Bar Rafaeli

Recently decorated by Queen Rania of Jordan, regularly invited to grace the cover of Sports Illustrated and invited to become a member of Victoria's Secret Dream Team, Bar Rafaeli seems ready to take over for Gisele Bündchen, and not just her boyfriend.

Rafaeli was born in 1985 to a Jewish family in a rural part of Israel. Early on, she showed signs of an unquestionable beauty: a feline-like regard, turquoise eyes, small, freckled face, which combined had her modeling for advertisements as early as 8 months of age. However, she was required to wear braces to correct her teeth, which kept her from going to castings until she was 11, soon after which the Ford agency took her under their wing.

Encouraged by her mother, who has since become her agent, the pre-teen appeared in numerous advertisements on various media. She won beauty contests, and at 15 and 16 was elected "best model of the year."

By now, the feline and agile beauty of this Israeli model was no longer a secret. In 2002, Rafaeli's life started to pickup speed: Sports Illustrated, known for having the most beautiful women in the world as their models, offered her the cover of their South African edition. She began traveling and lining up photo sessions. However, it was when Elle France wrote an article on her that her career changed definitively, and a name was given to her famous face and body.

In 2004, Sports Illustrated offered her another cover, which she willingly accepted, even if she was obliged to find a way out of having to perform her required military service, something that would have in any case put her career on hold. The following year, Rafaeli's athletic and voluptuous form continued to seduce the fashion industry, and she was contracted by Dim (French underwear company) and Ralph Lauren.

However, if at this stage Rafaeli's career showed promise, she still did not have that buzz needed to become a bankable model, which is exactly what Leonardo DiCaprio (Gisele's ex) provided when he became her official boyfriend. From that moment on, Rafaeli's career took on a more international scope: she became the icon for Moët et Chandon, appeared on the cover of Elle, GQ Italy, and Maxim (English) and entered into the elite group of Victoria's Secret.

It seems that nothing stands in Rafaeli's way now. In 2008, she was ranked second sexiest model, took Heidi Klum's place at Accessorize, slid into True Religion jeans and appeared on the covers of ID and Arena. Sure of herself, she does not hesitate to surprise by radically changing her hair for a Garnier (French hair care company) advertisement. She may be difficult to recognize, but she proves that blond or redheaded, she remains sublime.

In 2009, Sports Illustrated fell once again its weakness for Rafaeli's sun-filled beauty and put her on the cover of their swimsuit edition. She also stepped onto the catwalks during the Los Angeles Fashion Week. Heer love life may be far from calm, but this does not prevent her from incarnating Valentine for Marks & Spencer special Saint Valentine's lingerie collection.

As for how she maintains her perfect figure (which by the way did not leave France's President Sarkozy indifferent when she met him in 2008), she claims that eating fish rich in Omega 3 and walking 45 minutes per day is enough...