Gisele Bündchen
Encyclopedia
Gisele Caroline Bündchen (ʒiˈzɛli ˈbĩtʃẽ; 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 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 $70 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.
and grew up in Horizontina
, Rio Grande do Sul
. She is of German 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, Bündchen's junior by five minutes. Bündchen speaks Portuguese
as her native language. She also speaks Spanish and English. She commented "I was born in Horizontina, a town in the back-country of (Brazilian) state Rio Grande do Sul. The town was once mainly colonized by Germans. In the school which I attended, learning German was actually obligatory from third grade on. But being out of touch with the language for such a long time, I unfortunately forgot it...] I belong to the sixth generation of my family in Brazil.
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, 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
.
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 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. Also that year "Time magazine says she's "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.
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 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 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 in 2007 as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. 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 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". October 2011 Gisele made a surprise runway appearance during Paris Fashion Week, closing the Givenchy spring-summer 2012 fashion show.
, 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.
In 2000, Bündchen was dubbed the "Boobs from Brazil" by tabloids who went as far as to blame her for 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.
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."
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.
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 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.
, 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 rainforest
s. In addition, Bündchen has helped raise money for cancer research and treatment, victims of Hurricane Katrina
, and the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
.
On 20 September 2009, she was designated Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
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.
. 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.
. In 2004, Bündchen and DiCaprio made People's annual Most Beautiful Couples List.
In December 2006, she began dating NFL player Tom Brady
. 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 (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 maternal grandfather 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".
Goodwill Ambassador
Goodwill Ambassador is a collective term sometimes used as a substitute honorific title or a title of honor for an Ambassador of Goodwill; but, most appropriately for a generic recognition, it is a job position or description that is usually indicated following the name of the individual recognized...
for the UN Environment Programme
United Nations Environment Programme
The United Nations Environment Programme coordinates United Nations environmental activities, assisting developing countries in implementing environmentally sound policies and practices. It was founded as a result of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in June 1972 and has its...
.
In the late 1990s, Bündchen became one of the first in a wave of Brazilian models to find success. In 1999, Vogue
Vogue (magazine)
Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 18 national and one regional edition by Condé Nast.-History:In 1892 Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly publication in the United States. When he died in 1909, Condé Montrose Nast picked up the magazine and slowly began...
magazine dubbed her "The Return of the Sexy Model" and she was credited with ending the "heroin chic
Heroin chic
Heroin chic was a look popularized in mid-1990s fashion and characterized by pale skin, dark circles underneath the eyes, and jutting bones.The look, which promoted emaciated features and androgyny, was an alternative that stood in direct contradiction to the "healthy" and vibrant look of models...
" 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 $70 million fortune. Models Claudia Schiffer
Claudia Schiffer
Claudia Schiffer is a German model and occasional actress, who reached the peak of her popularity during the 1990s, initially due to her resemblance to Brigitte Bardot. Schiffer is one of the world's most successful models, having appeared on over 500 magazine covers...
and Naomi Campbell
Naomi Campbell
Naomi Campbell is a British model. Scouted at the age of 15, she established herself among the top three most recognisable and in-demand models of the late 1980s and early 1990s, and she was one of six models of her generation declared "supermodels" by the fashion world...
have argued that Bündchen is the only true remaining "supermodel" and according to Forbes she may become the world's first ever billionaire
Billionaire
A billionaire, in countries that use the short scale number naming system, is a person who has a net worth of at least one billion units of a given currency, usually the United States dollar, Euro, or Pound sterling. Forbes magazine updates a complete list of U.S. dollar billionaires around the...
supermodel
Supermodel
The term supermodel refers to a highly-paid fashion model who usually has a worldwide reputation and often a background in haute couture and commercial modeling. The term became prominent in the popular culture of the 1980s. Supermodels usually work for top fashion designers and labels...
.
As an occasional actress, she had supporting roles in Taxi
Taxi (2004 film)
Taxi is a 2004 American remake of the 1998 Luc Besson-penned, Gérard Pirès-directed French film of the same name, starring Queen Latifah, Jimmy Fallon and Gisele Bündchen, and directed by Tim Story.-Plot:...
