Gisele Bündchen Reveals The Moment She's Most Proud Of In Her Modeling Career

Gisele Bündchen revealed her proudest moments as a model ― and it’s not what you’d expect.

“One of the big moments for me was when I arrived in São Paulo,” the cookbook author told WSJ. magazine in an interview published Monday. “I was 13 years old, it was the beginning of my career and I didn’t know anyone in São Paulo. I was leaving a village of 10,000.”

“When I got there, my wallet was gone,” Bündchen explained. “This woman saw me crying and she gave me two quarters, and I called my dad from a payphone. He was like, ‘Gisele, you can come home.’”

The model made a choice that would stay with her forever ― and help her face what was to come in her career.

Gisele Bundchen walks the runway during the Colcci show at SPFW Summer 2016 on April 15, 2015 in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Gisele Bundchen walks the runway during the Colcci show at SPFW Summer 2016 on April 15, 2015 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Fernanda Calfat via Getty Images

“At that moment, I decided I’m not going to go back home just because somebody stole my wallet,” she said. “When I finally got to [the models’ house in São Paulo that day], I felt so capable.”

“That was the biggest first thing that happened because in the fashion career, people used to mistreat you, especially when you started,” the 43-year-old added. “Not everyone was kind, let’s put it that way. But I got some calluses from that first experience, it gave me a lot of strength for what was to come.”

While Bündchen shot to fame on the runway and spent over a decade and a half as the world’s highest-paid model, she recently opened up about why modeling isn’t as “comfortable” for her anymore.

“Being a model is not really an extension of me ... It’s being an actress in a silent movie,” she told Vanity Fair in an interview last year.

“I don’t want to be a character in anybody else’s movie,” Bündchen added. “And when I do that, it doesn’t feel as comfortable for me anymore.”

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