Gisele Bundchen Biography

Gisele Bundchen, one of two beautiful Bundchen twins, was born and raised in Brazil where -- in a twist that would make her future husband smile -- she was substantially more interested in an athletic career than a modeling one. While Gisele Bundchen’s thin, agile frame lent itself well to her preferred sport of volleyball, it also attracted cruel comparisons from her schoolmates to Popeye’s gal pal, Olive Oil, and various local shorebirds. After a stint in a modeling class, Gisele Bundchen would get the last laugh during a 1994 field trip to Sao Paulo where she was approached by modeling reps from Elite. After a second-place finish in the Brazilian installment of the Elite Look of the Year competition in 1995, Gisele Bundchen made the top five in the world version, and left for New York City in 1996.

Gisele Bundchen’s first foray into the bright lights of the professional fashion world came in September of 1996, when she walked the runways of Fashion Week to spotlight the new collections of Alexander McQueen, Giorgio Armani and Dolce & Gabbana. In the same month, she was featured back in Brazil on the cover of the magazine Capricho. Her fashion beginnings would continue to blossom as she added new designers like Givenchy, Chanel and Ralph Lauren to her client roster and shot her first two magazine covers for the May and December 1998 editions of Allure. After two more covers for Harper’s Bazaar and W in early 1999, Gisele Bundchen would hit her stride with three consecutive Vogue cover shoots, capped off by her selection as 1999’s VH1/Vogue Model of the Year.