Gisele Bundchen

Born on – 20 July 1980

Born in - Horizontina, Brazil

Nationality – Brazilian

Career – Model, Actor and Businesswoman

 

Remember that clumsy girl in the Hollywood blockbuster film, The Devil Wears Prada? The one, who does not know the ABC of fashion, yet lands up as the co-assistant to the powerful editor of a fashion magazine and eventually proves her mettle? In real life she is Gisele Bündchen, who happens to be famous the world over as a stunning Brazilian supermodel. Forbes rated Gisele Bundchen as the world’s highest paid model, apart from being the 16th richest woman in the entertainment sphere.

 

In 2007 alone, Gisele earned some $33 million adding up to her (approximately) $150 million fortune. Even the Guinness Book of World Records registers Gisele Bundchen as the world's richest supermodel. Up till recently, Gisele has featured as the face of more than 20 brands globally. Apart from 2006 movie, The Devil Wear Prada that earned her good reviews, Gisele Bundchen has starred in one another film – Taxi that hit theatres earlier in 2004. However, modeling remains the main career that gave Gisele her real celebrity status.

 

Gisele Bundchen was born on 20 July 1980 as Gisele Caroline Nonnenmacher Bündchen. She was born in the Brazilian town of Três de Maio, whereas her growing up happened in Horizontina, Rio Grande do Sul. Her father, Vânia Nonnenmacher is a bank clerk pensioner, and mother Valdir Bündchen is a university teacher cum writer. All of her five sisters - Raquel, Graziela, Gabriela, Patricia, and Rafaela are aspiring models. Gisele Bündchen was brought up as a Roman Catholic. She speaks Portuguese, which is her native language and English.  

 

Unbelievable though it may sound, it is true that Gisele Bundchen was teased by other children during her childhood because she was unattractively tall and thin. Her career as a model got a fillip when Gisele went on a school trip to Sao Paulo in 1994. There, at the age of 14, Gisele Bundchen was spotted by a modeling agency and offered a modeling job. Her father did not like Gisele’s wish to take up modeling, but did not stop her from shifting to Sao Paulo for the same. Once at Sao Paulo, Gisele Bundchen took part in the Elite Look Modeling Competition, from where her career just took off.

 

In the course of her glorious modeling career, Gisele Bundchen got to model for prestigious fashion houses like Ralph Lauren, Versace, Valentino and Chloe. Simultaneously Gisele also appeared on the cover-page of various famous magazines like Vogue, Marie Claire, Harper's Bazaar and Rolling Stone. Since the inception of her modeling career, Gisele got featured as the face of many reputed advertising campaigns. This included various seasons of Christian Dior, Bvlgari, Lanvin, Guerlain, Valentino, Ralph Lauren, Earl Jean, Zara, Chloé, Balenciaga, Dolce & Gabbana, Missoni, Versace, Louis Vuitton, Victoria's Secret, etc.  

 

Recently, Gisele Bundchen had agreed to a multi-million dollar contract with American lingerie firm, ‘Victoria's Secret’. This Brazilian supermodel, therefore, agreed to feature in many of this company’s lingerie, beauty and hosiery campaigns for TV and print. But on 1 May 2007, it was announced that Bündchen had ended her contract with Victoria's Secret. Apart from profiting from her modeling career, Gisele also owns her own line of sandals with footwear company, Grendene with the name ‘Ipanema Gisele Bündchen’. Gisele Bundchen presently resides in Los Angeles, United States.  

1980 – Gisele Bundchen was born on 20 July at Horizontina in Brazil.   

1993 – GiseleBündchen joined a modeling course at the age of 13.

1994 – GiseleBündchen went to Sao Paulo in a school excursion, where she was discovered by a modeling agency.

1996 – She shifted to New York City to begin her modeling career, debuting at Fashion Week.

1999 – She debuted on the cover of the 1999 July issue of the Vogue magazine.  

1999 – Gisele Bundchenwas the VH1/Vogue Model of the Year

2000 – GiseleBundchen was the fourth model in history to grace the cover of Rolling Stone magazine.

2004 – She played the main antagonist in the film, Taxi.

2006 – Gisele Bundchen acted in Hollywood blockbuster, The Devil Wears Prada.  

2007 - Forbes puts her 53rd on their list of the most powerful celebrities.