Bar Refaeli Biography
A little known name until she began dating one of Hollywood's hotties, Leonardo DiCaprio, Bar Refaeli, was born on June 4th 1985 in the countryside of Israel where her parents, Israeli Jews, had a horse ranch. Her mother, Tsipi Refaeli, encouraged Bar to model right from the age of eight months old when she appeared in commercials even before she could talk, never mind grace a catwalk with her sultry moves.
Apparently, when Bar was twelve years old she had to wear braces on her teeth for three years and couldn't work as a model but as soon as she had them removed she went straight to a modeling agency in Israel and immediately started working.
Although born in Israel Bar speaks both English and Hebrew and travels the world in her capacity as a supermodel.
During her modeling career she has become known as a photographic model and has appeared in fashion catalogues, among them "Castro", "Pilpel", and also starred in a commercial for the product called "Milki".
In 2000 and again in 2001 Bar won the title "Model of the year" in a beauty contest in.
Bar Refaeli is the first Israeli model ever to be featured in Sports Illustrated magazine and she is in good company with Elle MacPherson, Kathy Ireland and Heidi Klum.
In recent months Bar has been tipped to be in the Victoria's Secret catalog for 2007 following in the footsteps of Victoria Silvestedt and Tyra Banks. In March 2006 she appeared on the cover of GQ Magazine in Italy.
With her light blonde hair, her blue eyes and her Twiggy-like figure, Bar seems to have beguiled one of Hollywood’s most eligible bachelors, Leonardo DiCaprio, to such an extent that he recently visited her at her parent’s home in the upscale suburb of Tel Aviv, Hod Hasharon.
After his split with another supermodel, Gisele Bundchen, Leonardo DiCaprio, who sprang to fame in Titanic with Kate Winslet, was up for grabs and the beautiful Israeli model was in the right place at the right time when the couple met at a party in Las Vegas
While in Israel the couple came under the constant scrutiny of the paparazzi which lit DiCaprio’s fuse and caused him to get into scuffles with the press and photographers in a bid to gain some privacy for himself and his girlfriend, Bar.
Apparently the couple met prior to DiCaprio’s filming of The Departed with Martin Sheen, Mark Wahlberg and Jack Nicholson. During his filming of Blood Diamond in Sierra Leone with Djimon Hounsou and Jennifer Connelly.
In 2007, Refaeli became a source of controversy when it became known that she had evaded military service, mandatory for Israeli citizens over 18-years-old, by marrying a family acquaintance and divorcing him soon after. Refaeli stated in an interview with Yedioth Ahronoth, "I really wanted to serve in the IDF. But I don't regret not enlisting, because it paid off big-time," further adding, "Why is it good to die for our country? What, isn't it better to live in New York?" Refaeli has since said the interview didn't accurately reflect her statements and threatened to file a lawsuit for libel.
Meanwhile Bar continiues to date DiCaprio but does this beautiful supermodel have what it takes to tame one of Hollywood's most sought after bachelors?
In February 2009 Bar landed the much sought after accolade of being on the cover of Sports Illustrated magazine's annual swimsuit issue. The issue, showed Bar, and her impressive figure in 20 different images, shot by Raphael Mazzucco on Canouan Island in the Grenadines. Previous swimsuit issue cover girls included Heidi Klum (1998), Tyra Banks (1997), Elle MacPherson (1986, 1987, 1988) and Christie Brinkley (1979, 1980, 1981).
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