Seven times lucky

Gisele Bundchen is really Ms Moneybags. The supermodel has been named the world's top earning model for the seventh time in a row.

Seven times lucky

Gisele Bundchen is really Ms Moneybags. The supermodel has been named the world's top earning model for the seventh time in a row.

This year saw the 30-year-old's income increase by a whopping $20 million, taking her earnings over the past year to $45 million. Here's more about the lady:u00a0

Originally, Gisele wanted to be a professional volleyball player and considered playing for the Brazilian team, Sogipa. While in school, she was so thin that her friends used to call her 'Ol ufffdvia Palito' (Portuguese for Olive Oyl, Popeye's skinny girlfriend) and 'Saracura' (a type of Brazilian shorebird).

In 1993, a then-13-year-old Gisele joined a modelling course with her sisters at her mother's insistence. The following year, she went to S ufffdo Paulo on a school excursion. She was spotted there in a McDonald's outlet by a modelling agency. She was subsequently selected for a national contest, Elite Look of the Year, in which she placed second. She came fourth in the world contest.u00a0

In 1996, Gisele moved to New York City to begin her modelling career, debuting at the New York Fashion Week.u00a0

Gisele was one of Victoria's Secret Angels from 2000 until 2007. Since 2004, she has been the highest-paid model in the world and the sixteenth richest woman in the entertainment industry with an estimated $150 million fortune.

As an occasional actress, she had supporting roles in Taxi (2004) and The Devil Wears Prada (2006).

In January 2011, Gisele topped the list of the most desired female body in the 14th Annual Famed Hottest Looks survey, compiled by tow plastic surgeons. Even after giving birth in December 2009, her body was the most requested by the doctors' patients.