Entering the Guinness Book of Records as the world's highest-paid model: Who is Gisele Bündchen?

Her full name is Gisele Caroline Nonnenmacher Bündchen, she was born on July 20, 1980 in Brazil. She was born to her mother, retired bank clerk Vânia Nonnenmacher, and her father, sociologist and writer Valdir Bündchen. Coming from a Catholic family, Bündchen grew up with four sisters named Raquel, Graziela, Gabriela, Rafaela and a twin sister named Patricia. Bündchen speaks five languages: Portuguese, English, Italian, Spanish and some French.

Desiring to become a volleyball player, Bündchen enrolled her in a modeling course in 1993 with her mother, sisters Patrícia and Gabriela. After the course was over, the girls were discovered by the agency called Elite Model Management in a shopping mall. Bündchen took second place in a national modeling contest called the "Elite Model Look", which was then known as the "Look of the Year". Bündchen moved to São Paulo in 1995 to start her modeling career, making her New York Fashion Week debut the following year.

Bündchen, who was rejected 42 times in London in 1997, performed at the Alexander McQueen fashion show the following year. In the same year, she posed in the campaigns of different luxury fashion houses and famous designers. Among them; 'Missoni', 'Chloé', 'Dolce & Gabbana', 'Valentino', 'Gianfranco Ferré', 'Ralph Lauren' and 'Versace' are she. She posed on the cover of British Vogue's first cover, Vogue Paris, and appeared on the cover of i-D magazine by drawing the profile of "A Girl Named Gisele".

Unsatisfied with the working environment of Elite Model Management agency, Bündchen signed with IMG Models agency in 1999. The first US Vogue magazine cover, in which Vogue magazine announced Bündchen as "the return of the sexy model," was the first of three magazine covers she did for her in the same year. In November, Kate Moss appeared on the cover of Vogue as a group with Amber Valletta, Christy Turlington, Iman, Lauren Hutton, Naomi Campbell, Stephanie Seymour, Claudia Schiffer and Lisa Taylor. Additionally, she appeared alone on the cover of the same magazine in December.

Bündchen, who won the "VH1/Vogue Model of the Year" award in 1999, appeared in five major campaigns at the age of 18. Then, New York magazine editor Sally Singer called Bündchen an "über" model. She was chosen as the "Most Beautiful Girl in the World" in 2000 and became the fourth model to appear on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine, another success. That same year, Vogue magazine's online model encyclopedia named Bündchen the "Brazil bombshell" while naming her as the hottest model in the world.

Later that year, she posed for 37 international Vogue magazine covers, three of which were American editions. In January 2000, she appeared on the covers of the US and UK editions of Vogue. Later, for the 2000 spring fashion week, she went to fashion shows for world-renowned luxury fashion houses and designers such as 'Marc Jacobs', 'Michael Kors', 'Dolce & Gabbana', 'Christian Dior' and 'Valentino' in cities New York, Milan and Paris. From 1998 to 2003, Bündchen continued to make a name for herself by appearing in 11 consecutive 'Dolce & Gabbana' fashion campaigns. Later, from 2006 to 2009 she became the face of the perfume "The One" of the same luxury fashion house.

She then signed a five-year contract with the Victoria's Secret company. In 2000, she wore the brand's $15 million worth of underwear called the "Red Hot Fantasy Bra" and entered the Guinness World Records as the most expensive underwear ever made. In 2005, Bündchen also wore the "Sexy Splendor Fantasy Bra", the second most expensive bra worth $12.5 million.

In 2004, she posed for the group cover of US Vogue with Daria Werbowy, Natalia Vodianova, Isabeli Fontana, Karolina Kurkova and Liya Kebede. At the same time, Bündchen appeared on many covers of different magazines. She worked with famous models such as 'W', 'Allure', 'GQ', 'Forbes', 'Marie Claire', 'Time', 'Vanity Fair', 'Esquire' and 'Pirelli Calendar'.

Bündchen co-starred with Queen Latifah and Jimmy Fallon of the Tim Story-directed action comedy "Taxi"(2004). Later, she played Serena in the comedy-drama film "The Devil Wears Prada"(2006) directed by David Frankel. The following year, she posed in front of photographer Mario Testino's camera for the cover of Vanity Fair magazine's style issue. Forbes magazine ranked Bündchen 53rd on its list of the most powerful celebrities in 2007. Bündchen, who terminated her contract with Victoria's Secret in May 2007, stated in her memoir "Lessons: My Path to a Meaningful Life" that she left the brand because she was uncomfortable being photographed in her underwear. Also that year, she was declared the "World's Richest Supermodel" by Forbes magazine.

In 2008, they posed on the cover of Vogue magazine with NBA player LeBron James. The cover was criticized and controversial for perpetuating racial stereotypes for James' posing. On April 11, 2008, a black and white photograph of Bündchen taken by photographer Irving Penn was auctioned for $193,000.

In May 2009, The Independent newspaper mentioned Bündchen as the biggest star in fashion history. The following year, she appeared on the cover of American Vogue for the 11th time. Bündchen closed the 2010 show of the Balenciaga fashion house with a surprise appearance. In 2010, Bündchen designed a series of flip-flops for the Ipanema brand. The series grossed $197 million, selling an estimated 250 million pairs. That same year, Bündchen posed on the covers of two Vogue Shape magazines, more than any other celebrity or model.