(2004) and The Devil Wears Prada
The Devil Wears Prada (film)
The Devil Wears Prada is a 2006 comedy-drama film, a loose screen adaptation of Lauren Weisberger's 2003 novel of the same name. It stars Anne Hathaway as Andrea Sachs, a recent college graduate who goes to New York City and gets a job as a co-assistant to powerful and demanding fashion magazine...
(2006).
From 2000 to 2005, Bündchen was in a much-publicized relationship with American actor Leonardo DiCaprio
Leonardo DiCaprio
Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio is an American actor and film producer. He has received many awards, including a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor for his performance in The Aviator , and has been nominated by the Academy Awards, Screen Actors Guild and the British Academy of Film and Television...
. She married New England Patriots
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...
quarterback Tom Brady
Tom Brady
Thomas Edward Patrick "Tom" Brady, Jr. is an American football quarterback for the New England Patriots of the National Football League . 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,...
in 2009.
Family and early life
Bündchen was born in the Brazilian town of Três de MaioTrês de Maio
Três de Maio is a Brazilian municipality in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. It is located at .It has an area of 424,26 km². It is located 343 m over sea level. As of 2004 its population was 24,211 inhabitants. Its climate is mild with temperatures of 20°C to 35°C in summer and 0 to 15°C ...
and grew up in Horizontina
Horizontina
Horizontina is a municipality and a city in Rio Grande do Sul, in southern Brazil, with 18,046 inhabitants in a 2004 IBGE estimation. The first settlers were German, Italian and Polish immigrants who arrived in the region in 1927, though the city was created only in 1955...
, Rio Grande do Sul
Rio Grande do Sul
Rio Grande do Sul is the southernmost state in Brazil, and the state with the fifth highest Human Development Index in the country. In this state is located the southernmost city in the country, Chuí, on the border with Uruguay. In the region of Bento Gonçalves and Caxias do Sul, the largest wine...
. She is of German heritage
German Brazilian
A German Brazilian is a Brazilian person of ethnic German ancestry or origin...
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, Bündchen's junior by five minutes. Bündchen speaks Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
as her native language. She also speaks Spanish and English. She commented "I was born in Horizontina, a town in the back-country of (Brazilian) state Rio Grande do Sul. The town was once mainly colonized by Germans. In the school which I attended, learning German was actually obligatory from third grade on. But being out of touch with the language for such a long time, I unfortunately forgot it...] I belong to the sixth generation of my family in Brazil.
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
Olive Oyl
Olive Oyl is a cartoon character created by Elzie Crisler Segar in 1919 for his comic strip Thimble Theatre. The strip was later renamed Popeye after the sailor character that became the most popular member of the cast; however Olive Oyl was a main character for 10 years before Popeye's 1929...
, Popeye
Popeye
Popeye the Sailor is a cartoon fictional character created by Elzie Crisler Segar, who has appeared in comic strips and animated cartoons in the cinema as well as on television. He first appeared in the daily King Features comic strip Thimble Theatre on January 17, 1929...
'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
São Paulo
São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...
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
Bahia
Bahia is one of the 26 states of Brazil, and is located in the northeastern part of the country on the Atlantic coast. It is the fourth most populous Brazilian state after São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro, and the fifth-largest in size...
, took first place. Bündchen placed fourth in the world contest, held in Ibiza
Ibiza
Ibiza or Eivissa is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea 79 km off the coast of the city of Valencia in Spain. It is the third largest of the Balearic Islands, an autonomous community of Spain. With Formentera, it is one of the two Pine Islands or Pityuses. Its largest cities are Ibiza...
, Spain. In 1996, Bündchen moved to New York City to begin her modeling career, debuting at Fashion Week
Fashion Week
A fashion week is a fashion industry event, lasting approximately one week, which allows fashion designers, brands or "houses" to display their latest collections in runway shows and buyers and the media to take a look at the latest trends. Most importantly, these events let the industry know...
.
