Gisele Caroline Bundchen (; Portuguese pronunciation: [Zi'zeli karo'lini 'bitSej], German pronunciation: [gi'zel@ kaRo'li:n@ 'bYntcn]; born 20 July 1980) is a Brazilian supermodel and actress. Since 2004, Bundchen has been among the highest-paid models in the world, and as of 2007 was the 16th richest woman in the entertainment industry. In 2012, she placed first on the Forbes top-earning models list.

Bundchen travelled to London in 1997, where she auditioned for 42 shows. She got her big break when chosen for her ability to walk in towering heels on a slippery runway for Alexander McQueen's spring 1998 "rain" ready-to-wear show. Echoing similar accolades for Elle Macpherson a decade earlier, McQueen dubbed Bundchen "the Body", immediately boosting her bookings. In 1998, she posed for Missoni, Chloe, Dolce & Gabbana, Valentino, Gianfranco Ferre, Ralph Lauren, and Versace campaigns. She made the cover of the French edition of Vogue, and fashion magazine i-D featured her on its cover, profiling "A Girl Called Gisele." The Vogue online encyclopedia of models states, "As the year 2000 approached, Gisele Bundchen was the world's hottest model, opening up a new category in the popular imagination: the Brazilian bombshell."  She appeared on the cover of Vogue in July, November and December 1999. She won the VH1/Vogue Model of the Year for 1999, and a January 2000 cover gave her three consecutive Vogue covers. In 2000, she became the fourth model to appear on the cover of the music magazine Rolling Stone when she was named "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World". Bundchen has appeared on the covers of many top fashion magazines, including W, Harper's Bazaar, Elle, Allure, as well as style and lifestyle publications such as The Face, Arena, Citizen K, Flair, GQ, Esquire, and Marie Claire, and in the Pirelli Calendar in 2001 and 2006. She has also been seen in TIME, Vanity Fair, Forbes, Newsweek, and Veja. Bundchen has appeared on more than 1,200 magazine covers throughout the world. She simultaneously featured on the covers of both the US and British editions of Vogue in January 2000.  Take the case of 18-year-old Gisele Bundchen, a.k.a. Gisele, fashion's new uber- (not super-) model. Gisele is currently shooting five massive advertising campaigns, starring on the cover of W, and playing the muse to t/bersnappers Steven Meisel and Mario Testino. In short, Gisele is huge.

Why did she earn the name "the body"?
In 1998, she posed for Missoni, Chloe, Dolce & Gabbana, Valentino, Gianfranco Ferre, Ralph Lauren, and Versace campaigns.