Who is Gisele Bündchen
Gisele Caroline Bündchen was born on 20 July 1980 in Horizontina, Rio Grande do Sul. The Brazilian model developed an international career spanning runway work, editorial photography, advertising and commercial collaborations. She also appeared as an actress in Taxi, while fashion remained the main focus of her professional life. [5]
From Brazil to international fashion
She grew up with five sisters in southern Brazil. She had considered volleyball or veterinary work before a scout discovered her in São Paulo at fourteen. [6]
British Vogue featured her on its October 1998 cover, photographed by Kelly Klein. Her early images for the magazine and work on European runways document the transition from a newcomer to a recognisable figure in the international fashion circuit of the late 1990s. [7]
Campaigns and career development
In 2014 she starred in the CHANEL N°5 advertising film directed by Baz Luhrmann, alongside Michiel Huisman and with music by Lo-Fang. The campaign built a cinematic narrative around the fragrance and placed Bündchen at the centre of an audiovisual production extending beyond still photography. [8]
On 15 April 2015 she walked for Colcci at São Paulo Fashion Week as a farewell to regular runway work. This did not mean leaving the profession: campaigns, photographic assignments and collaborations continued. Her subsequent career distinguishes stepping away from the fashion-show calendar from retiring from modelling altogether. [9]
At the Rio de Janeiro Olympic opening ceremony on 5 August 2016, she crossed the Maracanã stadium during the segment featuring The Girl from Ipanema. The ceremony incorporated her image into an international presentation of Brazilian culture, within a collective production bringing together music, dance and references to the country’s history. [10]
Forbes’s original 2016 ranking placed her first among the highest-paid models, with estimated annual earnings of $30.5 million. The figure describes the magazine’s estimate for that period: it provides context for the scale of her commercial work at the time, rather than a valuation of her present wealth. [11]
In August 2023 she returned to a Victoria’s Secret campaign for The Icon collection. The project also featured models including Naomi Campbell, Adriana Lima and Candice Swanepoel. Mikael Jansson photographed the campaign, with styling by Camilla Nickerson, bringing together names associated with different chapters of the brand’s history. [12]
She also appeared in the spring–summer 2023 campaign for Louis Vuitton and Yayoi Kusama. The project combined photography by Steven Meisel with creative direction by Ferdinando Verderi. Her involvement in this collaboration between fashion and art continued an advertising career that remained active after her farewell to regular runway work. [13]
Business collaborations
Her commercial relationship with Grendene included product collaboration: the Ipanema Gisele Bündchen line began in 2002, following the Ipanema brand’s launch in 2001. Her name was attached to a footwear collection within an existing company, a different role from founding or running the manufacturer. [14]
UNEP links her interest in funding environmental projects to a visit to Indigenous communities on the Xingu, where she encountered water pollution and deforestation problems. She subsequently worked with Grendene to use her footwear line to publicise and help fund initiatives concerning forests and water in Brazil. [15]
Água Limpa and the United Nations
In 2008 she and her family launched Água Limpa, focused on environmental restoration in her home region. Brazil’s environment ministry documented work concerning Horizontina and Tucunduva: restoring riparian vegetation and protecting small watersheds. The project connected vegetation conservation with the protection of local water resources. [16]
In September 2009 the United Nations announced her appointment as a Goodwill Ambassador for the UN Environment Programme. The appointment gave her environmental involvement a public advocacy role within an international organisation, focused on drawing attention to the protection of nature. [17]
Luz Alliance and support in Brazil
Gisele and BrazilFoundation created Luz Alliance in 2020 to support families affected by the pandemic. From 2021 the fund expanded towards environmental regeneration. Its 2022 report recorded one million reais allocated to seven organisations, within a structure that channelled resources to implementing groups. [18]
The 2024 floods in Rio Grande do Sul prompted another response. BrazilFoundation reported that the fund and its donors supported 21 social organisations in emergency and reconstruction work. Bündchen’s contribution involved promoting the initiative and mobilising support, while local organisations carried out the interventions. [19]
BrazilFoundation’s New York gala on 25 September 2024 recognised the Bündchen family for its involvement. The tribute placed the flood response alongside a longer record of support for sustainable development, highlighting an effort shared by Gisele and several of her sisters. [20]
Lotus House and community support
Her philanthropy also includes Lotus House, a Miami organisation serving women and children experiencing homelessness. UNEP’s institutional profile identifies her as a board member. This involvement connects her public work with a social-support and shelter organisation, alongside the environmental initiatives developed in Brazil. [1]
Lotus House’s 2023 report recorded her announcement of a $1 million gift for Children’s Village at its groundbreaking. The project brought together children’s services and community support. The report identifies a specific commitment, rather than a general expression of support for a cause. [21]
Books and photography
TASCHEN’s Gisele Bündchen monograph brings together more than three hundred photographs across 536 pages. It includes work by David LaChapelle, Steven Meisel and Corinne Day. The volume traces her career through the range of photographers, campaigns and visual approaches that have shaped her professional image. [22]
In Lessons: My Path to a Meaningful Life, published in October 2018, she presented memories and personal reflections on her life. The book adds the model’s own voice to a career primarily known through images. [6]
Nourish, published in March 2024, extended her writing into a cookbook with one hundred recipes, meal-planning ideas and ways to use leftovers. It presents her culinary habits and preferences in a practical home-cooking format; it is not a scientific study or a personalised clinical programme. [23]
