Bar Refaeli | |
|---|---|
בר רפאלי | |
.jpg) Refaeli in 2019 | |
| Born | (1985-06-04)4 June 1985 (age 40) Hod HaSharon, Israel |
| Occupations |
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| Spouse(s) | |
| Children | 3 |
| Modelling information | |
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)[1] |
| Hair colour | Blonde[1] |
| Eye colour | Blue[1] |
| Agency | |
Bar Refaeli (Hebrew:בר רפאלי; born(1985-06-04)4 June 1985) is an Israeli model. She is among the most internationally successful models to come from Israel,[13] appearing on the cover of the 2009Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, and being voted No. 1 onMaxim magazine's Hot 100 list of 2012. As a television host, Refaeli has hostedThe X Factor Israel since 2013 and co-hosted theEurovision Song Contest 2019 inTel Aviv.[14][15][16]
As a result of her modeling and investment careers, her net worth was estimated at US$20 million in 2015. She was the highest-paid model in Israel according toForbes Israel in 2013.[17][18]
Refaeli was born and raised inHod HaSharon,Israel, to asecular Jewish family.[19] InHebrew, her first name means "wild" (as inwilderness), and her surname literally means "my God heals" and is a derivative of the biblical angelRaphael.[20] Her parents were bothborn in Israel, and her grandparents were Jewishimmigrants from Italy, Lithuania and Poland.[19] Her grandparents wereHolocaust survivors.[21] Her father Refael "Rafi" Refaeli is a former horse stable owner, and her mother was a model in the 1970s under her maiden name Tzipora "Tzipi" Levine.[22] Refaeli has two younger brothers; On Refaeli is an actor and model, and Dor Refaeli is an entrepreneur.[23][24] She also has an older half-brother, Neil Ben-Porat, from her mother's first marriage to Israeli businessman Yehousha "Shuki" Ben-Porat.[25]
Refaeli began modeling at the age of eight months, when she first appeared in commercials.Orthodonture at 12 interrupted her modeling until she was 15,[26] when an Israeli fashion awards ceremony awarded Refaeli "Model of the Year" (2000).[27] She played prominently in campaigns for the fashion brandsCastro andPilpel, and she starred in aMilky pudding commercial.
She has appeared in editorials for French, American, Italian, Spanish, Russian, and UkrainianElle, SpanishVogue, British, Russian, Australian, and VietnameseHarper's Bazaar,V, French and DutchL'Officiel, American, British, Italian, German, Spanish, and IndianGQ,i-D, andAllure.She has appeared on the covers of French, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Russian, Belgian, Danish, Swedish, Australian, Latvian, Norwegian, Polish, Bulgarian, Romanian, Slovenian, Croatian, and TurkishElle, French, Spanish, and RussianMarie Claire, British, Italian, Spanish, German, Portuguese, and MexicanGQ, American, British, Australian, and SerbianMaxim, andEsquire.[citation needed]
Refaeli has appeared in advertising campaigns forChanel,Escada,Ralph Lauren,Desigual,Andrew Marc,Victoria's Secret,Marks and Spencer,Gap,Moët & Chandon,Hurley,Rampage,True Religion,Lucky Brand,Accessorize, Passionata,Fox,Reebok,Sears,Arrow, Besni, Marco Bicego, and Agua Bendita. She also has appeared in advertising-campaigns for non-fashion brands such asGarnier Fructis,Samsung, andSubaru.[citation needed]
Refaeli became the second Israeli model to appear inSports Illustrated magazine (afterMichaela Bercu), in her 2007 debut in its Swimsuit Issue, where she posed with the rock bandAerosmith.[28][29] Refaeli was the cover-model for the 2009Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.[30] In a promotional deal with Sports Illustrated,Southwest Airlines painted a bikini-clad Refaeli from that shoot on the side of itsBoeing 737,[31][32] which led some passengers to criticize the airline for plastering a picture they regarded as prurient, and hence "offensive to families."[33]
Refaeli has modeled forSubaru,Accessorize,[34] Brazilian clothing line Besni, Italian jewelry line Marco Bicego, and Rampage. In 2009, she modeled forGarnier International.[35]
On 5 March 2009, Refaeli received the World Style Award presented by theWomen's World Awards for her "natural elegance, sense of style, and compassion."[36] In October of the same year, Refaeli co-hosted Fashionable Istanbul's press conference, announced its October 2009 fashion event, and appeared in its advèrtisements.[37]FHM voted Refaeli No. 42 in 2008, No. 57 in 2010, and No. 97 in 2011, in its lists of the "100 Sexiest Women."[38]
Maxim placed Refaeli at the very top of its Hot 100 list in 2012.[39] In April 2012,Shalom Life ranked her fourth on its list of the "50 most talented, intelligent, funny, and gorgeous Jewish women in the world."[40]
According toForbes Israel, in 2013 she was the highest-paid model in Israel, ahead of the combined modelling income of such other Israeli models asEsti Ginzburg,Gal Gadot, andShlomit Malka.[18]
In 2013 she also received aVienna Fashion Award in the category of "Style-Icon".
