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The simple fact that many of us love to hate on Gisele Bundchen is easily evidenced by the responses to this recent post, in which the very effusive supermodel just doesn’t seem to realize when she’s leaking not-so-subtle airs of condescension towards the unwashed masses (including her own sisters). Quite simply, the woman has a chronic case of verbal diarrhea and could easily use a few lessons in diplomacy.
I do agree that Gisele doesn’t come off well in print interviews; and certainly, she must be least slightly insufferable in person at times. So when I first heard about Gisele’s surprise visit to children suffering from cancer, my first thought was, “What the hell are these poor kids going to do with modelling lessons?” Yet the story itself turns out to be genuinely sweet and rather moving as well:
She’s known for striding down some of the world’s most famous catwalks, so it was an altogether different kind show for supermodel Gisele Bundchen when she surprised a group of young cancer patients this weekend.
The Brazilian beauty, 31, met the girls – all patients at the Jimmy Fund Clinic at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute – at a Boston salon, where, after a pampering session, she taught them how to strut like a model.
The world-famous fashion figure, ranked 60th in Forbes’ list of Most Powerful Women, was so moved by the experience that she left in tears.
As part of a special Girls’ Weekend Out, the 29 youngsters were treated to hair styling, make-up, manicures and pedicures at Salon Pini & Co. Little did they know they were about to meet the “model of the millennium.”
WEEI show host, John Dennis, helped organise the model’s unexpected appearance through the Gisele’s husband, New England Patriots star, Tom Brady.
Mr Dennis told the Boston Herald about the surprise: “I asked them to turn down the music, and said ‘Can I have your attention, because we’re not done yet. You all look beautiful. This looks like a room of supermodels. I think the only way we could raise the level of supermodel-dom in this room is to bring out the world’s most famous supermodel.’”
Her effect on the patients was special, he said: “I’ve spent some time with the kids from the Jimmy Fund, and the one thing you notice is that there’s a deep and abiding sadness in their eyes. And even today, it was there still. But when she came in, it went away.”
Patient Hannah Baiona, 15, described meeting the Boston-based star. “We all started clapping and everyone was excited… She individually met with us all and gave us each a rose, and gave us each a hug, and we got to take pictures with her. She was mostly saying hi to everyone, being like “It’s nice to meet you! You look so pretty. You look so good!’”
The high school sophomore, who is in remission from Hodgkin’s lymphoma, told the Herald: “We made a fake little catwalk in the salon, and we each walked down it. Then there were three girls that were in wheelchairs, and she strolled them down the catwalk. Another girl and I didn’t want to walk alone, so she waked arm-in-arm with us.”
The supermodel was so moved by meeting the patients that she left the salon in streams of tears.
Mr Dennis said: “Her face was turned away from the kids and she started crying uncontrollably. The tears were streaming down her face. She was emotionally drained. She said ‘I love all of you,’ and got in the elevator before they could see her face. It was unbelievable.”
[From Daily Mail]
If you so desire some pictorial evidence of this event, a few rather blurry Facebook photos are available here, and here is some video footage of Gisele pushing the wheelchairs of these kids down an imaginary runway:
Now here’s the obvious question — did Gisele make this visit out of sheer selflessness, or was she simply trying to improve her public image? At this point, the reason behind her actions really doesn’t matter because she reportedly did grow overwhelmed with emotion, and she definitely did make these kids feel important for the day.
So while Gisele will probably go back to acting like her blissfully pompous self once again in short order, she did a good thing here. Model behavior, if you will.
Photos courtesy of WENN
Written by Bedhead
Posted in Cancer, Gisele Bundchen, Good deeds
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42 Responses to “Gisele Bundchen gives modelling lessons to young cancer patients”
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my first thought: why a modelling lesson could help these girls? But after I realized that and when you’re that ill you needs to laugh. So this time she did it right.
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Regardless of the motivation, I think this is really great. I don’t like her, but I bet she made a lot of kids (and families) very happy.
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Ugh, this bitch.
But I have no reason to hate her even further after reading this.
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This woman’s face is nothing special.
Her body and hair make up for that though.
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i think to spend time with kids(ill or not) is always great
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Oh Jeez. Let the sh*t storm begin.
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If these children’s day was brightened from the pain and sadness they endure and got to play supermodel with a real supermodel, I have nothing bad to say. I am sure it was a fun time for them and lifted their spirits.
