had his seventh straight two-touchdown game without an interception, surpassing Don Meredith's NFL record of six such games. The next week in a 34–3 road win over the Buffalo Bills, Brady surpassed Bernie Kosar's 1990–1991 record of 308 consecutive pass attempts without an interception.

Brady was selected as a starter to the 2011 Pro Bowl. His 9–1 TD:INT ratio (36–4) would break his own single-season record of 6.25–1, which he set in 2007. No other quarterback in NFL history has had a 6–1 TD:INT ratio for a season. Brady threw for 3,900 yards with 36 touchdowns and just four interceptions.

Statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Personal life

in Hyannis, Massachusetts in May 2009.]] Brady dated actress Bridget Moynahan from 2004 until late 2006. On February 18, 2007, Moynahan confirmed to People magazine that she was more than three months pregnant with her and Brady's child. Brady and Moynahan ended their relationship sometime in early December 2006, around the time Moynahan became pregnant. Brady was present when the baby, John Edward Thomas Moynahan, was born on August 22, 2007 at Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica. The baby has Brady's first and middle names as middle names, though in reverse order (Moynahan's father's first name is Edward, however).

Brady married Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bündchen on February 26, 2009 in an intimate Catholic ceremony in Santa Monica, California. On June 19, 2009, reports surfaced that Bündchen was pregnant. On September 11, 2009, Brady confirmed to ESPN that they were indeed expecting, and that Bündchen was due in December 2009. On December 8, 2009, Bündchen gave birth to the couple's first child together, a son. On December 18, 2009, Bündchen posted a message on her website indicating that their son's name is Benjamin. In the April 2010 issue of Vogue magazine, Bündchen confirmed that his name is Benjamin Rein Brady and that his middle name is a shortened version of her father's name Reinoldo. They christened their 6-month-old son Benjamin in Santa Monica on June 22, 2010. The photographers, Yuri Cortez and Rolando Aviles, filed a lawsuit in New York against Brady and Bündchen seeking over $1 million in damages over the incident.

Notable accomplishments

NFL records

Wins

Fewest starts to achieve 100 regular-season wins as a starter (131 starts)

Most consecutive wins, postseason: 10 (2001, 2003, 2004)

Most consecutive wins in regular-season home games: 28 (2006–present)

Only quarterback to start and win 3 Super Bowls before his 28th birthday

Touchdowns

Most passing touchdowns, regular season: 50 (2007)

Most passing touchdowns, regular season and postseason combined: 56 (2007)

Most touchdown passes, month: 20 (October 2007)

Most passing touchdowns, quarter: 5 (second quarter vs. Tennessee, October 18, 2009)

Largest touchdown to interception differential: +42 (2007)

Highest touchdown to interception ratio: 9.0 to 1 (36 TD/4 INT, 2010)

Most games with 3+ touchdown passes, regular season: 12 (2007)

Most consecutive games with 2+ touchdown passes and no interceptions: 9 (2010, October 24–present)

Completions Highest single-game completion percentage, postseason: 92.9% (vs. Jacksonville, January 12, 2008)

Tied for most completions in a Super Bowl: 32 (XXXVIII)

Most career Super Bowl completions: 100 (XXXVI, XXXVIII, XXXIX, XLII)

Interception-free streaks

Most consecutive pass attempts to start a career without an interception: 162 (2001)

Most consecutive pass attempts without an interception, regular season: 338 (2010, October 24–present)

Career bests

Excluding the list of NFL records above:

Highest single-game quarterback rating: 158.3 (at Miami, October 21, 2007 and at Detroit, November 25, 2010) Perfect Rating

Highest single-season quarterback rating: 117.2 (2007) 2nd highest all-time

Most passing touchdowns, game: 6 (at Miami, October 21, 2007 and vs. Tennessee, October 18, 2009)

Most passing yards, game: 410 (vs. Kansas City, 2002)

Most passing yards, season: 4,806 (2007)

Lowest interception total, season (minimum 2 starts): 8 (2007)

21-game win streak statistics (including post-season)

690 passes attempted

412 passes completed

4,953 passing yards

34 passing touchdowns

13 passes intercepted

20.29 passing attempts per touchdown

53.07 passing attempts per interception

59.71 completion rate

90.3 passer rating

Career

111–32 (regular season), 125–36 (career) as a starter

8–1 (career) in overtime games

34–6 (career) vs. NFC teams

32 game-winning drives after a Patriots' fourth-quarter tie or deficit

Post-season records and statistics

NFL record for most consecutive wins in post season: 10 (broke record of Green Bay's Bart Starr).

