At 19, Gisele Bundchen walked the runway in Karl Lagerfeld's Chloe Spring/Summer 1999 show. Photo: Gamma-Rapho/CR Fashion Book

The supermodel turned 45 with her three children and boyfriend Joaquim Valente at her home in the US on 20/7. Vogue and Elle publications in several countries featured photo spreads or shared early pictures of Bundchen to honor the iconic supermodel of the early 2000s.

Gisele Bundchen in the Saison Sensationen photoshoot for German Vogue by photographer Michel Comte in July 1998. Photo: Vogue

Bundchen was born in 1980 in Tres de Maio, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. In school, she aspired to be a volleyball player. In 1993, while visiting Rio de Janeiro, she was discovered by Elite Model Management at a shopping mall and moved to Sao Paulo in 1995 to begin her modeling career.

Early in her career, she made an impression with her oval face, high nose, and wide mouth. The model is fluent in her native Portuguese, as well as English, Italian, Spanish, and French. Photo: Vogue

With a beautiful face, an ideal physique at 1.8 m tall, and measurements of 89-59-89 cm, Bundchen failed 42 castings in London. Her career took off when Alexander McQueen discovered her and chose her to walk in his Spring/Summer 1998 show. Bundchen quickly became sought after by fashion houses like Missoni, Chloe, Dolce & Gabbana, Valentino, Gianfranco Ferre, Ralph Lauren, and Versace. Photo: Instagram giselebundchenonline

In 1999, American Vogue declared her "the return of the sexy model," marking the end of the heroin chic era, and featured her on the cover. Photo: Vogue

Gisele Bundchen won Model of the Year from VH1 and Vogue in 1999. Photo: Elle

She walked in Valentino's Autumn/Winter 1999 Haute Couture show. Photo: Harper's Bazaar

The 19-year-old supermodel's beauty featured in Elle magazine. Photo: Elle

In 2000, she made her debut as a Victoria's Secret Angel. By this time, Bundchen was considered the most powerful model in the fashion industry, earning an average of 7,000 USD per hour.

That same year, Vogue's online model encyclopedia described Bundchen as the hottest model in the world and called her a "Brazilian bombshell". Photo: Elle

She became the fourth model to appear on the cover of Rolling Stone after being named "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World" in 2000. Photo: Elle

From 2004 to the present, she has been among the highest-paid models in the world and one of the most successful supermodels of all time. According to Forbes, she has maintained her position as the world's richest supermodel for many years, with a net worth of around 400 million USD.

She dated actor Leonardo DiCaprio from 2000 to 2005. She was married to football player Tom Brady from 2009 to 2022 and they have two children together. In February, she had a child with her boyfriend, martial arts instructor Joaquim Valente. Photo: Elle

Sao Mai