Bar Refaeli

Bar Refaeli (Hebrew: בר רפאלי‎, born June 4, 1985) is an Israeli model and occasional actress, most known for her modeling work and for her relationship with American actor Leonardo DiCaprio. She is the cover model of the 2009 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.



Bar Refaeli was born in 1985 to a Israeli Jewish family in Hod HaSharon, Israel. Her parents, Rafael and Tzipi, own a horse ranch. Her mother was a successful Israeli model in the 1970s, under her maiden name Tzipi Levine. Refaeli has three brothers. She began a modeling career at the age of eight months, appearing in commercials. She had to wear braces in her early years, postponing her modeling. At age 15, Refaeli returned to modeling with the representation of Irene Marie Models.



Refaeli appeared in ELLE (France), Maxim, and GQ (Italy). She debuted in the 2007 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, becoming the first Israeli model to appear in the magazine. In the issue, she posed with rock band Aerosmith.



She has been the spokesperson for fashion brand Luisa Cerano. She has modeled for Subaru, Accessorize, Brazilian clothing line, Besni, Italian jewelry line Marco Bicego, and Rampage.



In 2008, Refaeli became the face of clothing line Hurley, and the Diddy cologne, "I Am King."




On February 9, 2009, it was announced that Refaeli is the 2009 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue cover model. A photo from the shoot, featuring a bikini-clad Refaeli, was also painted on the side of a Boeing 737 in a promotional deal with Southwest Airlines, leading many passengers to criticize Southwest for using an image they regarded as inappropriately sexual and "offensive to families".



She is signed to Storm Model Management in London, and 1/One Management in New York City.