Raquel Zimmermann

A beauty among beauties, Gisèle Bündchen's compatriot is currently one of the most en vogue models in the business. Her prestigious ad campaigns are multiplying and the biggest designers are inviting her to walk for them.

Raquel Zimmermann, despite her Germanic name and physique, is 100% Brazilian. She even comes from the same region as Gisèle Bündchen, but the similarities between their career paths stops there.

It was thanks to her classmates, who found her very tall and advised her to try modeling, that the 14-year-old Zimmermann showed up at a modeling agency in Sao Paulo. She was booked and sent to New York where she met a headhunter for a Parisian agency. She left for France and began working as a model.

Her success was not dazzling; however, she did land several contracts in Japan that allowed her to improve her skills. The fact that her career started off slowly taught her to remain humble and to take things for what they are, to never give them more importance than they have.

Zimmermann's joie de vivre comes from her Brazilian roots. She says she feels "so Brazilian," i.e., she has an irrepressible need to be optimistic, to spend time with her compatriots whenever she can, to enjoy what they have in common: love of dance, of music, of life. Her two best friends are the Brazilian models Jeisa Chiminazzo and Isabeli Fontana.

In 2003, she became a member of the Victoria's Secret dream team. The fashion world began to find her soft, angelic face, and her purebred, elegant lines interesting. She became the one who represented the post-Bündchen era.

She went from show to show: Chanel, Prada, Hermès, Gucci, Max Mara, Versace, Fendi, and Dior. She made less noise than certain other new arrivals with atypical physiques, e.g., Gemma Ward and Lily Cole, but her smoother, more timeless image won over the photographers. Everyone talked about her professionalism and the photographers respected her, liked to shape and transform her according to the requirements of the photo session.

Since last winter, Zimmermann seems to be everywhere. She is the star model for the Gap campaign, the model for Chloé, icon for the Viktor and Rolf collection for H&M and face for Chanel sunglasses. Yet she is not overexposed; she has become a part of the fashion landscape without making too much noise.

It seems she is like that naturally. While her colleagues adopt the grunge or cool look, Zimmermann remains always impeccable, classy, perfectly dressed. Modeling for her is a job like any other and she obliges herself to always be presentable. Somewhat of an older sister, she tries to share this idea with the newer models; she also warns them about the many temptations in the business: e.g., anorexia, egotism, and carelessness. She is like a good student in the fashion world, a nice change from the escapades of certain others.

She is calm about the future, conscious that everything could end tomorrow. This does not worry her because at the moment she does not have any free time and has begun to dream about the time when she will be able to travel around the world.