After 20 years and an absolutely legendary career, Gisele Bündchen is saying farewell to the catwalk forever.
Gisele is considered one of the most successful and celebrated supermodels of all time; Forbes estimated her 2014 earnings at $47 million, which includes income from modeling contracts and numerous endorsement deals. Rumors of Gisele's retirement have been floating for quite some time now, but on Wednesday, she personally confirmed the news to her fans on Instagram. She announced that Wednesday evening, her appearance at the Colcci show during Sao Paulo Fashion Week would be her last ever fashion show.
"I am grateful that at 14, I was given the opportunity to start this journey," wrote Gisele, who is married to NFL star Tom Brady and has two children, Benjamin, 5, and Vivian, 2. "Today after 20 years in the industry, it is a privilege to be doing my last fashion show by choice and yet still be working in other facets of the business."
In an interview with Folha de Sao Paulo via Yahoo, Gisele said her body told her it was time to stop.
"Automatically my body tells me if what I do is worth it, and it asked to stop. I respect my body, it's a privilege to be able to stop runway work," she said.
Fans can look forward to the fact that Gisele isn't walking way from fashion altogether. She's just leaving the runway to focus on more projects she has planned for the future. "I don't see how to continue (runway modeling)," Gisele said. "Stopping will leave room for other projects I have for myself."
On her last day on the catwalk, her spirits seemed high; she even posted a behind-the-scenes pic for fans:
As she took her last few struts, her fellow runway models applauded her.
And with that, Gisele said goodbye to runway modeling.
Update: Bundchen's husband, Tom Brady, shared a beautiful message of support on his Facebook page. Read it below.
