For Bar Refaeli and modeling, it was love at first sight. Born June 4, 1985, in Hod HaSharon, Israel, Bar landed her first job—a commercial—before she was even 8 months old, and continued to work on various TV and print ads until she was 12. In the name of perfect teeth, braces forced a three-year hiatus from modeling, but the moment they were off, Bar was begging her mom to let her model again. Soon a local agency signed her, and in both 2000 and 2001 she won the Model of the Year award at an Israeli beauty contest.

After meeting Leonardo DiCaprio in late 2005 they soon began dating, and the stars fully aligned for Bar soon after: She became the spokesperson for Moët & Chandon, and landed the covers of French Elle, Italian GQ, and British Maxim in February, March, and May 2006, respectively. Bar earned the No. 45 spot on Maxim's Hot 100 List in 2007. And the following year, a coveted spot in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition upped the ante for the blue-eyed beauty, as she became the first Israeli ever to appear in the magazine. Getting back to her television roots, Bar hosted Tommy Hilfiger's show for Bravo, Ironic Iconic America, based on the book by George Lois. The show sent Bar on a pop-culture tour of the U.S., giving her a whole new perspective on her adopted home.

Bar's ascent continued in 2008, as she became the face of True Religion Jeans and Hurley. In 2009, she reached what many consider the pinnacle of commercial modeling success: the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition. She folllowed her cover moment with a hosting role as during the relaunch of MTV's House of Style. Previously hosted by Cindy Crawford, Rebecca Romijn, and Molly Sims, Bar steps into mighty impressive company.