Modeling career
Vogue editor Anna WintourAnna Wintour
Anna Wintour, OBE is the British-born editor-in-chief of American Vogue, a position she has held since 1988. With her trademark pageboy bob haircut and sunglasses, Wintour has become an institution throughout the fashion world, widely praised for her eye for fashion trends and her support for...
crowned her the "model of the millennium," that same year Vogue
Vogue (magazine)
Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 18 national and one regional edition by Condé Nast.-History:In 1892 Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly publication in the United States. When he died in 1909, Condé Montrose Nast picked up the magazine and slowly began...
called her "The return of the sexy model". Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
declared her "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World" in 2000 and Vanity Fair
Vanity Fair (magazine)
Vanity Fair is a magazine of pop culture, fashion, and current affairs published by Condé Nast. The present Vanity Fair has been published since 1983 and there have been editions for four European countries as well as the U.S. edition. This revived the title which had ceased publication in 1935...
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
Alexander McQueen
Lee Alexander McQueen, CBE was a British fashion designer and couturier best known for his in-depth knowledge of bespoke British tailoring, his tendency to juxtapose strength with fragility in his collections, as well as the emotional power and raw energy of his provocative fashion shows...
’s memorable spring 1998 “rain” ready-to-wear show. Echoing similar accolades for Elle Macpherson
Elle Macpherson
Elle Macpherson is an Australian model, actress, and businesswoman nicknamed "The Body". She is perhaps best known for her record five cover appearances for the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue beginning in the 1980s...
a decade earlier, McQueen dubbed Bündchen "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. Also that year "Time magazine says she's "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
VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
/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
Tom Brady
Thomas Edward Patrick "Tom" Brady, Jr. is an American football quarterback for the New England Patriots of the National Football League . 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,...
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
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
, when she was named "the most beautiful girl in the world." Bündchen has been on the covers of many top fashion magazines including W
W (magazine)
W is a monthly American fashion magazine published by Condé Nast Publications, who purchased original owner Fairchild Publications in 1999. It was created in 1971 by the publisher of sister magazine Woman's Wear Daily, James Brady. The magazine is an oversize format – ten inches wide and...
, Harper's Bazaar
Harper's Bazaar
Harper’s Bazaar is an American fashion magazine, first published in 1867. Harper’s Bazaar is published by Hearst and, as a magazine, considers itself to be the style resource for “women who are the first to buy the best, from casual to couture.”...
, ELLE
Elle (magazine)
Elle is a worldwide magazine of French origin that focuses on women's fashion, beauty, health, and entertainment. Elle is also the world's largest fashion magazine. It was founded by Pierre Lazareff and his wife Hélène Gordon in 1945. The title, in French, means "she".-History:Elle was founded in...
, Allure
Allure (magazine)
Allure is the leading U.S. women’s beauty magazine, published monthly by Condé Nast in New York City. It was founded in 1991 by editor in chief Linda Wells, who has been at the helm of the magazine ever since. From its inception, the magazine has been widely recognized for its intelligent,...
, international editions of Vogue
Vogue (magazine)
Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 18 national and one regional edition by Condé Nast.-History:In 1892 Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly publication in the United States. When he died in 1909, Condé Montrose Nast picked up the magazine and slowly began...
, as well as style and lifestyle publications such as i-D
I-D
i-D is a British magazine dedicated to fashion, music, art and youth culture. i-D was founded by designer and former Vogue art director Terry Jones in 1980. The first issue was published in the form of a hand-stapled fanzine with text produced on a typewriter...
, The Face
The Face (magazine)
The Face was a British music, fashion and culture monthly magazine started in May 1980 by Nick Logan.-1980s:Logan had previously created the teen pop magazine Smash Hits, and had been an editor at the New Musical Express in the 1970s before launching The Face in 1980.The magazine was influential in...
, Arena
Arena (magazine)
Arena was a British monthly men's magazine. The magazine was created in 1986 by Nick Logan, who had started The Face in 1980, to focus on trends in fashion and entertainment. British graphic designer Neville Brody, who had designed The Face, designed Arena's launch appearance.The magazine featured...
, Citizen K, Flair, GQ, Esquire
Esquire (magazine)
Esquire is a men's magazine, published in the U.S. by the Hearst Corporation. Founded in 1932, it flourished during the Great Depression under the guidance of founder and editor Arnold Gingrich.-History:...
, and Marie Claire
Marie Claire
Marie Claire is a monthly women's magazine first published in France but also distributed in other countries with editions specific to them and in their languages. While each country shares its own special voice with its audience, the United States edition focuses on women around the world and...
