Name	Gisele Bündchen
Birth name	Gisele Caroline Bündchen
Birth date	July 20, 1980
Birth place	Horizontina, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
Nationality	Brazilian
Haircolor	Light Brown
Eyecolor	Blue
Measurements	35-23-35.5 (89-59-90)
Weight
Height
Dress size	37 EU/6 US/4 UK
Shoe size	38 EU/6 US
Agency	IMG Models
Spouse	Tom Brady (2009–present)
Website
Spouse	Tom Brady (2009–present)
Children	Benjamin (2009)}}

Gisele Caroline Bündchen (; born 20 July 1980) is a Brazilian model, occasional film actress and goodwill ambassador for the UN Environment Programme.

In the late 1990s, Bündchen became one of the first in a wave of Brazilian models to find success. In 1999, Vogue magazine dubbed her "The Return of the Sexy Model" and she was credited with ending the "heroin chic" era of modeling.

Bündchen was one of Victoria's Secret Angels from 2000 until 2006. Since 2004, she has been the highest-paid model in the world and the sixteenth richest woman in the entertainment industry with an estimated $150 million fortune. Models Claudia Schiffer and Naomi Campbell have argued that Bündchen is the only true remaining "supermodel" and according to Forbes she may become the world's first ever billionaire supermodel.

As an occasional actress, she had supporting roles in Taxi (2004) and The Devil Wears Prada (2006).

From 2000 to 2005, Bündchen was in a much-publicized relationship with American actor Leonardo DiCaprio. She married New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady in 2009.

Family and early life

Bündchen was born in the Brazilian town of Três de Maio and grew up in Horizontina, Rio Grande do Sul. She is of German-Brazilian heritage from both her parents, Vânia Nonnenmacher, a bank clerk pensioner, and Valdir Bündchen, a university teacher and writer. She has five sisters – Raquel, Graziela, Gabriela, Rafaela and her fraternal twin Patrícia, Gisele's junior by five minutes. Bündchen speaks Portuguese as her native language. She also speaks Spanish and English.

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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.

Modeling career

Vogue editor Anna Wintour crowned her the "model of the millennium," that same year Vogue called her "The return of the sexy model". Rolling Stone declared her "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World" in 2000 and Vanity Fair published an article titled . "And God Created Gisele...," in 2009.

Bündchen pioneered the "horse walk" – a stomping movement created when a model picks her knees up high and kicks her feet out in front.

In 1997 Bundchen travels to London, where she auditions for 42 shows. She gets her big break when chosen for her ability to walk in towering heels—on a slippery runway—for Alexander McQueen’s memorable spring 1998 “rain” ready-to-wear show. Echoing similar accolades for Elle Macpherson a decade earlier, McQueen dubs Gisele “the Body,” immediately boosting her bookings.

In 1998 She poses for Missoni, Chloé, Dolce & Gabbana, Valentino, Gianfranco Ferré, Ralph Lauren, and Versace campaigns. Makes the cover of French Vogue. Cult fashion magazine i-D also puts her on its cover, profiling "A Girl Called Gisele."

An article on Vogue magazine's on-line encyclopedia of models stated "As the year 2000 approached, Gisele Bündchen was the world’s hottest model, opening up a new category in the popular imagination: the Brazilian bombshell." By the year 2000, her going rate was reportedly already up to $7,000 an hour.

She is the fourth model in history to grace the cover of Rolling Stone, in which she was named "the most beautiful girl in the world", in 2000.

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 and in broader market publications such as TIME, Vanity Fair, Forbes, Newsweek and Veja, more than 500 magazine covers throughout the world. A total that is only second to Princess Diana's.

By 2000, her record breaking 25 million dollar contract with Victoria's Secret helped solidify her status as the world's top model.

She has also been on numerous book covers such as "MaRIO DE JANEIRO" by Mario Testino and Russell James Retrospective book.

She also opens the spring Marc Jacobs, Michael Kors, Dolce & Gabbana, Christian Dior, and Valentino shows in New York, Milan, and Paris.

From 1998-2003 Bundchen was in every single Dolce & Gabbana fashion campaign. Totaling 11 consecutive campaigns with the brand. In 2006-2009 she returned as the face of the brand's fragrance titled "Dolce & Gabbana The One".

Bundchen was invited to host the Brazilian version of the reality-show "America's Next Top Model" in (2003), but she refused. According to her sister and public relations, Patricia Bundchen, she doesn't want to pursue a career on television.

Photographed by Steven Meisel, she was presented on the September 2004 cover of American Vogue as one of the "Models of the Moment". 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 Bündchen lived there.

In February 2007 Bündchen returned to the Milan runway by opening and closing Dolce & Gabbana’s show.

She was chosen by Time magazine as one of the 100 Most Influential People in the world (2007).

September 2007 Bundchen was featured on the cover of Vanity Fair’s style issue, photographed by Mario Testino being one of the best sellers that year.

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.

In 2010 she makes Vogue’s best-dressed-of-the-decade list for her 2008 and 2009 Met gala appearances as well as her bikini-clad, logo-tattooed appearance in a 2000 fashion editorial. In April 2010 she is photographed for the cover of American Vogue for the 11th time.

September 2010 she leads a pack of top models for Vogue’s Fashion’s Night Out runway show at Lincoln Center, in New York. She then makes a surprise appearance on Balenciaga’s runway, closing the show.

