Gisele Bundchen is one of the most successful models of all time.
But when she got her start in the US in 1996, the Brazilian beauty was not being hired much as she did not have the same look as the stars that came before her, such as Cindy Crawford and Kate Moss.
The import was hearing ‘no over and over’ again when taking meetings in New York City alone as a 15-year-old.
‘Rejection had taught me resilience and not to base my self-worth on other people’s opinions,’ she told W magazine’s The Summer Issue.
But then there was an overnight change when a magazine dubbed her The Sexy Model as they praised her wavy hair, flirty nature and healthy glow, which was a big change from the ‘heroin chic’ look that had dominated the industry.
Gisele Bundchen is one of the most successful models of all time. But when she got her start in the 1990s, the beauty was not being hired much she told W magazine
Gisele Bundchen said she was hearing ‘no’ over and over again when taking meetings in New York City alone as a 15-year-old aspirational model
That’s when Bundchen went from the unwanted newcomer to the ‘it’ girl of the moment.
‘One day I was doing constant castings and hearing “no” over and over, and then suddenly I was working nonstop,’ she explained.
The next thing she knew, she was being hired by Valentino, Chanel and Versace, and landing on the covers of magazines such as Vogue, Elle and Harper’s Bazaar.
When she started to work consistently with lingerie brand Victoria’s Secret beginning in 1999, her image as The Sexy Model was cemented.
Then Hollywood came calling as she was cast in movies like the 2004 action-comedy Taxi and the 2006 drama The Devil Wears Prada.
Bundchen was pleased with all the success and now knows what all the fuss was about.
‘Now I realize that what people responded to wasn’t only my look, but also my personality,’ she told W.
As she walked a runway in 1997, she did not have the look most wanted at the time
As a teenager for Chloe in 1998, left, and for Givenchy the same year
But then there was an overnight change when a magazine dubbed her The Sexy Model. Above, walking for Victoria’s Secret in 2000
‘One day I was doing constant castings and hearing “no” over and over, and then suddenly I was working nonstop,’ she explained. Above, in 2003
‘I was very alive and happy to be there. Fashion at that moment was changing, and maybe I represented a healthier, more energetic spirit.’
It didn’t hurt that soon after she made it, she started dating Hollywood actors.
First, it was Josh Hartnett, then Leonardo DiCaprio. Later, she wed then divorced football icon Tom Brady, with whom she has two children.
Now she has a son with her second husband, Joaquim Valente.
She also introduced a new way of walking on the runway in the mid 1990s: the ‘horse walk’ where she would stomp her feet down
‘I grew up in Brazil, always connected to sports and to my body, and maybe that is why my walk was like that,’ she revealed to W magazine
She also introduced a new way of walking on the runway in the mid 1990s: the ‘horse walk’ where she would stomp her feet down.
According to the star, it came about ‘naturally’ because it fit her dimensions well.
‘I grew up in Brazil, always connected to sports and to my body, and maybe that is why my walk was like that. I am a size seven shoe and 5ft 10in, so it was also how I balanced myself on very high heels,’ she told W.
‘I think the horse walk became popular because it had power. For me, walking a runway was never just about the clothes – it was about confidence.’
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