Who Is Gisele Bündchen's Twin Sister? All About Patricia Bündchen

From her life outside of the spotlight to her tight knit relationship with the supermodel, here’s everything to know about Gisele Bündchen’s twin sister

Gisele Bündchen’s “other half” shies away from the spotlight — but has been instrumental in the supermodel’s life and career.

The mom of two has a twin sister, Patricia Bündchen, whom she has often referred to as her “best friend.” Patricia, who goes by Pati, has long served as Gisele’s manager. The twins are part of an expansive family of women, with four other sisters: Graziela, Gabriela, Raquel and Rafaela.

With the exception of Graziela, who works as a judge, all of Gisele’s sisters have worked alongside her at some point, with Gabriela as her lawyer, Raquel as her accountant, and Rafaela as her website designer, according to Vanity Fair. The entire brood is exceptionally close.

Related: The Most Adorable Photos of Gisele Bündchen and Her Twin Sister, Patricia

"My family is everything to me and my sisters are my best friends even if sometimes we disagree," Gisele told PEOPLE. "Family is what gives us our foundation, they are our greatest teachers, and they help us become who we are."

When it comes to her twin, the pair share a particularly intimate bond. “We're very close; as you know, we're twins!" Gisele explained. "I know she's got my back like I got hers," Gisele added, explaining that she and Pati always have each other’s best interest at heart. "We trust each other and we always want the best for one another and that is priceless."

So who is Patricia Bündchen? From growing up alongside Gisele in rural Brazil to her modeling career and charity work, here’s everything to know about Gisele Bündchen’s twin sister.

She was born in Brazil

Patricia Bündchen was born on July 20, 1980, in Horizontina, a municipality in in Rio Grande do Sul, in southern Brazil. “There were no buses, no subway — there’s not even a traffic light in my village,“ Gisele recounted to Vanity Fair in 2009 about their hometown, which is predominantly populated by Brazilians who immigrated from Germany.

Pati and Gisele are fraternal twins and the middle sisters in their family of eight. They were raised Catholic by their parents, both of whom are of German descent: their mom Vânia, worked as a bank cashier, while their dad, Valdir, held jobs in construction and taught self-awareness courses.

The sisters grew up in a relatively small household, which had two bedrooms and two bathrooms for the whole family, Gisele told Vanity Fair. “We weren’t considered poor, we were considered middle-class,” she said, adding that their dad often traveled for work. “My mother was, like, the one who was more concerned about how to bring home the bacon; she worked and devoted herself to us.”

Pati continues to reside in Brazil, where she lives with her husband and two children.

She’s also a model

While Gisele has achieved legendary status as one of the highest paid supermodels in history, she’s not the only one in her family to have graced the cover of magazines — she and Pati were previously featured on the cover of Harper’s Bazaar together for an issue dedicated to families. The duo first attended modeling classes in the early ‘90s with their younger sister Gabriela, at the suggestion of their mom.

“[Our mom] had to work, so we went to a modeling course — me and my twin and one of our sisters, Gabby, who’s like the second twin because we’re one year apart. We were the Three Musketeers, and we did everything together,” she explained, adding that they also participated in ballet and gymnastics together.

When Gisele went on to be scouted at a mall in Sao Paulo during a family trip, the recognition came as a shock to her, as she’d always seen her sister as the more popular one. “It was the first time in my life that someone thought I looked pretty,” she explained.

“I wasn’t so popular; my twin sister was definitely more popular than I was,” she said, going on to gush about Pati. “She has a great personality—everyone liked her.” Meanwhile, Gisele was “very athletic” and “such a tomboy,” and found that the “ ‘in’ people weren’t so much into me, but I didn’t care,” she said, explaining that her family provided her a strong support system. “My sisters were my best friends, always.”

