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    1. Celebrity

    7 Things You Didn't Know About Gisele Bündchen

    Like how she owes her career to a Big Mac, pretty much.

    By Chelsea Peng
    Published 19 July 2017 In Features

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    These days, she is more known for her aversion to nightshades and sashaying down a much-longer-than-necessary Olympic runway, but even now, there are still some mysteries left surrounding Gisele "GOAT" Bündchen. Here, in honor of her birthday, seven things you didn't know about the world's highest-paid model.

    She Probably Follows Dr. Pimple Popper

    Us, every time we see a photo of her, even though, duh, we know it's Gisele: "Who is she?" Gisele, every time she sees her reflection: "Lemme look for a zit to pop." Really. In a 2004 interview with Time, she's quoted as saying, "I love squeezing them. I have these big mirrors in my house so even if I don't have one, I look for one to squeeze." She's probably never ruptured one or had a failed extraction scab over and look more terrible than before, though. Because she is Gisele.

    Her Scouting Story Is the Stuff of Legend

    You might've heard bits and pieces before, but the full monty is a doozy. It goes like this (all laid out in a Vanity Fair profile): 13-year-old Gisele leaves her small town to go on a school trip to São Paulo for the first time, and while she's eating her first McDonald's (reportedly a Big Mac), a modeling agent picks her out of 55 uniformed girls. "I had never seen fashion magazines," she said. "And I told my mom I didn't want to be a model, and my mom wasn't sure, either."

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    The Most Incredible Places Top Models Got Scouted

    She Never Thought She'd Make It as a Model

    But despite her parents' skepticism, she gave it a go, only to land catalog jobs—at first. This gives us one of the best quotes about prominent schnozes ever, courtesy of her father: "Gisele, ignore them. People with big noses have big personalities. Little noses mean little personalities.' And that was it. I didn't mind it anymore. I said, 'I am not going to listen to people who make me feel bad.'"

    We Still Don't Know Much About Her Wedding, but There Were Literal Shots Fired There

    A post shared by Gisele Bündchen (@gisele)

    A photo posted by on

    A few details about the dress and the Dolce Gabbana collars her three dogs wore have emerged, but the rest is still shrouded in an iCloud of intrigue and NDAs, even after 84 10 YEARS. However, the New York Post reported that two of the couple's bodyguards were sentenced to five years for shooting at two photographers covering the event. Awkward.

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    Fraternal, but still—OMG.

    It Took a While to Come Around to Tom Brady

    A post shared by Gisele Bündchen (@gisele)

    A photo posted by on

    They weren't always partners in avoiding tomatoes—when she was first show a photo of Tom Brady, she responded, "He's cute, but if he has a girlfriend, he's gay to me. There are too many men in the world to go after a man who has a woman. Life is too short." (YES, RESPECT GIRL CODE.) But then, when they were both single, she got taken in by his smile, she said in a different Vanity Fair story. Okay.

    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!

    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    Mariah Carey Taught Her How to Speak English

    She speaks fluent English, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish, and some German and French. But when she first came to the U.S., she relied on songs by Boyz II Men and Mariah Carey to help her learn the language, she said in a 2014 interview with Jimmy Fallon.

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    Chelsea Peng
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    Assistant Editor

    Chelsea Peng is a writer and editor who was formerly the assistant editor at Marie Claire. She's also worked for The Strategist and Refinery29, and is a graduate of Northwestern University. On her tombstone, she would like a GIF of herself that's better than the one that already exists on the Internet and a free fro-yo machine. Besides frozen dairy products, she's into pirates, carbs, Balzac, and snacking so hard she has to go lie down.

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