If I honour my needs first, I will be the best wife, the best mum, the best sister, the best friend. I have to come first, because then everyone benefits.
— Gisele Bundchen
To be a mother is a magical experience. The whole body is transformed by this.
My two grandmothers both died of cancer, so I understand how painful and difficult this disease is on the entire family. My first grandmother passed away from bone cancer when I was about 10. It was really horrible. I remember the whole process like it was yesterday.
When you come from a big family, you see that, growing up, you're learning how to share. Your sisters have got your back; you're not alone in this - 'We all support you!' Your family provides that; it gives you a sense of safety, and it's a very grounding feeling.
This is exactly how I would describe my work: 'I get there, I put on the clothes, I leave it on the hanger, and I go home.' And that's what I do.
I've always been in serious relationships. I meet someone and date him for a long period. I don't sit there thinking, like, 'I wonder if I can seduce that guy.' I have other things in my mind.
I love outdoor sports, like volleyball, and I play them whenever I can.
I think people have a different image of me because, you know, they portray me with the idea that models are stupid and dumb; like, 'She can just be a model because she can just be a model - she's dumb and she can't do anything else.'
I've been doing my job for a long time and I never really thought about being an actress or being anything like that. I was always a bit scared as well because of the thing about models becoming an actress and all that. I just never really took it seriously.
There should be a worldwide law, in my opinion, that mothers should breastfeed their babies for six months.
My son is so fortunate, you know. He's always going to have food. Yes, my children are going to be privileged, but that's why it's so important for them to see different realities and to travel, and they do already.
I was in the fashion shows in Milan; I was seventeen, I was doing like 100 shows. People were asking, 'How does it feel to be the model of the moment?' It was hard for me to answer as myself. I barely spoke English.
I'll never forget the day when a woman came up to me and said, 'No, you could never be on a magazine cover. Your face features don't work; your eyes are small, you have a small face but a big nose.' I was only 14 and I had never noticed any of that stuff, you know?
There is good in everything; it's just how you choose to look at it. Everything that's worth it has a price. For me to be a model - I had to leave my family. Do you think I liked that? No! There are sacrifices. Life is meant to be a challenge, because challenges are what make you grow.
I don't like parties. I prefer something more intimate, just for the closest people.
There's a button that goes On and I'm On. And when I go On, there is almost no me; there is just a character who is doing all this.
I don't wear fur and I understand their cause. I am the biggest animal lover in the world. I have four dogs and two horses, and I have rescued animals all my life.
People think if you look after yourself you're being selfish, you know.
People have a perception of me because of Victoria's Secret that I'm sexy, but I'm not a sexy girl. I'm very tomboyish.
I'd be lying if I said, 'No,' to wanting a lot of kids.
Love is something that grows, that comes from nourishment; it builds.
Everybody learns from traveling. I think we all do.
I love that feeling of, you know, we are women, we are so different, our imperfections are what make us unique and beautiful.
If you're wearing smoky eye makeup, a little beige or gold pencil on the inner eye corners will open up the area, but you only want to do it if the shadow is really dark. Otherwise, light pencil makes your eyes look too far apart, like a fish.
I believe in taking chances and living your life. Sometimes doors open and others close and you have to figure out which one you're going to take. I'm always for the one that's challenging.
I want to get a farm where I am going to live for the rest of my life. I like the idea of a secluded place.
Everyone has an hour in their day to go and do something for somebody else; I don't care how busy they are.
This is our world and we need the same things to survive. If I'm making my life better and the circumstances of your life worse, that's terrible because in the end it will affect me, too.
I think a lot of people get pregnant and decide they can turn into garbage disposals.
Gossip is poison.
I believe in feeling connected. Love is something that grows, that comes from nourishment; it builds. But there is a great feeling that happens, that is telling you, I don't want to leave this room!
I cannot put this poison on my skin. I do not use anything synthetic.
I felt like my pregnancy was a sacred moment for me. I stayed in Boston and I didn't work apart from the contracts I have, and then I only let them use my face.
If you have your wife, and you are proud of something she's done, wouldn't you go and support her in something? That is what I was trying to do.
Brazil has its own fashion identity. Many very talented Brazilian designers show every season at Sao Paulo and Rio fashion weeks.
Christmas and the holidays are the season of giving. It's a time when people are more kind and open-hearted.
Children are like little angels - there's no way you can't love them.
When I'm weak, you can be strong; when I'm strong, you can be weak. That's what I believe marriage is.
I think sometimes you have high expectations for people because you have high expectations for yourself.
I'm not a potato sack; I've never sat on my couch. If I'm home, I'm cleaning, feeding my dogs, doing stuff. Life is too precious to waste time.
I am a huge fan of big cotton underpants; they're comfortable. I wear them every day.
I'm a very private person. I like staying home and doing my stuff. I hate people invading on my privacy. I hate talking about my private life.
I am not the first person to give birth naturally. Billions of other women have come before me and have done this - so why can't I do it?
I have a lot of fruit trees and my own little vegetable garden and chickens. And every time I eat, I bless my food; I say I'm grateful for for it and let it nourish every part of my body.
When I was a teenager, I had pimples - oh, God, every time someone looked at my face I thought they were looking at my pimples. I put mud on my face to dry them out, and it worked.
If you are happy, you can give happiness. If you don't love yourself and if you are unhappy with yourself, you can't give anything else but that.
I believe that bringing a life into this world is the single most important thing a person can undertake, and it can also be the most challenging. I think as mothers we are all just trying our best.
I feel grateful because I have a lot of love in my life. I found the person I'm sharing my life with. I have a good man.
When I came to New York and I opened the window of the thirty-fifth-floor apartment, there's light pollution and fog, and I couldn't see my star. So I drew it on my wrist with a pen, but it kept washing away. Then I went to a tattoo parlor on Second Avenue and had it done.
I did kung fu up until two weeks before Benjamin was born, and yoga three days a week. I think a lot of people get pregnant and decide they can turn into garbage disposals. I was mindful about what I ate, and I gained only 30 pounds.
