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 (89-59-89) |weight
Height
Dress size	38 EU/2 US/6 UK
Shoe size	37 EU/6 US/4 UK
Agency	IMG Models
Spouse	Tom Brady (2009–present)
Website
Spouse	Tom Brady (2009–present)
Children	Benjamin Rein Brady }}

Gisele Caroline Bündchen (, ; born 20 July 1980) is a Brazilian fashion model, occasional film actress, and goodwill ambassador for the ''UN Environment Programme''. In the late 1990s, Bündchen became the first in a wave of Brazilian models to find international 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 (as of 2007) with an estimated $570 million fortune.

Models Claudia Schiffer and Naomi Campbell have stated that Bündchen is the only true remaining "supermodel" and according to Forbes she may become the world's first ever billionaire supermodel. In June 2011, Forbes magazine estimated that Bundchen's total earnings over the last 10 years have passed the $550 million mark. 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 is a sixth-generation German Brazilian, born in Três de Maio, Rio Grande do Sul, to Vânia Nonnenmacher, a bank clerk pensioner, and Valdir Bündchen, a university teacher and writer who are both of German descent. Bündchen was born and raised in Horizontina, a southern region in Brazil where there is a large ethnic German community. She grew up with her five sisters—Raquel, Graziela, Gabriela, Rafaela and her fraternal twin Patrícia, her junior by five minutes. She speaks Portuguese as her native language, in addition to Spanish and English. She also learned German in school, but has not kept up with it.

In 1993, a then-13-year-old Bündchen joined a modeling course with her sisters Patrícia and Gabriela, at their 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, 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. Then she moved to São Paulo to launch her modeling career. In 1996, Bündchen had her first New York City break 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 Bündchen traveled to London, where she auditioned for 42 shows. She got 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 dubbed Bündchen "the Body", immediately boosting her bookings.

In 1998, she posed for Missoni, Chloé, Dolce & Gabbana, Valentino, Gianfranco Ferré, Ralph Lauren and Versace campaigns. In addition, she made the cover of the French edition of Vogue, and Cult fashion magazine i-D also added 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. Also that year "''Time'' magazine said she was "one of the few runway models whom straight men can name."

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 600 magazine covers throughout the world. A total that is only second to Princess Diana's.

By 2000, her record breaking $25 million contract with Victoria's Secret helped solidify her status as the world's top model. She has been on numerous book covers such as "MaRIO DE JANEIRO" by Mario Testino and Russell James Retrospective book.

In 2000, she opened the spring Marc Jacobs, Michael Kors, Dolce & Gabbana, Christian Dior, and Valentino shows in New York, Milan, and Paris. From 1998–2003 Bündchen was in every 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".

Bündchen 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 manager, Patricia Bündchen, she did not 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 in 2007 as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. In September 2007, Bündchen 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 made 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 was photographed for the cover of American Vogue for the 11th time. In September 2010, she lead a pack of top models for Vogue’s Fashion’s Night Out runway show at Lincoln Center, in New York. She then made 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 No. 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 No. 45 in the 2011 FHM Australia list of "100 Sexiest Women in the World". In 2011, ''Men's Health'' named her one of the "100 Hottest Women of All-Time", ranking her at No. 25. In October 2011, Gisele made a surprise runway appearance during Paris Fashion Week, closing the Givenchy spring-summer 2012 fashion show.

In 2011, she graced a total of eight Vogue covers, more than any other model or celebrity that year.

Her July Vogue Brazil 2011 cover shot in the Amazon was the magazines highest selling issue ever, selling 70,743 copies. The record was later broken by fellow model Karolina Kurkova with her November 2011 issue selling 70,991 copies.

In Spring 2012, she won three major spring campaigns – Versace, Givenchy, and Salvatore Ferragamo.

In early 2012, it was announced that she would be the face of Banco do Brasil's first global ad campaign with the tagline "Bank of Brazil. From Brazil to the world. From the world to Brazil."

April 2012 Time Magazine listed her among their All-TIME 100 Fashion Icons list of the 100 most influential fashion icons since 1923.

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 2000, Bündchen was dubbed the "Boobs from Brazil" for inspiring the 36,000 breast enhancement surgeries performed that year in Brazil.

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

For New York Fashion week in fall 2011 for the Tibi Spring/Summer 2012 fashion show, the designer explained "The inspiration is taken heavily from the ‘90s—a freshly scrubbed Gisele from the pages of Vogue—clean, crisp, sporty looks and relaxed styles you want to live in."

Endorsements and earnings

After C&A Brazil hired Bündchen as a spokesmodel and began airing television commercials, sales increased by 30%. In 2001, Bündchen 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. Gisele told Vitals Magazine in 2005, Business and Investing in Real Estate have been her hobbies since she was 18 years old. Since age 18 she has acquired real estate in New York, Los Angeles and São Paulo. She claims modeling is only 40% of what she does and the rest is contracting. 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, Bündchen introduced her own skin care product 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 Bündchen as its representative. Bündchen 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. In August 2011, Bündchen ranked 60th on the Forbes 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. Gisele and husband Tom Brady were named by Forbe's magazine as the World's Highest Paid Celebrity couple in 2011. With combined annual earnings at $76 million even beating out the likes of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie and Beyonce and Jay-Z. The 2010 launch of natural skincare line, Sejaa has seen success—it is rumored that it's being courted by major cosmetics companies, including Shiseido, for acquisition. November 2011 Fred Fuld an American Economist who tracks companies Gisele represents since 2007, reported that she is still outperforming the Dow. Esprits first efforts under its new branding strategy have seen "very encouraging results". The first campaign, which featured Gisele, helped raise consumer awareness, with a 9 percentage points rise to 59% in Germany, and a rise of 19 percentage points to 49% in China.

