Israelicious
Bar Refaeli made history this month, becoming the first Israeli model to be featured in the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue.
Born in Hod HaSharon, the 21-year-old beauty started doing commercials in Israel when she was eight months old. At 10, she wanted to be a skydiver; then she gave up modeling for the three years that she had braces. Lucky for S.I. readers, though, at 15 she jumped back into the game and has been climbing the pinup ladder ever since
In an interview with the magazine, Refaeli said that the Hebrew song “My Friend” about the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin makes her cry, and revealed that what attracts her to a man is “a sense of humor, kindness, the way he laughs.” (Don’t get your hopes up: She’s been dating actor Leonardo DiCaprio for months.) Refaeli said she was very proud of her groundbreaking fashion feat.
“It’s always a huge honor to be the first to do something,” she told the magazine. “People always remember the first person to do something.”
Especially if all she’s wearing is a little shmatte.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
