Gisele

Being called The Most Beautiful Girl in the World by Rolling Stone magazine might cause some models to feel that theyve got a lot to live up to. But for me, the tag only propelled further an already-skyrocketing career, one that began at the age of 14 and hasnt slowed down since. In my short-but-happy life, I have graced the covers of the worlds top magazines: Vogue, Marie Claire, Allure and Harpers Bazaar, to name a few. And of course, I was on the cover of Rolling Stone, only one of four models ever to do so in the popular music magazine. Without a doubt, I've accomplished more in my short career than most, and at an age when other models are just beginning their careers. I was born in Horizontina, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil on July 20, 1980, a fraternal twin to sister Patricia (Gisele came out first). Though I would grow up to be a well-rounded 5-11 with dark, piercing blue eyes and wavy brown hair, I wasnt always a knockout. As a girl, my schoolmates made fun of my tall, thin physique, sometimes calling me Somaliana (a person from Somalia) or Olivia Palito (Olive Oyl from Popeye fame). Growing up under such harsh scrutiny made me sad, but I found ways to keep myself occupied, namely volleyball. For a time, I wanted become a professional, and I was on my way, but fate, as fate does, had different plans. At 13, I, at my mothers insistence, joined a Dilson Stein mannequin course to correct my posture. In May 1994, Stein took a busload of young girlsincluding meto So Paulo to see the big city and be scouted by executives from Elite Modeling Agency. One executive took special interest in me and asked if I wanted to be a model. I at first refused, but the next year I found myself entering the Elite Look Modeling Competition, in which I was placed second overall. It was the first of many steps I took in a career I initially did not seek. Over the objections of my father, I moved to So Paulo at 14, and lived in an apartment crammed with other models. I finished my second year of high school in the city while looking for modeling work. In what was considered a controversial move, I switched from Elite to IMG Model Management at the behest of Monica Monteiro, an agent who personally attended to me, giving me rides to school and letting me stay at her home when the need arose. In return, I answered phones and filed papers for Moneiro. In December, 1996, I went to New York to work for Calvin Klein and LOreal, staying only a couple weeks. The set up was similar to So Paulo: I was crammed into an apartment with several other young models. Unable to speak English, however, I remained quiet with her housemates, and for a laugh, they taught me to say Good morning, asshole to the doorman. Needless to say, I was furious upon learning its meaning. I spent the next few years walking the catwalk for numerous designers, including Ralph Lauren, Versace and Chloe, until hitting the big time in 1999 when her image graced all the important magazine covers, advertisements and fashion shows at the same time. In November of that year, I, then only 19, appeared alongside modeling luminaries Naomi Campbell, Claudia Schiffer and others on the cover of the millennium edition of Vogue. The magazine later named Bundchen Model of the Year at the Vogue Fashion Awards. As the skinny, awkward girl from Brazil, I had transformed virtually overnight into one of the worlds most famous and widely recognized models, all before the age of 20. With nothing left to conquer in the modeling world, I shifted my focus to a film career, starting with Taxi (2004), a remake of the French action-comedy of the same name. Starring alongside Queen Latifah and Jimmy Fallon, I played Vanessa, the leader of a gang of beautiful Brazilian bank robbers being pursued by Fallon and Latifah.