Heidi Klum was born in Bergisch Gladbach, a small city near Cologne, Germany, in 1973. Her career as a top fashion model and swimsuit star began almost by accident when, on a lark, she submitted photos to a model competition hosted by Petra, a young woman's magazine. Klum won the competition, and signed with Metropolitan, the German modeling agency. After modeling in Europe for a few years to great success, she went to the United States to pursue modeling there, and met with more success, culminating in her relationship with Victoria's Secret. This brought her to the pinnacle of modeling and, in 1998, the coveted cover of Sports Illustrated's annual Swimsuit Issue, cementing her status as one of the world's top models. Along with that came lucrative marketing opportunities, including her own signature lines of sandals, jewelry, and perfume.

Like many other models, most notably Famke Janssen, Klum then sought to parlay her fame into a career in Hollywood. She has appeared frequently on TV in the US and in Germany, and has had several small parts in movies, including a cameo playing Swiss bombshell Ursula Andress in the Peter Sellers biopic The Life and Death of Peter Sellers. Klum is married to British singer Seal and, as of June 2005, was expecting a child with him -- she has a daughter, Leni, with a boyfriend from a previous relationship. While she is best known for her beauty and perfect figure (one of her nicknames being "The Body"), the tall and willowy Klum remains surprisingly down-to-earth for a supermodel - a middle-class Westphalian girl from a small city - and has an endearingly goofy, engaging sense of humor. She is famously close to her father, Gunther.


Last name pronounced "Kloom." Spokesmodel of Victoria's Secret. Children: (with Italian Formula 1 MD Flavio Briatore) Leni Klum (b. May 5, 2004 at 3:21 am in New York & weighed 8 lb. 1 oz.); (Seal) Henry Günther Ademola Dashtu Samuel (b. September 12, 2005 in Los Angeles, California at 8.9 lb & 21 inches), Johan Riley Fyodor Taiwo Samuel (b. November 22, 2006 at 8 lb 11 oz in Los Angeles, California) and Lou Sulola Samuel (b. October 9, 2009 at 7:46 pm in Los Angeles, California). She has insured her legs for two million dollars. Wedding dress was designed by Vera Wang Has designed collections for Mouawad jewelry and Birkenstock shoes. Has her own line of beauty products. Named #25 in FHM's "100 Sexiest Women in the World 2005" special supplement. (2005) Dedicated a sculpture she painted called "Dog With Butterflies" to commemorate the role of rescue dogs in the aftermath of 9/11. Named #41 in FHM magazine's "100 Sexiest Women in the World 2006" supplement. (2006). Released her first single "Wonderland," written for a series of television advertisements of retailer Douglas, and reached #13 on the German singles chart (November 2006). Has designed a less expensive line of jewelry for QVC, the Heidi Klum Jewelry Collection. The line is similar to her collection of fine jewelry for Mouawad, both of which feature her signature clover design. In 2007, Forbes Magazine estimated her earnings for the year at $8 million. In 2008, she earned $3,800,000 as a model/spokesperson for Victoria's Secret. Sister-in-law of Tanya Samuel. On Friday, November 20, 2009, she legally changed her name to Heidi Samuel. Samuel is the surname of her husband, Seal.