Gisele Bündchen Follows the Sun in Vogue US April 1999 by Arthur Elgort AOC Renewed

In April 1999, Gisele Bündchen dropped down in the Caribbean, accompanied by model Scott Barnhill. Grace Coddington styled the all-American getaway fashion story lensed by Arthur Elgort./ Hair by Didier Malige; makeup by Christy Coleman

AOC had never shared this fashion story prior to last week, and the image above is one of the loveliest images of the young Brazilian model that we’ve seen.

In spite of being very close to her family, the young girl with big dreams left her family at age 14 moving first to Japan. Then Gisele moved to New York City at age 15 and debuted on the runway for New York Fashion Week in 1996.

Victoria’s Secret Came Calling and Gisele Never Looked Back

Gisele was a rising star model with plenty of work in 1999. Then all hell broke loose in a change that put Gisele Bündchen in the financial stratosphere of models. In 2000, the Brazilian powerhouse signed a five-year contract with Victoria’s Secret, estimated by People Magazine to be worth $25 million. This deal made Bündchen an early member of the Angels sorority and the highest-paid model on the Forbes list.

Gisele Bundchen by Paolo Roversi in 'Divina!' for Vogue Italy February 2002 AOC Renewed

It’s almost impossible to believe, but Gisele appeared on 37 international and US covers of ‘Vogue’ in 2000. We assume that she is the most successful crossover model in a way that did not automatically bless other Angels.

It took years for fashion world to give Victoria’s Secret any respect and credit for paying models better than any other brand. They tended to treat us like Playboy, even if we were making millionaires out of models on a regular basis.

Gisele left Victoria’s Secret in May 2007, saying years later that she was no longer comfortable being photographed in lingerie. She did introduce her own line of lingerie in 2013.

My instincts say that Bundchen wasn’t comfortable with the increasingly-male, testosterone-rich atmosphere in the VS fashion shows and on-location for fashion shoots. Gisele did some positively scalding fashion shoots away from Victoria’s Secret in the years after she left and she participated in the Russell James’ book ‘Angels’ in 2013/2014.

Besides the VS fashion shows, some marketing photo shoots were held at Sir Richard Branson’s large getaway on Necker Island, as well as shooting the Russell James’ book ‘Angels’ for a women’s health charity at Branson’s getaway. We will Renew those images as part of this multi-espisodes Gisele deep-dive.

To be clear, Russell James has enjoyed the highest-integrity relationships with the VS women. I’m not sure we can make the same statement about the larger group of high-ranking men who became VS models groupies and were eager to book a flight to Necker Island if invited.

Gisele Bundchen As a 'Hot Ticket' in ELLE US May 2000 by Gilles Bensimon AOC Renewed

14 Years On Top of Forbes Top Model List

From 2002 to 2016 — for 14 consecutive years, Gisele Bündchen topped the Forbes highest-paid model list. While married to Tom Brady and also birthing children Vivian and Benjamin, Gisele maintained an annual salary averaging $30 million. Forbes estimated her earnings in 2014 to be $47 million.

What’s stunning about Gisele’s story is the terrible anxiety that took a great hold on her life in 2003. In this swimmingly successful, picture-perfect existence with strong family ties, the supermodel revealed that she seriously considered suicide, the attacks were so disabling. We’ll pick up this story shortly. ~ Anne