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Hey, she made some kids happy and that’s all that matters to them. I still don’t get her appeal though – hair and legs aside, she has no waist, no boobs, no bum. And the ego…
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Good for her, whatever her motivation. She brought some happiness and lightheartedness to a group of sick girls; can’t hate on her this time. That’s something those kids will never forget.
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I think its great that she made those young women feel pampered for the day. They are battling something life threatening at such a young age. Who wouldnt walk away emotional from seeing that?
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What a wonderful thing to do on the part of Salon Pini & Co, The Jimmy Fund, WEEI and Gisele.
It’s hardly uncommon in the Boston area to see Gisele, along with husband Tom, giving of themselves to those in need.
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I can’t hate on her for doing something nice for sick people (or anyone). My husband showed me that article in the Boston paper yesterday and I was moved to read it. I don’t usually care for a lot of her rather obnoxious comments, but she did good here.
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I was reading the article and they wrote that she and her husband are stars and not a model and football player. I think of the episode of Entorage when Ari told Vince that he thought he was a star and not an actor. Is it at a certain point in careers where you are just cashing checks and staying in the press and not being the best in their chosen profession, is that the definition of a star. It just something that I think about. Anything to put smiles on kids faces is all right with me, good job Gisele.
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I can’t look at pictures of her without feeling sick with envy! Her body is INSANE!
As for her visiting the ‘runway show’ put on by sick children – RIGHT ON. That is truly awesome. You know those kids didn’t expect it, and it made their day. If she can bring brightness to suffering children, I see no reason to diss her actions or motivations.
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Even a blind pig finds a truffle now and then.
Good for her.
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Why would she need to improve her public image? Last I checked she wasn’t going to jail, doing drugs, getting DUIs…let’s get some perspective here. She makes dumb comments, that’s about it.
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@Talie, well said!
That was a wonderful thing for Gisele, Salon Prini & Co and John Dennis to do for those girls. It was a selfless act and should be applauded.
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The thing is with her, she doesn’t really need the public to love her. It’s not like the k-dashes who need America to gobel up products/tv/etc. I’m from Boston, and Tom and Gisele visit soup kitchens/food pantries a lot ( at least 5-6 times a year that I know about) and its never usually reported on outside of the Boston globe.
You know how sometimes European men seem feminime or flashy, but they are straight its just a different culture. American women, we always have to be self depreciating. Even when I was young doing sports, guys my age could say “did you see that goal i scored today, it was sick.” girls would say “oh no i only scored cuz of the whole team, or ohh i played so bad today” Like the mean girl scene where they look in the mirror and complain about a feature.
I’m not saying Giselle is an angel, but I do think she gets critized more than she should. Everyone who meets her seems to love her, and I put more stock in that then in snippets of an interview.
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Good for her. She did something selfless that obviously took a lot out of her. Yet again, as they say, the gift is in the giving. I think she is a decent person – just comes across badly in interviews.
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The NFL puts a huge emphasis on charity work. Gisele is lucky she met Tom, and has since been exposed to the rewards of giving back.
This story is very sweet. All little girls deserve to feel pretty, especially those who have suffered so.
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I volunteered in the wig salon of our hospital. although I spend a lot of time with women in their 30s, 40s and 50s, every once in a while there would be a 16 year old in my chair. their biggest worry is how their hair (or non existent hair) is going to look for prom. this kind of experience is exactly what those girls needed.
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“did Gisele make this visit out of sheer selflessness, or was she simply trying to improve her public image? At this point, the reason behind her actions really doesn’t matter because she reportedly did grow overwhelmed with emotion, and she definitely did make these kids feel important for the day.”
Agreed. yes, (I’m going there) as with Jolie, the motivation shouldn’t matter. I don’t like Giz and I agree she says a lot of stupid things, but I don’t care why she was there. she did something good and that’s what matters.
And I REALLY enjoyed seeing her hubs get sacked (and get beaten!) on Sunday…
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I can’t say I’m a “fan” of hers but this is a lovely thing to do regardless of who it is. For her to take the time to pamper the kids and make them laugh is a great thing. Cancer sucks.
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I honestly don’t know what to think of the pampering session itself.
