There are supermodels, but there’s also Gisele Bundchen.
The Brazilian beauty rose to fame in the late ’90s, when she signed a five-year contract with Victoria’s Secret. Having appeared in campaigns for top fashion brands and graced countless magazine covers, Bündchen is one of the world’s top models, and one of the highest-paid in the industry.
Known for her iconic “horse walk,” Bündchen pioneered a new generation of Brazilian models, paving the way for Angels such as Adriana Lima, Alessandra Ambrosio and Lais Ribeiro.
In honor of Bündchen’s birthday on Saturday, WWD is looking back at some of her biggest achievements.
1997
Gisele Bundchen walks the runway at the Alexander McQueen Spring 1998 fashion show.
Gamma Raffo via Getty Images
After being rejected 42 times, Bündchen made her high fashion runway debut in 1997, walking topless down the runway at Alexander McQueen’s Spring 1998 show. The model was just 18 at the time and spoke little English.
“I had no idea what to do,” she wrote in her 2018 memoir, Lessons: My Path to a Meaningful Life. “All I could think about was how disappointed and embarrassed I would be to my parents. I tried to hold back the tears, but they wouldn’t stop, and the black feathers that had been stuck to my eyelashes began to fall off.”
1999
Gisele Bundchen at the 1999 VH1/Vogue Fashion Awards.
Getty Images
Bündchen was soon featured in campaigns for major brands like Versace, Valentino, and Ralph Lauren, and in 1999 she won Model of the Year at the VH1/Vogue Fashion Awards.
“I want to thank all the people who have supported me throughout my career, especially my family and friends,” Bundchen said in her acceptance speech.
2000
Gisele Bundchen wore the Red Hot Fantasy Bra in 2000.
Film Magic
Bündchen signed a five-year contract with Victoria’s Secret in 2000 and became one of the brand’s Angel spokesmodels. That year, she walked the runway wearing the Red Hot Fantasy Bra.
Bundchen’s glittering undergarment is valued at $15 million and is adorned with diamonds and rubies. According to the Guinness World Records, the Red Hot Fantasy Bra is the most expensive piece of lingerie in history.
2006
Gisele Bundchen and Emily Blunt in “The Devil Wears Prada.”
©20thCentFox/Courtesy of the Everett Collection
Though Bundchen made her acting debut in the 2004 film Taxi, her performance in The Devil Wears Prada is timeless, as she played Serena, an employee at the fictional Runway magazine, helping to create the now-popular “office babe” aesthetic.
2007
Gisele Bundchen launched Dolce & Gabbana The One at Saks Fifth Avenue in 2007.
Getty Images
Bundchen’s time with Victoria’s Secret came to an end in 2007. “For the first five years, I was comfortable modeling in my underwear, but as time went on, I became more and more uncomfortable being photographed walking down the runway in just a bikini or thong,” she wrote in her memoir. “Give me a tail, a cape, feathers — anything that would cover me up a little!”
Bündchen first appeared as the face of Dolce & Gabbana’s The One in 2006 and has continued to appear in the fragrance’s campaigns and attends launch events as an official spokesmodel for the fragrance.
2007 was also the year that Bündchen was first named the world’s highest-paid supermodel, with Forbes estimating her net worth at $33 million.
2016
Gisele Bundchen at the opening ceremony of the 2016 Rio Olympics.
AFP via Getty Images
Bündchen announced her retirement from runway modeling in 2015, but when she was booked to represent her country at the opening ceremony of the 2016 Rio Olympics, she couldn’t miss it.
“This is definitely the longest runway I’ve ever walked and the most people watching so far, so I’m a little nervous,” she told People magazine at the time. “This is a very special moment for my country and I’m honored to be invited to be part of such an exclusive celebration.”
Bündchen made her final appearance in a plunging gold sequined dress designed by Brazilian designer Alexandre Herchcovites.
2023
Gisele Bundchen stars in Victoria’s Secret’s “The Icon” campaign.
Following her highly publicized divorce from football player Tom Brady, 2023 was widely expected to be Bündchen’s return to fashion. She has appeared in campaigns for Louis Vuitton and Jimmy Choo, and made her first appearance at the Met Gala since her split with Brady.
That summer, she returned to Victoria’s Secret for the first time in 16 years, starring in the Icon campaign alongside former Angels Adriana Lima and Candice Swanepoel. “Loving yourself isn’t a selfish act,” Bündchen said in a teaser video for the lingerie brand. “The more you respect yourself and your needs, the more you can show your best self to everyone around you.”
