According to Forbes, Gisele Bundchen is the highest-earning model in the world for 2014 after earning a staggering $47 million (before taxes and fees) in the past 12 months. This is the eighth consecutive year that Bundchen achieved the milestone, out-earning second placers Doutzen Kroes and Adriana Lima who each earned $8 million.
While Bundchen’s total earnings are astronomical, it’s far from surprising considering her ongoing contracts with giant corporations such as H&M, Chanel, Pantene, Oral B, and Caroline Herrera. Bundchen’s total earnings from last year improved by $5 million, partly reinforced by signing a contract as the new face of Pantene and Oral B in Brazil in late 2013.
The 34 year old Brazilian bombshell had her humble beginnings. She was often teased for being tall and skinny as a child. When she was 17, she was discovered by a modeling agent in a fast food restaurant. While hesitant at first, Bundchen eventually grabbed the opportunity and went on to work as a professional model in Brazil. She got her first big break when she got invited to New York for Fashion Week in 1996. She moved to New York the following year and gained further exposure appearing in several fashion magazines and working with top designers. During this time, she was able to work with recognizable brands like Vogue and Dolce & Gabanna.
Bundchen’s modeling career reached new heights by the turn of the millennium when she signed a $25 million deal with Victoria’s Secret in 2000. She earned “rockstar” status when she was named “The Most Beautiful Girl in the World” by Rolling Stones magazine later in the year. In 2004, she topped Forbes’ list of highest-paid models in the world for the first time. It was a whirlwind of milestones that affirmed Bundchen as a major moneymaker in the modeling world.
Not afraid to take risks, Bundchen finally severed ties with Victoria’s Secret in 2007. This came about when the giant lingerie company refused to accept her request for no less than $5 million as salary for another year. While her days of wearing feathered wings on the catwalk were definitely over, she was unperturbed by the experience and continued on topping Forbes’ list of highest-paid models in the next consecutive years.
Bundchen married professional football player Tom Brady in 2009. The ceremony was held in Santa Monica with only a few friends and family in attendance. Later that year, the famous couple had their first child, Benjamin Rein Brady. They welcomed their second child, daughter Vivian Lake Brady, in December 2012.
See: Tom Brady and Gisele Bundchen’s Brentwood Mega-Mansion Sold to Dr. Dre
Gisele Bundchen and Tom Brady purchased a land in Brentwood, California for $11.75 million in 2008 and spent the next four years building a 4,000 square-foot fortress mansion on the property. After a recent decision to reside full-time on the East Coast, the couple decided to sell their Brentwood mansion. On June 4, 2014, famous rapper Dr. Dre finalized a deal with the couple to buy the mansion for $40 million.