Bar Refaeli

Über Bar Refaeli

Born on June 4, 1985, in Hod HaSharon, Israel, Bar Refaeli grew up in a middle-class household as the daughter of Rafi Refaeli, a horse stable proprietor, and Tzipi Levine, who had worked as a model. She was raised alongside three brothers in a rural environment near Tel Aviv. Starting with baby commercials at eight months old, her professional modeling journey commenced at age twelve when she signed with an Israeli agency. By fifteen, she had joined Irene Marie Models and subsequently Elite Model Management, spending her mid-teens splitting time between Paris and New York for international assignments while finishing her education. Of Ashkenazi Jewish heritage with roots tracing to Lithuania, Poland, and Italy, she has consistently expressed her connection to Israel and pride in her global representation of her nation. During the 2000s, media outlets designated her "Israel's Supermodel" due to her worldwide prominence and featured roles in major publications.

Her ascent to international recognition occurred in the mid-2000s as a world-class model celebrated for her luminous appearance and approachable nature. She graced more than fifty magazine covers, featuring prominently in Sports Illustrated Swimsuit, Vogue editions from Spain and Russia, Harper's Bazaar, Elle, GQ, and Maxim. Her defining moment emerged when she appeared in the 2007 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, photographed in the Grenadines, which led to a cover placement in 2009. She represented prestigious brands including Ralph Lauren, Chanel, Escada, and Passionata, collaborating with Victoria's Secret between 2007 and 2010 in catalog work. She also walked for Pierre Balmain and Israeli fashion designers. Standing five feet nine inches tall with blonde hair and blue eyes, her proportions during her peak years were approximately 34-24-34 inches. Refaeli ranked first on Maxim's Hot 100 list in 2012 and graced the cover of Elle France in 2008. Her continued work includes a Vogue Israel editorial from 2023 and a Yamamay campaign in 2024.

Throughout her career, she worked with Elite Model Management beginning in 2000, along with Storm Model Management and One Management. Her editorial portfolio encompasses major publications including Sports Illustrated, multiple Vogue editions, Harper's Bazaar, Elle, Marie Claire, and Glamour. Photographers Pamela Hanson and Russell James frequently collaborated with her, and her Sports Illustrated contributions were showcased in the magazine's fiftieth-anniversary exhibition in 2014.

With approximately 3.8 million Instagram followers under the handle barrefaeli as of June