As of March 2017, Refaeli was the second most influential person on Israeli Instagram, according to theIsraeli Internet Association, behindAnna Zak, but ahead ofNeta Alchimister.[41]
Refaeli has an ownership stake in a number of Israeli fashion companies, such as in the designer glasses manufacturer Carolina Lemke.[42] In September 2018 it was announced thatKim Kardashian would be the face of the brand alongside Refaeli, with the two appearing in a promotional campaign together.[43]
On the sale of a 5% stake to Israeli fashion brandCastro in 2016, Refaeli made a NIS 2-4 million profit.[44]
In 2011, Refaeli and Dudi Balsar, an Israeli attorney and former male model, set up anE-commerce company called Under.me,[45] to sell designer underwear. As well as being its investor, Refaeli runsbusiness development for the venture.[46] By November 2011, the company had raised $1 million inventure capital funds.[47]
In 2013, her startup Mika Look, which is aniPad app that allows users to purchase the items that models are wearing, raised $1.2 million in its first financing round.[48]
Refaeli is one of the main investors behind MyCheck, which processes payments behind smart phones, and which raised $1.7 million in its first financing round.[49] In its second financing round, it raised $4.2 million.[50]
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Refaeli co-starred in the Israeli TV drama seriesPick Up in 2005. In October 2008, she co-hosted theBravo special programTommy Hilfiger Presents Ironic Iconic America,[51] based on the bookIronic Iconic America written byGeorge Lois. She returned as a program host in 2009, this time forMTV's brief revival ofHouse of Style.[52]
In 2009, she was also a guest-judge at Project Runway Israel.
Refaeli participated in a campaign to help reduce the use ofplastic bags in Israel.[53] In 2009, she led an unpaid campaign on behalf of the Israel Water Authority, to educate the public aboutwater use andconservation.[54]
In 2011, Refaeli starred in the American-Israeli filmSession, directed by Haim Bouzaglo. The film is apsychological thriller that tells the story of a manipulative psychiatrist who becomes obsessed with a new young patient.[55] She also served as a guest judge on cycle four ofGermany's Next Topmodel hosted byHeidi Klum. In November 2012 she started her own model casting showMillion Dollar Shootingstar on German TV ChannelSat.1.[56]
In late 2012, she played the titular role inCinderella, a musical adaptation staged forChannukkah in Israel.[57]
In January 2013, Refaeli appeared inGo Daddy'sSuper Bowl XLVII commercial, acting withJesse Heiman (with whom she intimately kisses) andNASCAR driver and perennial Go Daddy pitchwomanDanica Patrick.[58]
On 7 June 2013, Refaeli hosted abeach party in Tel Aviv for participants ofTel Aviv Pride, the city'sgay pride parade.[59] In November 2013, she spoke out in support of legislation forcivil marriages in Israel, as part of a campaign for the proposedKnesset bill.[60]
[61] In 2013, Refaeli also hosted thefirst season ofThe X Factor Israel, which became the most popular music show in Israel,[62] leading to them bringing her back in 2015 forseason two. In 2018 Refaeli appeared in a music video of X Factor judge,Ivri Lider.[63] In 2013, Refaeli played a starring role in the French-Israeli crime-caper filmKidon, a comedy in which she stars as aMossad assassin involved in liquidating a terrorist.[64]
Refaeli hosted the closing ceremony for the2017 Maccabiah Games inLatrun, Israel, on 18 July 2017.[65][66]
Assi Azar reportedly wrote the hit Israeli TV seriesBeauty and the Baker with Refaeli in mind for the lead role.Rotem Sela eventually played the role that Refaeli reportedly turned down.[67]
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Refaeli hosted the main event of theEurovision Song Contest 2019 inTel Aviv alongsideErez Tal, whereasAssi Azar andLucy Ayoub hosted the Green Room (Artists' backstage).[15][16]
As early as 2004, Refaeli received criticism in her country for avoiding its mandatory service in the army. At the time, fellow Israeli modelAgam Rudberg said: "The way Bar Refaeli evaded army-service wasn't right. It's worth trying to serve in the army, and only if you don't feel good there to try to do something."[68]
In 2007,Ynetnews reported that Refaeli had evaded the draft by marrying family-acquaintance Arik Weinstein in 2003,[69] and divorcing him soon afterwards.[70] Military service in theIsrael Defense Forces (IDF) is mandatory in Israel for unmarriedsecular Jewish women over the age of 18.[71]
