Gisele: "I Was Told My Nose Was Too Big"

Gisele Bundchen was told her "nose was too big" and her "eyes too small" as a teenage model.

The Brazilian beauty weathered the criticism to become one of the world's wealthiest models, since starting her career in the '90s.

Gisele, the most successful supermodel in the world, has now earned more than a reported $386 million since 2001, according to forbes.com. Something that may not have happened if it wasn't for the support of her father who gave her the courage to continue when her unique looks were criticised in her early modelling years.
"I remember some people telling me my nose was too big or my eyes were too small, that I could never be on a magazine cover," she shares in an interview with People magazine.

"It wasn't easy to be 14 and hear that kind of criticism. It made me feel insecure. I told my dad, and he said, 'Next time, tell them, I have a big nose and that comes with a big personality'. At that point I felt, if I kept working hard and giving my best, it would all work out."
Now a mother to children Benjamin, six, Vivian, three, and step-mum to husband Tom Brady's son with ex Bridget Moynahan, John, eight, 35-year-old Gisele is married to the New England Patriots' star quarterback and lives a jet-set lifestyle. The couple own multi-million dollar estates across the U.S. and in Costa Rica.

While the Brazilian quit the runway, she hasn't completely stopped working: "I had to make some adjustments from what my life was like before I was a mom," the supermodel shares. "My kids are so fun and loving, but they are also demanding!"
The model is celebrating 21 years in the fashion industry with a new TASCHEN photo book, Gisele, out 10 May (16). It's a $70 (£50) version of version of the $700 (£500) book that sold out last year (15). But she insists talk of retirement is premature.
"I am not retiring," she insists. "I am just emptying my glass so I can fill it with things that are more aligned with who I am today."