Everything To Know About Gisele Bündchen's Family
All in the family! Gisele Bündchen has been making headlines nonstop amid her high-profile split from football legend Tom Brady.
The world famous supermodel and the NFL pro tied the knot in 2009 and share 12-year-old Benjamin and 9-year-old Vivian — but prior to her nuptials with the famed quarterback, Gisele grew up with her parents and sisters in Brazil.
The 42-year-old fashion mogul was born July 20, 1980, in Horizontina, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, to parents Valdir and Vânia Bündchen, making her a sixth generation German Brazilian.
Growing up, her mother worked at a bank, while her father made a living as both a sociologist and as a professional writer. Although her parents are German and speak the language, the model has since lost her knack for German, although she does speak four other languages, including English and Portuguese.
Other than her parents, Gisele grew up with five sisters — she has fraternal twin Patrícia, as well as Raquel, Graziela, Gabriela, and Rafaela.
She even got her start in fashion alongside several of her siblings. When she was around 13-year-old, she was enrolled in a modeling class with Patrícia and Gabriela. Gisele was later discovered while on a trip to the mall and signed with Elite Model Management, jumpstarting her career as an international supermodel.
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Following years of success in the industry, during which time she was credited for the boost in the popularity in modeling in Brazil, Gisele met Tom in 2006 on a blind date. The couple quickly sparked a romance and tied the knot in 2009. Their son, Benjamin, was born the same year that they said "I do," and they welcomed their daughter, Vivian, in 2012.
However, after 13 years of marriage, the couple called it quits.
"The decision to end a marriage is never easy but we have grown apart and while it is, of course, difficult to go through something like this, I feel blessed for the time we had together and only wish for the best for Tom always," Gisele wrote in her Friday, October 28, Instagram update.
Newsweek named Gisele as part of the reason for the rise in interest in modeling in Brazil.