Gisele Bündchen Reveals the “Real” Way to Pronounce Her Name in Resurfaced Clip (You've Been Saying It Wrong)
In 2005, the Brazilian supermodel explained how to properly pronounce her first name during an interview with Conan O'Brien
Remy Steiner/Getty
Gisele BundchenAfter decades spent working and living in the United States, Gisele Bündchen has become accustomed to hearing her Portuguese name mispronounced.
The Brazilian star, 43, clarified how her name actually sounds in Portuguese during a 2005 appearance on Late Night with Conan O'Brien.
Bündchen looked back on the earliest years of her modeling career, when she first moved to New York City at just 16 years old. At the time, she was getting by with only a novice-level knowledge of English.
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
She ran into the language barrier in her personal and professional life, especially as she was trying to book gigs as an up-and-coming model under her commonly misread name. In her native tongue, it's pronounced Gisele-y, with a long vowel "e" at the end.
In the United States, she explained to O'Brien during their interview, she quickly noticed how English speakers tended to "eat" the last part of her name.
"I’d be like, 'This is not a difficult name!' " she recalled on the late night show. "So I would just write it down, and they'd be like, 'Gisele.' "
SplashNews
Gisele BundchenRelated: Gisele Bündchen Reveals She 'Almost' Died During an Iceland Photo Shoot Over 20 Years Ago
Eventually, the mom of two resigned to hearing her name pronounced the "American way," as she dubbed it. To O'Brien, she joked, "Call me whatever you feel like!"
While her name may have taken on its own sound away from home, Bündchen remains in touch with her Brazilian roots. This month, the supermodel spoke up about devastating flooding in her home state of Rio Grande do Sul.
On Instagram, she asked her fans and followers to consider donating to the Luz Alliance Fund, an initiative she launched with the Brazil Foundation. The organization provides humanitarian aid to families in Brazil.
Harold Cunningham/Getty
Gisele BundchenHer Instagram Reel depicted photos and footage of the flooding damage in southern Brazil, which Bündchen called "the worst tragedy in its history."
"Heavy rains flooded entire towns in most parts of the state. It's not one or two cities; it's more than 350 cities affected. People are not only losing their houses [and] their jobs. They're losing everything. And there are many still to be rescued. Nobody was ready for such devastation," she explained.
For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!
Read the original article on People.