The Israeli Forum for the Promotion of Equal Share in the Burden threatened toboycott the Israeli fashion chainFox if they hired her. The two sides reached a compromise in which Refaeli agreed to visit injured IDF soldiers whenever she was in Israel, and actively encourage army enlistment.[72] Refaeli later said, "I don't regret not enlisting, because it paid off big time. That's just the way it is: celebrities have other needs. I hope my case has influenced the army."[73] She also said: "Israel orUganda, what difference does it make? It makes no difference to me. Why is it good to die for our country? What, isn't it better to live in New York? Why should 18-year-old kids have to die? It's dumb that people have to die so that I can live in Israel."[70]
In 2009, while speaking in support of enlisting, fellow Israeli modelEsti Ginzburg also criticized Refaeli for evading military-service.[74][75] Two years later, Refaeli was featured on the cover of ItalianGQ's war-themed May 2011 issue.[73] Refaeli's avoidance of military service was again raised in 2013, this time by IDFBrigadier GeneralYoav Mordechai, who criticized the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for casting her in a 2013 advertisement. Mordechai maintained that the use of Refaeli as an "official representative of Israel" sent a "negative message" to Israeli society.[76]
Ever since 2014, during theIDF'sOperation Protective Edge (2014 Gaza War), Refaeli has frequently expressedsolidarity andappreciation of fellow Israeli citizens who have been serving in the Israeli military while posting on hersocial network accounts; one of which was done by simply sharing her own photos hugging young and cheerful combatIsraeli troops.[77]
In late 2015, Refaeli was accused of concealing millions ofshekels of annual income, despite an estimated net worth of US$20 million in 2015.[17] It was revealed she had recently bought a NIS 15 million apartment in Tel Aviv, as well as a NIS 2.5 million apartment for her younger brother. On 16 December 2015, Israeli tax authorities in Tel Aviv detained her and her mother overnight for questioning related to potential tax evasion; she was accused of failing to pay income tax on two vehicles that she received as compensation for posing in pictures with the vehicles, and for evading taxes by disguising her Israeli residency by renting a luxury apartment in Tel Aviv through relatives.[78]
On 3 January 2019, it was announced that Refaeli was suspected of tax-evasion and was facing a possible indictment along with her parents.[79][80] In April 22, 2019, Refaeli's appeal was rejected and she was ordered to pay taxes on her concealed income of $4.5 million.[81][82] She was acceptedplea bargain which would result in a prison sentence for her mother, Tzipi Levine-Refaeli, and heavy fines for them both.[83] Refaeli was sentenced in June 2020 to 9 months ofcommunity service in the form of volunteer work at an educational facility for mentally disabled adults, fined $720,000, and made to pay the $2.3 million in back taxes she owed. Her mother was given a 16-month long prison sentence, of which she served 8 months in at Neve Tirza Prison inRamla, and fined as well.[84][85][86][87]
In 2003, Refaeli married family friend Arik Weinstein. Refaeli was criticized for the marriage as it was widely reported she only married Weinstein in order to avoid being drafted into theIsrael Defense Forces.[88][89] They divorced sometime in 2005.[90] Weinstein published a memoir about their marriage, titledThe Untold Story: by Arik Weinstein First Husband of Bar Refaeli, in 2017.[91][self-published source?]
In November 2005, Refaeli began a relationship with American actorLeonardo DiCaprio, after meeting him at a party inLas Vegas for members ofU2.[92] In the course of their trip to Israel in March 2007, the couple met Israeli PresidentShimon Peres and visited her hometown of Hod HaSharon.[93] The relationship ended in June 2009.[94] In 2010, numerous reports indicated that their romance had been rekindled,[95][96] but in May 2011, it was reported that they had ended their romantic relationship and would remain friends.[97]
She married Israeli businessman Adi Ezra on 24 September 2015 inIsrael.[98] They have two daughters and a son.[99][100][101][86]
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Amazing Grace | Kindergarten Child |
| 2010 | Shir Al Hayam | Female Surfer |
| 2011 | Session | Eden |
| 2013 | Kidon | Einav |
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Kofiko | Iris |
| 2005 | Pick Up | Noa Zuckerman |
| Eretz Nehederet | Efi Midaber's Aunt | |
| 2019 | Eurovision Song Contest 2019 | Presenter |
The couple, who had been dating on and off for the past three years, was spotted canoodling together over New Year's weekend in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, which topped off a week-long getaway.
Leo and Bar also enjoyed a 'secret' romantic getaway in the Bahamas in late November, according to multiple reports, sparking rumors they'd decided to work it out.
| International | |
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| National | |