What she did was good and she was touched by it and that’s all that matters. She made others happy and maybe she learnt something from it. Can’t shit on that even though it doesn’t make me like her.
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Aw that’s nice. I had acute lymphoblastic leukemia as a child and if I were one of those kids, it would have made my day.
I have no really interest in fashion or getting modeling tips nor do I care for models in general, but knowing that someone took the time to talk to me would brighten my day. I’m sure they felt the same way as well.
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You mean the Brady’s did an act of charity beyond Sunday’s game? HA!
Seriously though, as long as the kids got love and attention, even my cynical self can appreciate the effort.
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@26: The Giants earned that win. The Pats defense is just about the most atrocious I’ve seen.
On another note, this is a great thing Gisele did. I still stand by the fact that she’s the Brazilian Goop, but I can’t imagine anybody crapping on this regardless of her intentions.
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Every (or at least most) young girls at some stage dream of being models.
And everyone deserves to feel pretty.
What a treat for these kids! Good for her for bringing some light to these young lives.
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My take: she is no Leann Rimes. She cares about the environment and apparently kids. I think she even gives some profits from her beauty line to environmental causes. Some of the stuff she says absolutely should infuriate me and sometimes does, but somehow I just find her too blunt, too honest and clueless about how she comes across. Ultimately, I think her heart is good.
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It’s always refreshing to see a celebrity who never portrays themselves to be ‘bigger than life’, and even more refreshing to see a habitually ‘bigger than life’ celebrity suddenly reminded that they aren’t. Not a fan of hers, either, but she deserves kudos for giving these young girls a memorable afternoon. The fact she was sincerely moved by the experience is a bonus.
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Better she gives them runway advice than relationship advice.
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This is awesome! I like Gisele, so I’m happy that the patients got to have such a great time with her.
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What a nice thing to do for those girls who are obviously going through the toughest time of their young lives, for a few hours Giselle gave them something to smile about, can’t hate her for that.
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Cor (18) – good point. I think some things get lost in cultural/ESL translation. Gisele does nice things for charity and she’s always described as professional. Compare her attitude/behavior to some of the 90s Supermodels and she comes out ahead.
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I recall back during the sh*t storm when Gisele was keeping Tom away from his newborn for the first year of Jack’s life. They showed up unannounced at a soup kitchen to serve the homeless for Thanksgiving with a camera crew in tow. The obvious implication was “look we’re not really pieces of crap”. Gisele certainly made sure there were cameras present at this event too. Couldn’t she have quietly given the girls new wardrobes from her various clothing and shoe lines? Couldn’t she have set the kids up in a luxury box at Gillette to watch the game? But that wouldn’t garnered the same attention as her crocodile tears did. This *itch is more phony than Courtney Stodden!
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Thanks for the sob fest. This is really touching. I remember seeing Gisele being interviewed years ago, before she became so famous, and she seemed really sweet then. It’s hard to reconcile her present day Goopiness with that initial impression.
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@Dana – Giselle didn’t keep Tom away from his 1st son. Tom & his ex broke up before they knew she was pregnant. Visitation with an infant is hard to arrange when the parents are not on loving terms. It grew easier as the baby got older. Tom & Giselle spent a lot of time with him when he a little older.
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…blah…blah everything most of these celebs do is for their own image not the children…Call be a cynic or a bitter former personal assistant who didn’t make it in Hollyweird like I thought. Most of this is for PR. But if it made one child with cancer feel happy and forget at that moment their current situation, it wasn’t for nothing
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Taxi
I disagree with that b/c Tom didn’t even bother to show up for the kid’s birth and he had the Kraft family jet at his disposal. The coach gave him to time off obstensibly to attend the delivery, but he opted to stay on the east coast with Gisele. Now let me be clear I think Bridget set a pregnancy trap for Tom when she realized he was double dipping with Gisele.
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How wonderful. There are so many real ways to help these children, but a modeling lesson doesn’t cost Gisele a dime. How generous.
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Alan you’re so right. I was surprised that the Krafts didn’t participate since their matriarch succumbed to the same vicious disease.
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Fuck what you heard, the bitch is bad and if I looked liked that and worked my ass off to be the biggest supermodel in the world, you best believe everyone could kiss my ass. Of course, I’m biased because I heart Gisele the way Lainey heart Gwyneth. She can do no wrong in my eyes.
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