Other ventures

Charity activities

Her involvement with socio-environmental causes began years ago when she spent time with an Indian tribe on the Xingu River in the Amazon Rainforest. During her visit, Gisele witnessed the problems faced by the tribe due to water pollution and deforestation. After returning home, she called a footwear company she had been working with for years, Grendene. She worked with the company to use her flip-flop line to call attention to environmental causes and raise funds to sponsor environmental projects, especially forest and water related projects in the Amazon and Atlantic Rainforest.

In 2008, she returned to her homeland to help make a difference, and together with her family, Gisele and her father launched Projeto Água Limpa (Clean Water Project) in her hometown of Horizontina. The project aims at implementing sustainable environmental management and promoting the recovery of riparian vegetation and the micro basins of the region. On 8 June 2009 the first native trees were planted – around 40,000 saplings were planted during the first phase of the projects.

From fashion to fanfare, Gisele finds a way to share her environmental passion in various aspects of her life. Aside from designing footwear to raise awareness, Gisele also dedicates part of her website to environmental issues. She launched a “green” blog in 2008 with the aim of “reflecting on socio-environmental issues that we can do something about”. In May 2009, she hit the red carpet to co-host the Rainforest Alliance’s annual gala to honor leaders in sustainability.

In 2006 Bündchen became the face of American Express Red, part of the Product Red initiative 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 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. Bündchen has also supported a variety of environmental causes, including clean water initiatives, environmental sustainability, and preservation of South American rainforests. In addition, Bündchen has helped raise money for cancer research and treatment, victims of Hurricane Katrina, and the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.

Gisele opened The Luz Foundation in 2007, a grant-making organization advocating the empowerment of young girls and a place where she donates a percentage of her money to help with different projects that come along.

On 20 September 2009, she was designated ''Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Environment Programme'' (UNEP). In January 2012, Gisele made her first official visit to Africa as UNEP Goodwill Ambassador.

Every year Gisele chooses a charity, to which proceeds of sales from her sandals are donated, with the 2011 donation going to ISA – the Socio-environmental Institute.

May 2011 Gisele was named Harvard’s 2011 Global Environmental Citizen in recognition of her eco-efforts.

November 2011 she was awarded Greenest Celebrity at the 2011 International Green awards at the National History Museum of London. Each year the Green Awards honors a celebrity who has been the most creative and innovative in the approach of sustainability of the environment. An online public vote took place and Gisele was the clear winner beating Former Beatles Paul McCartney and Miguel Bose.

In November 2011, Gisele made a surprise visit in Boston to patients at the Jimmy Fund Clinic at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute.

In 2011, Gisele was added to The Giving Back Fund's list of celebs who made the largest donations to charity.

13 January 2012 Gisele visited Kenya on a goodwill mission. the Brazilian supermodel went to the East African country to experience firsthand the reality of energy poverty. As part of the visit, Bundchen spent a day with a family in the village of Kisumu and helped them tend to tasks such as carrying firewood to their hut – while also making sure to highlight the dangers of using firewood inside homes that do not have energy. She was also seen dancing with the locals and visiting various homes, as well as teaming up with UK NGO Practical Action during the course of her stay.

In April 2012 she donated money for AIDS research.

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''.

Personal life

From 2000 to 2005, Bündchen was in a relationship with American actor Leonardo DiCaprio. In 2004, Bündchen and DiCaprio made People's annual Most Beautiful Couples List.

In December 2006, she began dating New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, while Bridget Moynahan was pregnant with Brady's child. On Thursday, 26 February 2009, Bündchen married 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 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 maternal grandfather Reinoldo.

Bündchen caused controversy when she told the magazine ''Harper's Bazaar'' 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".

Super Bowl issues

In 2008, following the loss to the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII, some writers in the Boston area began discussing a "Gisele Jinx", facetiously blaming the Patriots' losses on quarterback Tom Brady's new wife, Bündchen. ABC News did a story on the history of such "jinxes", comparing the Patriots situation with that faced, not only by the Dallas Cowboys and Jessica Simpson, but with women throughout history. The ABC News story concluded that such jinxes are baseless, but that has not stopped Patriots fans and detractors from continuing to discuss the matter, especially after a second loss to the Giants in Super Bowl XLVI. Some writers have pointed out that Brady and the Patriots, despite great success in the regular season, have not won another Super Bowl since Bündchen and Brady began dating, and at least one columnist for the Business Insider has jokingly suggested that the relationship may be cursed, as Brady (who was 3–0 in Super Bowls before Bündchen ) has failed for five straight years to win another NFL championship. ''Sports of Boston'' speculates that "the Gisele Jinx" came along just in time to replace the Curse of the Bambino.

After Super Bowl XLVI and the heckling of several Giants fans, Gisele was caught on video saying, in private conversation, "My husband cannot fucking throw the ball and catch the ball at the same time!" The comment, which was widely publicized both in the traditional media and the blogosphere, caused a media stir and caused the New York Times to dub her "The Typhoid Mary of the Web".

References

External links

Official Blog

Voguepedia

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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