. She has been featured both in the Pirelli Calendar
Pirelli Calendar
The Pirelli Calendar is a trade calendar published by the Pirelli company's UK subsidiary. It has become an annual publication that dates back to 1964....
2001 and 2006 and in broader market publications such as TIME, Vanity Fair
Vanity Fair (magazine)
Vanity Fair is a magazine of pop culture, fashion, and current affairs published by Condé Nast. The present Vanity Fair has been published since 1983 and there have been editions for four European countries as well as the U.S. edition. This revived the title which had ceased publication in 1935...
, Forbes
Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
, Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
and Veja
Veja (magazine)
Veja is a Brazilian weekly newsmagazine published in São Paulo and distributed throughout the country by the media conglomerate Grupo Abril. It is the leading weekly publication in the country, and one of the most influential outlets of the Brazilian press...
, 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.
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 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 doesn't want to pursue a career on television.
Photographed by Steven Meisel
Steven Meisel
Steven Meisel is an American photographer, who obtained popular acclaim with his work in US and Italian Vogue and his photographs of friend Madonna in her 1992 book Sex...
, she was presented on the September 2004 cover of American Vogue
Vogue (magazine)
Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 18 national and one regional edition by Condé Nast.-History:In 1892 Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly publication in the United States. When he died in 1909, Condé Montrose Nast picked up the magazine and slowly began...
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.
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
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
, 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 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". October 2011 Gisele made a surprise runway appearance during Paris Fashion Week, closing the Givenchy spring-summer 2012 fashion show.
Nude photographs
On 11 April 2008, a black-and-white photo of Bündchen, shot by Irving PennIrving Penn
Irving Penn was an American photographer known for his portraiture and fashion photography.-Early career:Irving Penn studied under Alexey Brodovitch at the Philadelphia Museum School of Industrial Art from which he was graduated in 1938. Penn's drawings were published by Harper's Bazaar and he...
, 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
Christie's
Christie's is an art business and a fine arts auction house.- History :The official company literature states that founder James Christie conducted the first sale in London, England, on 5 December 1766, and the earliest auction catalogue the company retains is from December 1766...
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.
In 2011, Askmen.com revealed their Annual "Most Desirable Women" list of which Bündchen along with Angelina Jolie
Angelina Jolie
Angelina Jolie is an American actress. She has received an Academy Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and three Golden Globe Awards, and was named Hollywood's highest-paid actress by Forbes in 2009 and 2011. Jolie is noted for promoting humanitarian causes as a Goodwill Ambassador for the...
and Beyoncé Knowles
Beyoncé Knowles
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles , often known simply as Beyoncé, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, she enrolled in various performing arts schools and was first exposed to singing and dancing competitions as a child...
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.
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
Dow Jones Industrial Average
The Dow Jones Industrial Average , also called the Industrial Average, the Dow Jones, the Dow 30, or simply the Dow, is a stock market index, and one of several indices created by Wall Street Journal editor and Dow Jones & Company co-founder Charles Dow...
. 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.
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
Cosmetics
Cosmetics are substances used to enhance the appearance or odor of the human body. Cosmetics include skin-care creams, lotions, powders, perfumes, lipsticks, fingernail and toe nail polish, eye and facial makeup, towelettes, permanent waves, colored contact lenses, hair colors, hair sprays and...
product line
Product lining
Product lining is the marketing strategy of offering for sale several related products. Unlike product bundling, where several products are combined into one, lining involves offering several related products individually. A line can comprise related products of various sizes, types, colors,...
, 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
Edward Razek
Edward Razek is the senior creative on Victoria's Secret. He is the Chief Marketing Officer of creative services of Limited Brands, Victoria Secret's parent. He has been hand picking the models for Victoria's Secret for 15+ years and helped launch the careers of household names Daniela Pestova,...
, chief marketing officer of Limited Brands
Limited Brands
Limited Brands is an American apparel company based in Columbus, Ohio. In 2009 it reported 9.04 billion dollars in revenue for the last fiscal year.-History:...
, 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
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
, a house in Brentwood, California
Brentwood, California
Brentwood is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States. It is located in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. The population is 51,481 as of 2010....
, and she is currently building a home in Santa Monica
Santa Mônica
Santa Mônica is a town and municipality in the state of Paraná in the Southern Region of Brazil.-References:...