She admires her sister’s “bravery” and “professionalism”

In a rare 2009 interview with Vanity Fair, Pati opened up about what is was like growing up alongside the future famous model. “Unlike me, Gisele was very talkative, and she wasn’t afraid to be away from home for some time even when she was little,” she told the outlet. “She was very brave, and she was always trying to protect her sisters — something like, ‘Don’t mess with my sisters or you’ll have to deal with me!’ ”

She added that Gisele’s strong backbone has helped her to thrive in the cutthroat modeling industry. “Her willpower made her successful,” she said. “She has never let the critics put her down, and this has never changed. She has the most amazing body, but what has really made her successful is her personality, her way of doing things, her professionalism.”

She and Gisele have had their ups and downs over the years

While the twins are exceptionally close, they’ve navigated small tiffs throughout their lifetime, as all siblings do. Gisele opened up about one of their more memorable arguments in her 2018 memoir,  Lessons: My Path to a Meaningful Life, recounting a phone call in which she got frustrated with Pati and soon regretted it.

Related: Gisele Bündchen Shares Sweet Childhood Photos with Twin Sister Pati for Birthday: 'My Best Friend'

“I kept thinking what an idiot I was. I love all my sisters. Why had I been so mean?” she said of the instance, which she didn’t elaborate on the specifics of. “My justification — But Pati was mean to me first! She started it! — suddenly seemed lame,” she wrote. “There were so many other, better ways I could have dealt with the situation, like saying, ‘I’m sorry you feel that way about me’, or ‘Why don’t we speak again tomorrow?’ I didn’t need to slam my sister, but I had, and I spent the next day or two incredibly upset.”

She manages her sister’s career

Pati has worked as her sister’s manager for over a decade, acting as her spokesperson and overseeing her business ventures in Brazil and beyond. Back in 2007, the pair made headlines when Patricia advocated for Gisele to be paid in euros rather than dollars, as the currency was stronger.

“Contracts starting now are more attractive in euros because we don't know what will happen to the dollar,” she told Bloomberg at the time, according to Marie Claire. The move came when Gisele landed a major campaign with Pantene.

In the years since, Pati has continued to support her sister’s business, most recently helping to organize the 2023 Luz Alliance Fund Gala in Miami alongside her.

She’s married and has two children

Patricia tied the knot with Rodrigo Pereira in March 2010 in Porto Alegre, a city on the coast of her native southern Brazil. Gisele flew in for the big day, bringing along then 3-month-old son Benjamin, whom she helped raise alongside ex-husband Tom Brady and his ex, Benjamin’s mother, Bridget Moynahan. She acted as maid of honor for her sister’s seaside nuptials.

In the years since, Pati and Rodrigo have welcomed two children together, whom they keep out of the public eye.

Pati joined Gisele for a rare red carpet Gala appearance

A longtime philanthropist, Gisele hosted her very first Gala on May 20, 2023, in her new homebase of Miami. The Luz Alliance Fund Gala raised close to $1 million dedicated to restoration causes and environmental projects in Brazil — a staggering amount that Gisele told PEOPLE she couldn’t have achieved without her twin’s help.

Related: Gisele Bündchen Makes Rare Red Carpet Appearance with Twin Sister Patricia: 'She's Got My Back Like I Got Hers'

"This was my first Gala and [I] couldn't have done it without my sister Pati who worked diligently with the Brazil Foundation to organize this special evening," Gisele shared, going on to praise her sister for her role in pulling the event together. "It was very special to have her here tonight. She worked so hard to organize this event as she does every day."

The night marked a rare public appearance for Pati, who joined her sister on the red carpet to pose for photos. “It was an incredible experience," Gisele said of the event.

The twins remain incredibly close

Gisele has often shared heartfelt tributes to her sister on social media, marking their shared birthday with throwback photos of the pair and sweet messages to her sister.

"Happy birthday to my other half!” she wrote in 2019 alongside a photo of them posing cheek-to-cheek, noting that while they weren’t in the same place to celebrate, they are “always connected at heart," she wrote. "I miss you so much. I wish you all the love and happiness in the world! I love you!"

She marked their 40th birthday the following year with another slideshow of throwback photos, showing the sisters hiking together and dressed up as young girls. "Today Pati and I get to celebrate four decades of being alive on this amazing planet!" she wrote. "How lucky I was to be born with my twin and best friend!"

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