With her totally stunning form and high-sense style statements, Israeli-born supermodel Bar Refaeli caught the attention of the fashion world with ease. She was first exposed to the glamour world when she was an eight-month-old baby, when she was featured in advertising. While this was only the beginning, she went on to control the fashion business by modeling for Accessorize, Escada, Marco Bicego, Passionata, Subaru, Fox, Chanel, Gap, and Arrow, among others. This dark honey blonde has appeared in editorials and magazine covers around the world including Glamour, Elle, Maxim, GQ, Esquire, Cosmopolitan, and Harper’s Bazaar, but she is best known for her appearance as the breathtaking cover girl for Sports Illustrated’s Swimsuit Issue. Aside from couture runways and bikini modeling, she has also dabbled in acting in films and hosting television shows, the most well-known of which are ‘The X Factor Israel’ and ‘Million Dollar Shootingstar.’ This blue-eyed goddess has been in the spotlight on numerous occasions, not only for her ad campaigns and product launches, but also for her relationships with a number of high-profile and notable men, the most notable of which is her on-again, off-again romance with Hollywood hunk Leonardo DiCaprio. She works as a volunteer for several charitable organizations, caring for sick children and abandoned pets.
Childhood and Adolescence
Bar for Childhood and Adolescence Rafi and Tzipi Rafaeli Rafaeli Rafaeli Rafaeli Rafaeli Rafaeli Rafaeli Rafaeli Rafaeli Rafaeli Rafaeli Raf Her mother, who was a popular model in the 1970s and was known as Tzipi Levine, was also in the modeling business. She began modeling at the age of eight months, when she was just eight months old, and shot commercials. Due to her braces, she had to cease modeling throughout her early childhood years and was only able to begin professional modeling when she was 15 years old. In 2000, she competed in an Israeli beauty contest and won the title of ‘Model of the Year,’ which marked a turning point in her career.
Career of Refaeli
Irene Marie Models signed her in 2000, and she has since starred in ad campaigns for well-known brands such as Castro and Pipel. Later that year, she appeared in a commercial for the dairy product Milky’s. She became the Renuar fashion channel’s home model, appearing in its summer 2002 and winter 2003 catalogs. In 2005, she made her broadcast debut in the Israeli drama series ‘Pick Up.’ By the age of 20, she had become a cover model for magazines such as French Elle, Italian GQ, Cosmopolitan, and Maxim, and had gone viral in the fashion business.
She is a supporter of Project Sunshine, a non-profit organization that provides free services and programs to children with serious illnesses. In 2006, she backed Ahava, an organization that cared for pets abandoned during the 2006 Lebanon War.
In 2008, she co-hosted the Bravo special ‘Tommy Hilfiger Presents Ironic Ironic America,’ which was based on a book of the same name, and in 2009, she hosted the MTV revival series of ‘House of Style.’ She was named the new face of Rampage in 2009, and she photographed an ad campaign for the brand’s autumn collection with world-renowned photographer Gilles Bensimon. In 2008, she was named the brand ambassador for Hurley and Diddy cologne, and in 2009, she was named the spokesmodel for Garnier International. She starred in ads for Morellato watches and jewelry, which were released in 2009/2010.
In 2011, she made her film debut in the American-Israeli psychological thriller ‘Session,’ directed by Haim Bouzaglo.
In 2011, she co-founded Under.me, an online retailer of designer underwear, with Dudi Balsar, a former model and attorney. ‘Germany’s Next Topmodel,’ hosted by Heidi Klum, featured her as a guest judge. In November 2012, she began her own show, ‘Million Dollar Shootingstar,’ which aired on German channel Sat 1. In 2013, she played a Mossad assassin in the French-Israeli film ‘Kidon,’ a crime caper comedy. She has been the face of Luisa Cerano’s fashion line and Passionata’s lingerie line, and has been in a number of ad campaigns promoting the brand’s new collection.
Escada, Gap, Arrow, True Religion, Chanel, Ralph Lauren, Samsung, Fox, Agua Bendita, Andrew Marc, Victoria’s Secret, Marks & Spencer, Reebok, and Sears have all used her in their advertising campaigns. She’s walked the runway for a number of fashion heavyweights, including Accessorize, Marco Bicego, Subaru, and Besni, a Brazilian clothing label. Marie Claire, Elle, Glamour, GQ, Maxim, Madame Figaro, Zalando Magazine, Lepota & Zdravlje, Cosmopolitan, F, DTLux, and Harper’s Bazaar are just a few of the international magazines on which she has appeared.
Harper’s Bazaar Australia, GQ Germany, Maxim USA, Elle Spain, Marie Claire Russia, GQ Italy, Grazia France, Elle Russia, L’Officiel France, Esquire USA, and Vanity Fair Italy have all featured her in editorials. She has also worked for Marilyn Agency (Paris), Premier Model Management (London), Uno Models (Barcelona), Model Management (Hamburg), and MP Management, in addition to her mother agency One Management (Milan).
Major Projects
She debuted in the Swimsuit Issue of Sports Illustrated in 2007, alongside rock band Aerosmith, and was the first Israeli model to appear on the cover of the magazine’s 2009 edition.
She rose to fame in Israel in 2013 as the host of the first season of ‘The X Factor Israel,’ which went on to become Israel’s most popular music show. She returned to host the show’s second season in 2015.
Achievements & Awards
In 2009, she received the ‘World Style Award’ from the Women’s World Awards for her impeccable fashion sense and stunning appearance.
In 2008, she was ranked #42 on FHM’s ‘100 Sexiest Women’ list, which was revised to #57 in 2010 and #97 in 2011.
She was rated #1 in Maxim magazine’s ‘Hot 100’ list in 2012.
In 2013, she won the Vienna Fashion Award for ‘Style Icon.’
On Shalom Life’s list of the “50 most talented, bright, humorous, and handsome Jewish women in the world,” she was ranked #4.
Personal History and Legacy
She has been linked to a number of high-profile men, including Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones, David Charvet of Baywatch, and Uri El-Natan of Uri El-Natan of Uri El-Natan of Uri El-Natan of Uri El-Natan of Uri El-Natan of Uri El-Natan of Uri El After meeting at a party in Las Vegas in 2005, she began dating Hollywood actor Leonardo DiCaprio. However, they split in June 2009, only to restart their romance in 2010, before announcing their split in May 2011. She met Israeli businessman Adi Ezra through common friends in July 2012 and they hit it off right away. After a few months, the pair moved into a Tel Aviv apartment together. The two just confirmed their engagement.
Estimated Net Worth
Bar Refaeli has a $30 million USD net worth. Model, entrepreneur, and television host Bar Refaeli hails from Israel. She was voted number one on Maxim’s Hot 100 list in 2012, and was one of the most recognized models to come out of that country. She was on the cover of the 2009 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. Refaeli is the host of “The X Factor Israel,” a music competition show on Israeli television.
Trivia
Her grandparents were Jewish immigrants from Italy, Poland, and Lithuania who came to Israel and lived there.
Adi Ezra, her longterm boyfriend, is the CEO of Neto ME Holdings Ltd., one of Israel’s major food importation corporations, which his grandparents founded.