Most consecutive post season wins (college and professional combined): 12

3 Super Bowl victories

2 Super Bowl MVP awards

Most completions in a Super Bowl (32 in Super Bowl XXXVIII)

Most career Super Bowl completions (100 in four games)

Highest completion percentage in a single game, minimum 20 attempts (26 of 28, 92.9%, against Jacksonville in 2007 AFC Divisional round)

Highest Post season win percentage as a starting quarterback with over 10 starts – 0.777 (14–4)

See also

Most wins by a starting quarterback (NFL)

Most consecutive starts by a quarterback (NFL)

Most career 300-yard passing games by NFL quarterbacks

List of NFL quarterbacks who have passed for 400 or more yards in a game

List of NFL starting quarterback playoff records

List of NFL quarterbacks who have posted a perfect passer rating

Lists of Michigan Wolverines football passing leaders

Saturday Night Live hosts

2005 Simpsons episode "Homer and Ned's Hail Mary Pass"

2006 Family Guy episode "Patriot Games"

References

Further reading

External links

Tom Brady's official website

Tom Brady biography on the New England Patriots' official website

Category:1977 births Category:Living people Category:American Conference Pro Bowl players Category:American football quarterbacks Category:American Roman Catholics Category:American sportspeople of Irish descent Category:Michigan Wolverines football players Category:New England Patriots players Category:People from San Mateo, California Category:Players of American football from California Category:Super Bowl MVPs

Name	Gisele Bündchen
Caption	Gisele Bündchen in 2006
Birthname	Gisele Caroline Bündchen
Birthdate	July 20, 1980
Birth place	Horizontina, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
Nationality	Brazilian, American
Haircolor	Dark blonde
Eyecolor	Blue
Measurements	35-23-35.5 (89-59-90) 35-26.5-36 (89-67-91)
Height
Dress size	34 EU/4 US/6 UK
Shoe size	40 EU/9 US/38 BR with an estimated $150 million fortune.

Modeling career

Originally, Bündchen wanted to be a professional volleyball player and considered playing for the Brazilian team, Sogipa. While in school, Bündchen was so thin that her friends used to call her "Olívia Palito" (Portuguese for Olive Oyl, Popeye's skinny girlfriend) and "Saracura" (a type of Brazilian shorebird).

In 1993, a then-13-year-old Bündchen joined a modeling course with her sisters Patrícia and Gabriela at her mother's insistence. The following year, Bündchen went to São Paulo on a school excursion to give them an opportunity to walk in a big city. In a shopping mall, while eating at McDonald's with her friends, Bündchen was discovered by a modeling agency. She was subsequently selected for a national contest, Elite Look of the Year, in which she placed second — Claudia Menezes, from Bahia, took first place. Bündchen placed fourth in the world contest, held in Ibiza, Spain. In 1996, Bündchen moved to New York City to begin her modeling career, debuting at Fashion Week.

She appeared on the cover of Vogue in July, November and December 1999. She won the VH1/Vogue Model of the Year for 1999, and a January 2000 cover gave her three consecutive Vogue covers and in December 2009 she appeared alongside of her husband Tom Brady on the cover of book The World in Vogue – People, Parties, Places. In 2000, she became the fourth model to appear on the cover of the music magazine Rolling Stone, when she was named "the most beautiful girl in the world." Bündchen has been on the covers of many top fashion magazines including W, Harper's Bazaar, ELLE, Allure, international editions of Vogue, as well as style and lifestyle publications such as i-D, The Face, Arena, Citizen K, Flair, GQ, Esquire, and Marie Claire. She has been featured both in the Pirelli Calendar 2001 and 2006

Bündchen consistently works with acclaimed photographers such as Mario Testino, Steven Meisel, Nick Knight, Mert and Marcus, Rankin, Annie Leibovitz, Karl Lagerfeld, Peter Lindbergh, David LaChapelle, Mario Sorrenti, Nino Muñoz and Patrick Demarchelier, and with renowned directors such as Jean Baptiste Mondino and Bruno Aveillan.

In the December 2005 issue, New York magazine chose and publicized a list of 123 reasons to love New York City with reason number 43 being that Gisele Bündchen lived there.

Claudia Schiffer said: "Supermodels, like we once were, don't exist any more" and reckoned that Gisele Bündchen was the only one close to earning the supermodel title.

Naomi Campbell said: "Models need to earn their stripes - I just think the term is used a little too loosely. Kate Moss is obviously a supermodel but, after Gisele, I don’t think there’s been one."

On 26 August 2008, the New York Daily News, in a list, named Bündchen the fourth-most-powerful person in the fashion world.

On 12 May 2009, The Independent, called her the biggest star in fashion history.

She is ranked #1 as the Top Model Icon of All Time at models.com. She is also #3 at the Money Girls list and The Sexiest Models.

