Celebrity Galore

Gisele Caroline Nonnenmacher Bündchen (born July 20, 1980) is a Brazilian model and occasional actress.

According to Forbes, she is the highest-paid model in the world and also the sixteenth richest woman in the entertainment world, having earned $33 million in 2006 and $35 million in 2007 alone, adding to her estimated $150 million fortune. She is also listed on Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s richest supermodel. Bündchen has been the face of more than 20 brands internationally and has appeared on over 500 magazine covers.

Bündchen was born in the Brazilian town of Três de Maio and grew up in Horizontina, Rio Grande do Sul, to Vânia Nonnenmacher, a bank clerk pensioner, and Valdir Bündchen, a university teacher and writer.

Bündchen is of German ancestry from both sides of her family, which is integrated in Brazilian society for many generations: her great-great-grandparents immigrated to Brazil from Germany. In regards to her ethnic background, Bündchen said:

“     I was born in Horizontina, a town in the backcountry 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.

Her debut on the cover of the July 1999 issue of Vogue magazine, and the accompanying editorial entitled “The Return of the Sexy Model”, is widely viewed as marking the end of the fashion’s “heroin chic” era. She graced the cover again in November and December of that year. She won the VH1/Vogue Model of the Year for 1999, and a January 2000 cover gave her the rare honor of three consecutive Vogue covers. 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, totaling more than 500 magazine covers throughout the world.

In 2004, Bündchen made a venture into film industry, starring as the leader of the bank robbers, Vanessa, in the 2004 remake of Taxi. In 2006, she played a minor part in The Devil Wears Prada.

On Thursday, February 26, 2009 Bündchen married New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady in a small Catholic ceremony in Los Angeles. The two had been dating since late 2006. Before marrying Brady, she dated actor Leonardo DiCaprio and professional surfer Kelly Slater.

Source [ Wikipedia ]