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See the changing faces of Gisele

Gisele: the curvaceous 'chameleon' of modeling

May 16, 2000
Web posted at: 3:59 p.m. EDT (1959 GMT)

NEW YORK (CNN) -- At age 19, Brazilian beauty Gisele Bundchen is the current "it" girl of the modeling world.

Not only is she the hottest property on the runway, the model best known by just her first name has graced the glossy covers of such fashionable rags as Elle, Glamour, Allure, Marie Clare, and Vogue (four times).

Designers and fashion editors don't seem to be able to get enough of her sultry walk and curvy body. But Gisele said her ability to change character is what makes her unique.

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"You have to be ... like a chameleon," she said.

"You have to be able to go there and know that the story you're doing with this photographer, and with this magazine, is different from the one you're going to do tomorrow with a different photographer and different magazine."

Gisele has been modeling since age 14, when she was discovered at a Brazilian mall. Modeling, she says, wasn't her first career choice.

"I wanted to be a volleyball player," she said.

"It was '95 and I was like, 'You know what? I'm just going to try it.' I was 14. I wanted to be independent."

Success did not come overnight.

Gisele
According to Gisele, one of the secrets of modeling is the ability to adapt easily, much like a chameleon  

It was very difficult in the beginning -- very, very hard," she said.

"Then I started to do one good job here, one good job there -- you know, start little by little. I just feel very lucky, like it's very great that I learned this way."

Gisele grew up in a small village in Rio Grande do Sul, with her parents and five sisters. Her family keeps her centered, she said.

"They're always supporting me," she said. "They're always reminding me who I am (and) where I'm from.

"If I am the way I am today -- and I am where I am today -- I owe a lot to my parents."

So how does it feel to be the model of the moment?

"I just feel very honored and very happy," Gisele said. "I just feel very happy to have achieved something in my career that I wanted -- and I'm sure every girl that started in this business always wanted."

CNN Style Correspondent Elsa Klensch contributed to this report.



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Supermodel's story is no fluff job ('Desert Flower' by Waris Dirie)
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