Top 10 Interesting Facts about Bar Refaeli

Israeli model, actress, and television host Bar Refaeli at the 2011 Cinema Against AIDS. Photo by Nadja Amireh. Wikimedia Commons.

Top 10 Interesting Facts about Bar Refaeli

Bar Refaeli is an Israeli actress, model, television host, and entrepreneur. She has also participated in activities like the reduction of the use of plastic bags in Israel and championing gays. She featured in the Israeli TV series Pick Up in 2005.

She has also co-hosted the Bravo special program Tommy Hilfiger Presents Ironic Iconic America in 2008. She is one of the most successful models and is highly paid for her appearances in magazines. She also hosted the famous X Factor in Israel.

Refeli was born on the 4^th of June 1985, Tuesday, in Hod HaSharon to Jewish parents. Her Jewish grandparents were originally from Italy, Poland, and Lithuania. They traveled and settled in Israel later on. Let us now look at the Top 10 Interesting Facts about Bar Rafaeli.

1. Her mother was a model in the 1970s

Presenters (Assi Azar, Bar Refaeli, Lucy Ayoub, Erez Tal) at the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest (Tel Aviv, Israel) Grand Final Dress Rehearsal
Photo by Martin Fjellanger, Eurovision Norway, EuroVisionary. Wikimedia Commons.

Bar Refaeli was born to a secular Jewish family in Hod HaSharon in Israel. While her both parents were born in Israel, her grandparents emigrated from Europe. They were of Sephardic Jewish and Ashkenazi Jewish descent. Her father, Rafi Rafa was a stable owner. Her mother was a successful Israeli model in the 1970s. She modeled under her maiden name, Tzipi Levine. Rafaeli’s mother worked as her agent even as recently as 5 years ago. She is a big supporter of Bar Rafaeli’s modeling career.

2. Refaeli began modeling at the age of 8 months

Bar Refaeli appeared in commercials at 8 months. She advertised products at such a tender age. She officially began modeling 15 years after her braces had been taken off. While she was represented by Irene Marie Models at this age, Bar Rafaeli appeared on ad campaigns for fashion brands like Castro and Pilpel. She is also in a commercial for Milky. She won the title ‘Model of the Year’ in 2000 in an Israeli beauty contest.

3. She once had a relationship with Leonard DiCaprio

Bar Refaeli at Paris Fashion Week Autumn/Winter 2019. Photo by Myles Kalus Anak Jihem. Wikimedia Commons.

Shortly after her divorce from Arik Weinstein, Refaeli began a relationship with Leonard DiCaprio in November 2005. The two met at a party for members of U2 in Las Vegas. Their relationship ended in June 2009. A few months later in 2010, they got back together. The relationship ended completely in 2011. Leonard DiCaprio is a famous American actor.

4. She was sentenced to 9 months of community service for tax evasion

Bar Israeli and her mother was sentenced and convicted after evading taxes in Israel. They failed to pay taxes after earning 7.2 million dollars in income between 2009 and 2012. Rafaeli was given a community service sentence while the mother was given prison time. They also had to pay a fine of 1.5 million dollars. Rafaeli argued that during the period, she lived with her then-boyfriend, Leonardo DiCaprio hence her failure to disclose her taxes in Israeli.

5. She married to avoid mandatory military service

Bar Refaeli allegedly married a family acquaintance to avoid being drafted into the army. Since Refaeli wished to advance her career and did not want to waste time, she undertook this maneuver. She was married to Arik Weinstein and the marriage lasted between 2003 and 2005. Under Israeli law, married women do not have to serve the compulsory two years in the Israel Defence Forces.

6. She is a watch collector

Refaeli adores watches and has kept a collection of them. Her first watch was a Nike watch which she dreamt and hoped to own as a child. At 10 years old, her father bought it for her. Right now, her collection consists of Rolex, Piaget, and Hublot luxury timepieces. She became the first female ambassador of Hublot in 2015.  Hublot is a Swiss luxury watch brand whose ambassadors before were celebrities like Usain Bolt, Dwayne Wade, and Jay Z. All being men until 2015.

7. She supports activism and charity

Bar Refaeli during the prizegiving of Giro d’Italia 2018. Photo by StateofIsrael. Wikimedia Commons.

Bar Refaeli is a lover of the environment. She has taken part in campaigns to reduce plastic bags in Israel. She led a campaign on behalf of the Israel Water Authority to educate citizens on the use and conservation of water. In June 2013, Rafaeli hosted a beach party for members of the gay pride parade in Tel Aviv. She also came out to strongly support the legislation of civil marriages in Israel in a proposed Knesset bill.

8. She has a net worth of 30 million dollars

The 2013 Forbes List ranked Bar Refaeli as the highest-paid model in Israel. She was 270,000 dollars per season as the host of X-Factor Israel in 2013. In 2016, she earned 3,000,000 million dollars by selling her share (5%) of the Carolina Lemke sunglasses chain, a subsidiary of the Hodis Group to Castro. She works for many high-paying brands like GQ, Elle, and Maxim. She also gets income from acting in TV shows and modeling.

9. She is the second Israeli model to appear in Sports Illustrated magazine

Bar Refaeli. Photo by
CHRISTOPHER MACSURAK. Wikimedia Commons.

The first Israeli model in the Sports Illustrated magazine was Michaela Bercu. Bar Refeli appeared in the magazine in 2007. She wore the rock band Aerosmith in the Swimsuit Issue. She was the cover model for the magazine in the 2009 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. The shoot for this issue took place on Canouan Island in the Grenadines. She has also modeled for many other brands like Victoria’s Secret, Ralph Lauren, and Chanel among many others.

10. Her photo in a bikini was painted on an airplane

Southwest Airlines painted Bar Refaeli in a bikini on the side of its Boeing 737. The plane took the route between New York and Las Vegas. While this was a huge success for Rafaeli, several people complained. Customers complained that the photo disregarded the family unit since this was adult content. Some even referred to it as soft pornography. The ad became controversial since Kyla Ebbert was once forced to cover up before flying since she was dressed ‘inappropriately’.