In 2011, CEOWorld Magazine and news site listed Bündchen among the "Most Successful Female Demonstrators". In the same year, she was ranked 95th in FHM magazine's "100 Sexiest Women in the World" list. Also that year, she was ranked #45 on the 2011 FHM Australia magazine's "100 Sexiest Women in the World" list. She was ranked #25 in Men's Health magazine's "100 Hottest Women of All Time" list in 2011. Thus, Bündchen's recognition, beauty and fame continued to gain international recognition. Later that year, she was featured at Paris Fashion Week. She closed the spring-summer fashion show of the Givenchy brand with a surprise appearance in 2011. Towards the end of the same year, she launched the environmentally friendly "Sejaa Pure Skincare", a skin care product that uses completely natural ingredients.

Having appeared on the covers of eight Vogue magazines throughout 2011, Bündchen posed more than any other model or celebrity that year. It was also featured on the 2011 cover of the July Vogue Brasil magazine shot on Amazon, selling 70,743 copies, making it the magazine's best-selling issue.

In the spring of 2012, Bündchen appeared before the camera in three spring campaigns, 'Versace', 'Givenchy' and 'Salvatore Ferragamo'. In the same year, she became the face of the first global advertising campaign of "Banco do Brasil". Later that year, Time magazine included Bündchen on their "100 Fashion Icons of All Time" list, which highlights the most influential fashion icons since 1923. Vogue magazine was listed among the 10 most featured women on the covers of the magazine in August 2012 to celebrate the magazine's 120th anniversary. During 2012, Bündchen appeared in advertisements 5,600 times in Brazil. In August that year, David Yurman was shot by photographer Peter Lindbergh for the fall campaign as the face of the jewelry company. By 2012, Bündchen held the record for the most Vogue Brasil covers, in addition to being featured on 120 Vogue magazine covers.

The following year, she became the face of "Les Beiges", the makeup line of the Chanel brand, and the campaign was shot by photographer Mario Testino. She was among those chosen by Marc Jacobs as an inspiration for the Louis Vuitton brand's 2014 spring/summer campaign. In December 2013, Bündchen became an ambassador for the Pantene hair care brand.

Bündchen also appeared on a cover of the rock band The Kinks "All Day and All of the Night" as a contribution to the 2013 charity campaign for the H&M brand. The same brand contributed to the 2014 fundraiser by working with music producer and DJ Bob Sinclar on a cover of the Blondie band's "Heart of Glass" called Gisele. The song took place in the charts of many countries, especially in France, Germany, Spain, Austria and Belgium.

In the same year, Bündchen, Chanel No.5 It was announced as the spokesperson for perfumes. In 2014, Bündchen posed for 17 international editions of Elle magazine, including editions in Brazil, Germany, Italy and Canada. In 2014 and 2015, she appeared in more commercials than any other Brazilian celebrity during her year in Brazil.

Bündchen, who was included in the 2015 Guinness Book of World Records as the highest paid model from June 2014 to June 2015, proved her success. Also, her $700 book "Taschen", which she published to celebrate the 20th anniversary of her career, sold out everywhere in one day. By 2015, her success peaked in more than 550 advertising campaigns, 2000 magazine covers, 3500 magazine editorials and 800 fashion shows.

Forbes magazine ranked Bündchen 61st on its "Most Powerful Celebrities" list in 2012. In the same year, Forbes magazine ranked her fourth on the "World's Most Powerful Latino Celebrities" list. The following year, she was listed 5th in the list of "The 10 Most Powerful Business Women in Brazil" by the same magazine. In 2014, Bündchen signed a contract with the Under Armor company. Two years later, the company's CEO, Kevin Plank, reported that sales of the firm's women's brand increased due to its business relationship with Bündchen.

In 2018, Gisele announced her book "Lessons: My Path to a Meaningful Life". The book topped the New York Times bestseller list and was a Brazilian bestseller in the non-fiction category for more than six months. She used the proceeds from her book to support social and environmental causes. In February 2021, Bündchen announced that she was leaving IMG Models after 22 years.

Personal life

Bündchen was in a relationship with actor Leonardo DiCaprio in 2000. In 2004 the couple was featured on People magazine's annual "Most Beautiful Couples List" and they separated in 2005. In December 2006, Bündchen started dating football player Tom Brady. The couple married in a small ceremony in California on February 26, 2009. The couple has a son born in 2009 and a daughter born in 2012. In 2011, Forbes magazine declared the couple "The World's Highest Paid Celebrity Couple". On October 28, 2022, the couple decided to divorce after 13 years of marriage.

Bündchen follows a primarily plant-based diet with her family and practices Transcendental Meditation. Bündchen believes in astrology, manifestation and witchcraft. In February 2022, Bündchen said she started teaching Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Bündchen achieved a feat in August 2012 as one of four people in the fashion industry and the only model to be ranked #83 on Forbes magazine's "World's Most Powerful Women" list. She made her mark as the world's highest-paid model from 2002 to 2017.

In 2016, Bündchen appeared in "The Beginning of Life," a documentary that chronicles the "important role that children's first years of life play in determining their future success." She also supported the "Breast Cancer Campaign" to educate women about performing breast self-exams.

Bündchen has been involved in various campaigns for many institutions, organizations, magazines, programs or regions. In addition to providing financial and moral support, she also took part in charity funds and donation campaigns. In addition, it does its best to support cities and countries that experienced disasters, and both campaigned and provided financial support to cover the treatment costs of female, child or male patients. She also provided material and moral support while taking part in many lawsuits, campaigns and projects to draw attention to social and environmental problems.