.
On May 2011, Forbes
Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
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 $20 million over the previous year, thanks to an economic boom in her homeland of Brazil coupled with a 10% surge in the value of the Brazilian real
Brazilian real
The real is the present-day currency of Brazil. Its sign is R$ and its ISO code is BRL. It is subdivided into 100 centavos ....
against the dollar.
In August 2011, Bündchen 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.
Charity activities
In 2006 Bündchen became the face of American Express RedAmerican Express Red
The American Express Red is an American Express credit card which has been launched for the first time in the United Kingdom in March 2006. Applicants must be UK residents...
, part of the Product Red
Product Red
Product Red, styled as RED, is a brand licensed to partner companies such as Nike, American Express , Apple Inc., Starbucks, Converse, Bugaboo, Penguin Classics , Gap, Emporio Armani, Hallmark and Dell...
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
Elle (magazine)
Elle is a worldwide magazine of French origin that focuses on women's fashion, beauty, health, and entertainment. Elle is also the world's largest fashion magazine. It was founded by Pierre Lazareff and his wife Hélène Gordon in 1945. The title, in French, means "she".-History:Elle was founded in...
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
Sustainability
Sustainability is the capacity to endure. For humans, sustainability is the long-term maintenance of well being, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions, and encompasses the concept of union, an interdependent relationship and mutual responsible position with all living and non...
, and preservation of South American rainforest
Rainforest
Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions based on a minimum normal annual rainfall of 1750-2000 mm...
s. In addition, Bündchen has helped raise money for cancer research and treatment, victims of Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
, and the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
The 2011 earthquake off the Pacific coast of Tohoku, also known as the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, or the Great East Japan Earthquake, was a magnitude 9.0 undersea megathrust earthquake off the coast of Japan that occurred at 14:46 JST on Friday, 11 March 2011, with the epicenter approximately east...
.
On 20 September 2009, she was designated Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
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.
Acting career
In 2004, Bündchen played the bank robbers' leader, Vanessa, in the 2004 remake TaxiTaxi (2004 film)
Taxi is a 2004 American remake of the 1998 Luc Besson-penned, Gérard Pirès-directed French film of the same name, starring Queen Latifah, Jimmy Fallon and Gisele Bündchen, and directed by Tim Story.-Plot:...
. In 2006, she played a minor character in The Devil Wears Prada
The Devil Wears Prada (film)
The Devil Wears Prada is a 2006 comedy-drama film, a loose screen adaptation of Lauren Weisberger's 2003 novel of the same name. It stars Anne Hathaway as Andrea Sachs, a recent college graduate who goes to New York City and gets a job as a co-assistant to powerful and demanding fashion magazine...
. She was also a cameo in the Apple computer advertising campaign opposite Justin Long
Justin Long
Justin Jacob Long is an American film and television actor. He is best known for his roles in the Hollywood films Galaxy Quest, Jeepers Creepers, Dodgeball, Live Free or Die Hard, He's Just Not That into You, Drag Me to Hell, and Youth in Revolt, and his personification of a Mac in Apple's "Get a...
and John Hodgeman as a Mac iMovie.
Personal life
From 2000 to 2005, Bündchen was in a relationship with American actor Leonardo DiCaprioLeonardo DiCaprio
Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio is an American actor and film producer. He has received many awards, including a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor for his performance in The Aviator , and has been nominated by the Academy Awards, Screen Actors Guild and the British Academy of Film and Television...
. In 2004, Bündchen and DiCaprio made People's annual Most Beautiful Couples List.
In December 2006, she began dating NFL player Tom Brady
Tom Brady
Thomas Edward Patrick "Tom" Brady, Jr. is an American football quarterback for the New England Patriots of the National Football League . 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,...
. 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 (whom he had with actress Bridget Moynahan
Bridget Moynahan
Kathryn Bridget Moynahan , best known as Bridget Moynahan, is an American model and actress. After graduating from Longmeadow High School in 1989, Moynahan pursued a career in modeling. She was signed by a modeling agency, which led her to appear in department store catalogs and the covers of...
) 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 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".
External links
- Official site
- Official Youtube
- The Many Faces of Gisele Bundchen – slideshow by Life magazine