She is ranked No.1 as the Top Model Icon of All Time at models.com. She is also No.1 on the Money Girls list and #2 on The Sexiest Models list. In 2011, CEOWORLD Magazine ranked her among their Top Accomplished Women Entertainers. She was also ranked number 95 in FHM magazines 100 Sexiest Women in the World 2011.

In 2007 Bündchen was named "The World's Richest Supermodel".

She ranked #45 in the 2011 FHM Australia list of "100 Sexiest Women in the World".

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. Bündchen's picture reached the highest price in comparison with the others.

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.

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. Bündchen was among the most frequently mentioned celebrities. Bündchen won the abdomen and hair categories and took second place in the breasts category.

On January 2011, Bündchen came in first in the most desired female body on the 14th Annual Famed Hottest Looks survey, compiled by Beverly Hills plastic surgeons Dr. Richard Fleming and Dr. Toby Mayer. Even after giving birth in December 2009, her body was the most requested by the doctors' patients.

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According to Vogue.com Bündchen, who was considered by designer David Neville of Rag & Bone, is one of the newest icons in American style.

In 2011 Askmen.com revealed their Annual "Most Desirable Women" list of which Bundchen along with Angelina Jolie and Beyoncé Knowles being the only women to make the list every year for ten years in a row.

Endorsements and earnings

After C&A; Brazil hired Bündchen as a spokesmodel and began airing television commercials, sales increased by 30%.

In 2001, Gisele launched her own line of flip-flop sandals, Ipanema. In three years, sales topped $30 million, with a portion of proceeds going to green causes. Forbes put her 53rd on their 2007 list of the most powerful celebrities. Ipanema made an estimated £152 million with over 250 million pairs sold in 2010.

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 previous 12 months, Forbes magazine named her the world's top-earning model in the list of the World's 15 Top-Earning Supermodels.

American economist 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%.

By 2008, with annual income now topping $35 million, she continued to dominate the Forbes list of the world’s highest-earning models, and appeared on the magazine’s list of the Top 20 Richest Women in Entertainment.

During 2009–2010, she was reportedly the top earning supermodel, earning an estimated $25 million.

In 2010, she retained the top spot as Forbes’s highest-earning model, with a take-home pay of $25 million.

In 2010, Gisele introduced her own Skin care line, named Sejaa Pure Skincare.

In early 2011, P&G;'s Pantene shampoo sales exploded 40% in Latin America after Bündchen started representing the product.

Edward Razek, chief marketing officer of Limited Brands, who worked with Bündchen during her Victoria's Secret career says, "She's an international icon who can also move product—from shampoo to couture."

The Lingerie Brand "HOPE" increased turnover by 40% after contracting Gisele as its representative.

Gisele' currently owns a hotel in Brazil, land in Brazilian city Trancoso, a villa in Costa Rica, a house in Brentwood, California, and she is currently building a home in Santa Monica.

On May 2011, Forbes ranked her, for the fifth consecutive time, as the world's top-earning model with an estimated $45 million over the past 12 months (2010–2011). Her earnings climbed $20 million over the previous year, thanks to an economic boom in her homeland of Brazil coupled with a 10% surge in the value of the Brazilian real against the dollar. Gisele may soon become the world's first billionaire model (according to US currency rates), reports Forbes magazine.

In August 2011, Gisele ranked 60th on the Forbe's List of The World's 100 Most Powerful Women. She ranked 3rd on the The 20 Youngest Power Women of 2011 List at age 31.

Other ventures

Charity activities

In 2001 Post-9/11, Gisele appeared with model Carolyn Murphy and actress Julianne Moore in print ads for the CFDA Fashion for America T-shirt campaign benefiting the Twin Towers Fund. In December she Posed with her teacup Yorkie, Vida, wearing the fund-raising tee on Vogue’s cover.

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 2003 she donated $150,000 - her fee for one fashion show in São Paulo Fashion Week - to help fight hunger in her native Brazil (January 27, 2003).

In 2009, she appeared almost simultaneously in 30 covers of the international issues of Elle magazines wearing (Product) Red clothing and posing with products from companies who support the same cause.

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.. 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 Grendene – Gisele Bündchen, started with 25,500 shoots of 100 different species, enough to revitalize an area of 15 hectares.

In 2008 she Launches Projeto Água Limpa (Clean Water Project), aimed at sustainable environmental management in her home state of Rio Grande do Sul.

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

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

Since 2010, she worked on an animated web series called Gisele and the Green Team, to highlight green issues to educate kids and adults.

In March 2011, it was reported, Bundchen wrote a check for $1 million to the earthquake fund created by the Japanese Red Cross Society after the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. It was also reported she sent $250,000 to the Pacific Tsunami Fund and Save the Children and another $250,000 to a Japanese Red Cross earthquake fund.

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

From 2000 to 2005, Bündchen was in a relationship with American actor Leonardo DiCaprio.

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 (whom he had with actress Bridget Moynahan) present.

In December 2009, Bündchen gave birth to a boy in Boston, named Benjamin Rein Brady—his middle name is in honor of Bündchen's mother's father Reinoldo.

Bündchen caused controversy when she told Harper's Bazaar Magazine that breastfeeding should be a "worldwide law", but later moderated her comments on her blog, stating, "my intention [was to] make a comment about the importance of breastfeeding".

References

External links

Official site

Official Youtube

The Many Faces of Gisele Bundchen – slideshow by Life magazine

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

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