Who was Gisele Bündchen’s mother?

Few people embody ‘supermodel’ status quite like Gisele Bündchen. Since 2001, the Brazilian star has been among the highest-paid models in the world, and is perhaps best known for her work as a Victoria’s Secret Angel and high-profile marriage to former football quarterback, Tom Brady. 

With this high celebrity status, attention has been drawn to Bündchen’s family life, especially following news that her mother, Vânia Nonnenmacher, passed away at the age of 75 on January 28. Nonnenmacher had reportedly been enduring a tough battle with cancer, and was admitted to a hospital in Porto Alegre days before her death. 

So, who exactly was Gisele Bündchen’s mother?

Who was Gisele Bündchen’s mother?

Born in Brazil in 1950, Vânia Nonnenmacher was the mother of Gisele Bündchen, who is one of six daughters Nonnenmacher shared with her husband, Valdir Bündchen. Alongside Gisele’s twin sister, Patricia, Nonnenmacher had four other children named Rafaela, Graziela, Gabriela and Raquel. 

Nonnenmacher raised her children in the southern Brazilian town of Horizontina. She worked for some time as a bank teller at Banco do Brasil, while Valdir pursued a career in real estate before later becoming a sociologist. According to Vanity Fair, Nonnenmacher raised her family in the hard-working middle class of Brazil and was herself raised in a Roman Catholic family. 

Nonnenmacher married Valdir in the 1970s, and the pair remained together until her passing in 2024. Valdir’s father, Walter Bündchen, previously served as the mayor of the Bündchen family’s hometown of Horizontina. Nonnenmacher encouraged both Gisele and her twin sister Patricia to pursue a career in modelling, though Gisele initially wanted to be a professional volleyball player. 

Nonnenmacher enrolled Gisele and Patricia in a modelling course in 1993. When the course ended, the twin sisters went to Rio de Janeiro, where Gisele was discovered in a shopping mall by Elite Model Management, kickstarting her modelling career at just 13 years old. 

Nonnenmacher was a much-loved member of the Bündchen family, with Gisele regularly sharing updates about her mother’s health and strength. In May of 2023, Gisele described Nonnenmacher as a “wonder woman” and “warrior” in an Instagram post, and later shared a Bündchen family reunion image of Nonnenmacher and Valdir surrounded by their six daughters in Brazil. 

At the time, Gisele wrote that her parents were “always in my heart and prayers.” In September 2023, Gisele opened up about the challenges of caring for Nonnenmacher, saying her mother’s health was “very tough” on the entire Bündchen family. It’s not known exactly when Nonnenmacher was diagnosed with cancer, but it appears she had endured the battle for at least six months. 

Nonnenmacher is survived by her six daughters and husband, as well as her grandchildren Benjamin and Vivian, who Gisele shares with Brady.