Endorsements and earnings

Since her debut, Bündchen has been the face of a variety of advertising campaigns including several seasons of Christian Dior, Louis Vuitton, and Victoria's Secret. She has appeared in advertisements for Nivea lotion and is the face of several Brazilian brands including Vivo, Multiplan (Shopping Malls), Colcci, Credicard (Citibank) and Volkswagen do Brasil. After C&A; Brazil hired Bündchen as a spokesmodel and began airing television commercials, sales increased by 30%.

In May 2006, Bündchen signed another multi-million dollar deal with American giant Apple Inc.. She starred in an advertising campaign to promote the new Macintosh line through the Get a Mac advertisements. Also in 2006, Bündchen became the new face of Swiss luxury watchmaker Ebel.

She has her own line of sandals with footwear company Grendene called Ipanema Gisele Bündchen. Forbes puts her 53rd on their list of the most powerful celebrities of 2007 because of the international success of her shoe line, making the brand Ipanema the most sold Brazilian flip-flop in the world, surpassing the legendary Havaianas. Custom Ipanema flip-flops sell for as much as $230 a pair. She is also the owner of a hotel in the south of Brazil, the Palladium Executive.

On 1 May 2007, it was announced that Bündchen had ended her contract with Victoria's Secret.

In July 2007, having earned an estimated total of $33 million in the past 12 months, Forbes magazine named her the world's top-earning model in the list of the World's 15 Top-Earning Supermodels.

An American economist named Fred Fuld developed a stock index to measure the profit performance improvement of companies represented by Bündchen compared with the Dow Jones Industrial Average. According to Fuld, the Gisele Bündchen Stock Index was up 15% between May and July 2007, substantially surpassing the Dow Jones Industrial Average which was up just 8.2%.

During 2009-2010 she was reportedly the top earning supermodel.

Other ventures

Charity activities

Bündchen lends her support and image to a number of charities and humanitarian causes, such as the I am African campaign, in which she painted her face to protest the lack of attention given to Africa's HIV/AIDS victims. Without receiving payment, Bündchen was, in 2006, the face of American Express Red Card, an initiative launched by U2 front man Bono and Bobby Shriver to send a percentage of monies earned from the financial transactions of this credit card to Africa's HIV/AIDS victims.

In 2009, she appeared almost simultaneously in more than 20 covers of the international issues of Elle magazines wearing (Product) Red clothing and posing with products from companies who support the same cause. (RED)’s primary objective is to engage the private sector in increasing assistance for the Global Fund, to help defeat AIDS in Africa. Companies whose products take on the mark contribute a percentage of the sales or portion of the profits from that product to the Global Fund to finance AIDS programs in Africa, with special attention on the health of women and children.

In 2003, Bündchen designed an exclusive and limited edition of platinum hearts, working with Platinum Guild International and Harper’s Bazaar, crafted by jewelers Gumuchian Fils. These platinum hearts were sold to raise money for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital which specializes in cancer treatment. She served as the spokesperson and campaign model for Fashion Targets Breast Cancer. Bündchen already gave a São Paulo Fashion Week's payment check for Zero Hunger (in Portuguese: Fome Zero), a Brazilian-government program introduced by Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva also in 2003.

She was, in 2009, one of the celebrities to sign up for the auction fundraiser of celebrities autographed iPods to raise cash for the victims of Hurricane Katrina, organised by Tonic.com., alongside former U.S.A.'s president Bill Clinton, Cher, Beyoncé, Britney Spears, Mariah Carey, Ellen DeGeneres and others. The money is for the Music Rising institution which aims to recover and invest in the musical culture of the destroyed areas.

She promotes protecting the Brazilian Atlantic Forest and Amazon Rainforest water sources, donating to this cause a percentage of profits from her line of sandals named Ipanema Gisele Bündchen. Also, Bündchen helps projects such as Nascentes do Brasil, ISA, Y Ikatu Xingu and De Olho nos Mananciais.

Bündchen and Grendene, the company that produces and disseminates her line of sandals, also joined the Florestas do Futuro project for the reforestation of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. The project was created by the NGO named SOS Atlantic Forest in 2004. The new forest, named for Gisele Bündchen Sementes, started with 25,500 shoots of 100 different species, enough to revitalize an area of 15 hectares.

In January 2010, Bündchen donated US$1,500,000 to relief efforts for the 2010 Haiti Earthquake.

On 20 September 2009, she was designated Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

Acting career

In 2004, Bündchen played the bank robbers' leader, Vanessa, in the 2004 remake Taxi. In 2006, she played a minor character in The Devil Wears Prada. She was also a cameo in the Apple computer advertising campaign opposite Justin Long and John Hodgeman as a Mac iMovie.

