Raising the Bar

It should come as no surprise that the flawless Bar Refaeli was born in the Holy Lands of Israel being as she has the curves and body of a sultry goddess.

She is most known in the United States for her on and off long-term relationship with Hollywood A-lister Leonardo DiCaprio, but Bar is quite the talented gem herself.
Born and raised in Hod Hasharon, Israel, she was destined to be a model from the very beginning. Her mother, who was also a successful model in the 70s under the name Tzipi Levine, had Bar appearing in television commercials and modeling before her very first birthday. She continued a steady modeling career until she turned 12 and had to go on a three year hiatus while she had braces. She got her braces off when she was 15 and was back modeling within a week. Bar was named Israel’s Model of the Year in both 2000 and 2001.
Good things continued happening for the Israeli beauty until the year of 2003 when she endured a rather large scandal. In Israel it is required by law for women to serve military duties from the ages of 18-20 unless you are disabled, religious, or married. Without the first two reasons working in her favor, Bar chose to give marriage a try and wed a friend of her parents. After being officially released from military duties, she filed for divorce and decided to embark on the adventures of international modeling. Her killer combination of feminine girl next door charm, piercing baby blues, and iconic curves have made her a force to be reckoned with in the modeling world.
Her unique look and magnetic charisma have landed her all sorts of achievements from being the first ever Israeli model to be featured in Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition (alongside rock legends, Aerosmith), the covers of Elle France, Maxim, GQ Italy, and the girlfriend of one of Hollywood’s most sought-after actors.

Since her return to modeling Bar’s elevator of success has continued to be on the rise. She has been named the face of surf brand Hurley, Diddy’s cologne “I am King”, the spokesperson for fashion brand Luisa Cerano, Brazilian line Besni, and Italian line Marco Bicego, a photograph of her in a bikini appears larger than life on the side of a boeing 737 South West Airlines plane, she hosted 2008’s Bravo Special for “Tommy Hilfiger Presents Ironic Iconic America” as well as 2009’s brief return of MTV’s “House of Style”, and will star in 2010’s psychological thriller “Session”.

The nickname “Hot Barz” has landed her #20 on askmen.com’s annual “Top 99″ list as well as #40 on Maxim’s 2007 “Hot 100″. She also recently appeared on 2009’s cover for Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition. You may have also seen Bar in ads for Ralph Lauren, Victoria’s Secret, YamamaY, Milki or Castro.

When not victoriously working the fashion scene, you can find Bar surfing, riding horses, volunteering forProject Sunshine, a non-profit organization that offers free services to children with life threatening illnesses or Ahava, another non-profit organization that was put together for abandoned pets in Northern Israel. If she’s not at any of those places, she most likely can be found on the arm of Leonardo DiCaprio.

In March of 2007 the couple flew to Israel together and got the opportunity to meet the country’s president. That same year issues arose when her marriage scandal reemerged. Israel threatened to boycott fashion chain Fox if they hired Refaeli. However, both sides reached a compromise when Bar agreed to visit injured Israeli soldiers and encourage enlistment each time she visits the country.

With an already established modeling career and a film career on the rise there is no doubt that the Israeli born ravishing Bar Refaeli has large amounts of success coming her way in the future, hopefully scandal-free.