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Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bündchen’s earned her fame and success through her dedication and hard work. She is more than just the wife of the American football quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Tom Brady. The supermodel made her money from numerous lucrative contracts including her fragrance and some beauty deals with Carolina Herrerra and Chanel. She worked for Victoria Secret as an angel for almost a decade until she retired and had her final runway show in 2007. With a net worth of $400 million, everyone might wonder how did she achieve such amount, take a look at her road to success and how she made the right choices to have what she have now.
Gisele Bündchen’s Family Background and Early Life
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Gisele Caroline Bündchen was born on July 20, 1980 in Horizontina, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. She is a sixth generation German Brazilian mix born to mother Vânia who used to be a bank clerk pensioner and father Valdir Bündchen who used to be a sociologist and writer. Gisele’s grandfather used to be the mayor of their town Horizontina. She grew up with five sisters including a fraternal twin named Patricia. Their family grew up practicing the religion Roman Catholic. She learned to speak German in school unfortunately can no longer remember speaking the language although she speaks five languages including English, Portuguese, Italian, Spanish and a little bit of French.
Gisele as a child has always aspired to be a volleyball player however in 1993 her mother decided to enroll Gisele and her twin with their other sister Gabriela at a modeling school for the two to acquire some confidence and have a better posture. When their course ended, the twins and Gabriela were rewarded a trip to the São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro where Gisele was eventually discovered by the Elite Model Management while she was at a shopping mall. Bündchen then placed second at the national contest Elite Model Look which was known as the Look of the Year. Bündchen then decided to move to São Paulo to further pursue a modeling career. Just after a year of moving to São Paulo, she debuted at the New York Fashion Week in 1996.
Gisele Bündchen’s Career Beginnings and Major Breakthrough
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While Bündchen’s was still trying to start her modeling career, she experienced 42 rejections while she was in London before she finally got a modeling gig as a cast in an Alexander McQueen’s runway show in 1998. That same year, she posed for prominent brands such as Chloé, Dolce & Gabbana, Missoni, Valentino, Ralph Lauren and Versace for their ad campaigns. She then appeared on the cover of the magazine Vogue Paris which was her first ever British Vogue cover. The following year, she signed a contract with IMG models in 1999. She had her first ever U.S Vogue cover in 1999. She then appeared in five major campaigns at an early age of 18 which the New York magazine editor Sally Singer hailed her as the über model. She was then named as the The Most Beautiful Girl in the World by the Rolling Stone where she eventually graced the cover of their magazine.
At the age of 19, she has already appeared on 37 international Vogue cover which includes at least three in the American edition and already opened for shows such as Michael Kors, Dolce & Gabbana, Christian Dior, Marc Jacobs, and Valentino in New York, Milan and Paris. Through the years, she has become a prominent face in the modeling world. She eventually entered the Hollywood scene when she co-starred with Queen Latifah and Jimmy Fallon for the remake of Taxi and she also starred in the film The Devil Wears Prada. In 2009, The Independent has named her as the biggest star in the fashion history. Bundchen is the highest earning model from 2002 until 2017 when she signed a five year $25 million contract with Victoria's Secret in 2000. She reportedly earned about $500 million from her sponsorships and endorsements through the course of her career.
Gisele Bündchen’s Diversified Entrepreneurial Life
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With her fame and beauty, Gisele Bündchen is among the most recognizable face and name in the modeling. She used this to her advantage and decided to venture and partner into numerous companies to start business. She partnered with the synthetic footwear company Grendene in 2002 to sell her own line of footwear called Ipanema Gisele Bundchen. The footwear proved to be a success in numerous countries and even made up to 60% of the company’s annual exports which is roughly around $250 million. She also teamed up with one of the largest lingerie manufacturers in Brazil called Hope in 2011 in order to launch her own brand called Gisele Bundchen Brazilian Intimates. The partnership then flourished and even became a wider network of Brazilian and international stores when the brand branched out.
In the same year, Bundchen launched an eco-friendly line of beauty products called Sejaa Pure Skincare in 2011. The brand reflected her commitment to conserving some environmental resources. She currently serves as the board member of the Rainforest Alliance which is a non-profit that is dedicated to the biodiversity and sustainability. She is also the Goodwill Ambassador of the United Nations Environment Program. Overall, all her business ventures are generating roughly $1 billion of sales annually and as of the moment, she does not seem to be showing intention of slowing down her reign in the business world.
Sources: The Story Exchange, Forbes, Celebrity Net Worth