Personal life

Relationships

On Thursday, 26 February 2009, Bündchen married Tom Brady in a small Catholic ceremony at St. Monica Catholic Church in Santa Monica, California. On 5 April 2009, the couple remarried in a larger ceremony in Costa Rica, with Brady's son and actress Bridget Moynahan present. For the April ceremony, Bündchen wore a dress and veil designed by John Galliano.

In December 2009, Bündchen gave birth to a boy in Boston, but the couple had trouble choosing a name before finally picking Benjamin Rein Brady, whose middle name is in honor of Bündchen's mother's father Reinoldo. Bündchen said that she only speaks Portuguese to her baby.

Bündchen told Harper's Bazaar Magazine that breastfeeding should be a "worldwide law" stating, "Some people here (in the US) think they don't have to breastfeed, and I think 'Are you going to give chemical food to your child when they are so little?' I think there should be a worldwide law, in my opinion, that mothers should breastfeed their babies for six months." She later explained her comments on her blog, "My intention in making a comment about the importance of breastfeeding has nothing to do with the law," Bündchen writes. "It comes from my passion and beliefs about children. Becoming a new mom has brought a lot of questions, I feel like I am in a constant search for answers on what might be the best for my child." They baptized their 6-month-old son Benjamin in Santa Monica on 22 June 2010.

Song tribute

As an homage to Bündchen, Brazilian singer and songwriter Gabriel Guerra, along with musician Pedro Cezar, wrote the song Tributo a Gisele (Tribute to Gisele in English), which is currently the theme of the model's official website. In January 2008, Bündchen met Gabriel Guerra at Copacabana Palace Hotel in Rio de Janeiro.

Nude photographs

On 11 April 2008, a black-and-white photo of Bündchen, shot by Irving Penn, was auctioned for US$193,000 (£96,000). The picture was one of dozens from the collection of Gert Elfering that were sold at Christie's International in New York. In all, the auction tallied US$4.27 million and included pictures of Brigitte Bardot, Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell, Christy Turlington, and Carla Bruni. Bündchen's picture reached the highest price in comparison with the others. Bardot was the second with US$181,000 (£90,000).

Image inspiration

In 2006, Elle magazine bosses surveyed the American leading stylists and asked them to name the star whose hair is a favourite for their clients. More than 50 percent gave Bündchen the title of best hair in Hollywood, followed by Sienna Miller in at second place and Nicole Richie in at third position.

In February 2008, research results were publicized by The International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS) to reveal how world celebrity images, which overwhelm popular media, influence people's choices and decisions to undergo plastic surgery. The question asked was "What influences do celebrities have on the decisions patients make?". The survey was sent to more than 20,000 plastic surgeons in 84 countries. Gisele Bündchen, Jennifer Lopez, Angelina Jolie, Nicole Kidman, Pamela Anderson, Sophia Loren, Brad Pitt and George Clooney were the most frequently mentioned celebrities. Bündchen won the abdomen and hair categories and took second place in the breasts category.

References

External links

Official site

Official Youtube

Gisele Bundchen on Harper's Bazaar

Song dedicated to Gisele Bundchen

The Many Faces of Gisele Bundchen - slideshow by Life magazine

Category:1980 births Category:Living people Category:People from Rio Grande do Sul Category:Brazilian Roman Catholics Category:Brazilian people of German descent Category:Brazilian film actors Category:Brazilian female models Category:Twin people from Brazil

Name	Justin Bieber
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Justin Drew Bieber
Born	March 01, 1994
Origin	Stratford, Ontario, Canada
Instrument	Vocals, guitar, piano, percussion,
Genre	Pop, R&B; ( , born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian pop-R&B; singer. Bieber was discovered in 2008 by Scooter Braun, who happened to come across Bieber's videos on YouTube and later became his manager. Braun arranged for him to meet with Usher in Atlanta, Georgia, and Bieber was soon signed to Raymond Braun Media Group (RBMG), a joint venture between Braun and Usher, and then to a recording contract with Island Records offered by L.A. Reid. His first full studio release, My World 2.0, was released on March 23, 2010 and has since received similar success; it debuted at number one and within the top ten of several countries and was certified platinum in the United States. It was preceded by the worldwide top-ten single, "Baby," in January 2010.
Name	Bieber, Justin
Short description	Canadian singer
Date of birth	March 1, 1994
Place of birth	Stratford, Ontario, Canada

Category:1994 births Category:Living people Category:2000s singers Category:2010s singers Category:Canadian child singers Category:Canadian dance musicians Category:Canadian expatriate musicians in the United States Category:Canadian Internet personalities Category:Canadian male singers Category:Canadian pop singers Category:Canadian rhythm and blues singers Category:Hip hop singers Category:Island Records artists Category:Musicians from Atlanta, Georgia Category:Musicians from Ontario Category:People from Stratford, Ontario Category:Canadian people of German descent