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Gisele Bundchen
Gisele Bundchen
Gisele Caroline Bundchen, often simply known as Gisele,
was born on July 20, 1980 in Três de Maio, near
Horizontina, Rio Grande do Sul, in southern Brazil.
She is the daughter of Valdir and Vânia Bündchen,
both of German descent. Gisele has three sisters: Raquel,
Graziela and Rafaela. Rafaela and Gisele are twins.
While in school, Gisele was so thin that her friends
used to call her "Olívia Palito" (Portuguese
for Olive  Oyl,
Popeye's skinny friend), "Somaliana" (person
from Somalia) and Saracura (kind of bird with long legs).
She liked to play volleyball, and had even thought of
becoming a professional for Brazilian team Sogipa.
In 1993, Gisele, 13 years old, joined the Dilson Stein's
mannequin course to correct her posture, with her sisters
Patrícia and Gabriela, because her mother insisted.
The course was for teenagers who wanted to be a model.
In May 1994, Stein took 50 girls to São Paulo to
give them a chance to walk in a big city and to let them
be evaluated by Brazilian Elite bookers (agents). On August
20, 1993 Gisele was playing volleyball for Sogipa, in
Porto Alegre. Elite "kidnapped" her and took
her to a contest. Gisele came between the five finalists.
Then, she went to São Paulo. She came in second
in the national Elite Look of the Year contest - Claudia
Menezes, from Bahia, was the one in the first place. In
the world contest, in Ibiza, Gisele came in fourth. In
another version, she would have come in sixth.
Gisele has done ads and runway shows for various fashion
houses including Valentino, Zara, Bvlgari, Tommy Hilfiger,
Chloe, Celine, Versace, Christian Dior, Michael Kors,
Ralph Lauren, Victoria's Secret, and Dolce & Gabbana.
She has also appeared on the covers of Allure, Marie Claire,
Vogue USA, Vogue Italia, Harper’s Bazaar, Arena, and Rolling
Stone. Her curvaceous figure prompted Vogue to refer to
her body of work as the "return of the sexy model",
since she seems to have marked the end of a trend of thinner
models such as Kate Moss. In 2000 her annual earnings
were reportedly $8 million and she commands between $7000
and $15,000 per hour for runway shows.
Gisele has recently received the "Model of the Year"
award and has been named "The Most Beautiful Girl
in the World" by Rolling Stone. She has also hosted
the VH1 Fashion Awards and appeared on Late Night with
Conan O'Brien.
Gisele has a belly button piercing and a star tattoo
on her left wrist. She treasures her dog, Vida, and is
currently living with actor Leonardo DiCaprio in Los Angeles.
Before Leonardo, she had been romantically linked to male
model Scott Barnhill, Brazilian tycoon João Paulo
Diniz, Big Joe and actor Josh Hartnett.
Her other homes include an apartment in Manhattan’s Tribeca
district and a house near Woodstock, NY.
Her debut as an actress came in the 2004 movie Taxi.
Height: 5'11" (180 cm)
Weight: 113 lbs (51 kg)
Measurements: 34-24-34 (US); 86-61-86 (EU)
Dress Size: 6-8 (US); 36-38 (EU)
Shoe Size: 6 (US); 38 (EU)
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Brown
Ethnicity: German
Nationality: Brazilian
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