Heidi Samuel (née Klum; born June 1, 1973), better known by her birth name Heidi Klum, is a German model, actress, television host, businesswoman, fashion designer, television producer, and occasional singer. She is married to English musician Seal.
Klum was raised in Bergisch Gladbach, a city outside Cologne, by her German parents Günther, a cosmetics-company executive, and Erna, a hairdresser. A friend persuaded her to enroll in a national modeling contest called "Model 92". Out of 25,000 contestants, Klum was voted the winner on April 29, 1992 and offered a modeling contract worth US$300,000 by Thomas Zeumer, CEO of Metropolitan Models New York. As the winner, she appeared on the Gottschalk Late Night Show, a top German television show with host Thomas Gottschalk. She accepted the contract a few months later after graduating from school and decided not to try for an apprentice position at a fashion design school.
Klum has been on the cover of fashion magazines, including Vogue, Elle, and Marie Claire. She became widely known after appearing on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue and for her work with Victoria's Secret as an "Angel". Klum has hosted the 2002, 2006, 2007 and 2009 Victoria's Secret Fashion Shows. On October 1, 2010, the New York Post reported on its page six gossip column that Heidi Klum would be leaving Victoria's Secret. Klum said she's hanging up her wings and will not be walking in the November show.
In addition to working with well known photographers on her Sports Illustrated shoots, she was the object and subject of Joanne Gair body painting works in several editions from 1999 to 2006. She wrote the foreword to Gair's book of body paint work. She was a spokesmodel for McDonald's, Braun, Dannon, H & M, and Liz Claiborne, among others. She is currently a celebrity spokesmodel for Jordache and Volkswagen. In addition to modeling, she has appeared in several TV shows, including Spin City, Sex and the City, Yes, Dear, and How I Met Your Mother. She had a role as an ill-tempered hair model in the movie Blow Dry, played a giantess in the movie Ella Enchanted and was cast as Ursula Andress in The Life and Death of Peter Sellers. She had cameo appearances in The Devil Wears Prada and Perfect Stranger.
Klum's other projects include music and video games. She is featured in the 2004 James Bond video game Everything or Nothing, where she plays the villain Dr. Katya Nadanova. She has appeared in several music videos, including Jamiroquai's video "Love Foolosophy" from their album A Funk Odyssey, Kelis's "Young, Fresh n' New", off her second 2001 album Wanderland and, most recently, the second video for her husband Seal's song "Secret" off his 2010 album Seal 6: Commitment. The latter video depicts the married couple sharing intimate moments while naked in bed; the concept was Klum's idea.
In July 2007, having earned $8 million in the previous 12 months, Klum was named by Forbes as third on the list of the World's 15 Top-Earning Supermodels. In 2008, Forbes estimated her income at $14 million, putting Klum in second place. For 2009, Forbes estimated her income at $16 million. Klum is signed to IMG Models in New York City.
In 2008, Klum was a featured guest on an American Volkswagen commercial, where she was interviewed by a black Beetle. When she commented that German engineering is so sexy, she caused the Beetle to blush and turn red. She has been a part of several commercials for Volkswagen and McDonald's on German television.
In November 2008, Klum appeared in two versions of a Guitar Hero World Tour commercial, where she did a take on a Tom Cruise scene in Risky Business. In both versions, she lip-synced to Bob Seger's "Old Time Rock and Roll" while dancing around the living room with the wireless guitar controller.
In early 2009, Klum ventured into web-based videos, starring in "SPIKED HEEL: Supermodels Battle the Forces of Evil". The web-series starred model Coco Rocha and was directed by fashion documentarian Doug Keeve. In the story, Klum aka 'The Kluminator,' and her stylish sidekick Coco “The Sassy Superhero” Rocha battle the evil Dr. Faux Pas who is plotting to destroy Fashion Week. The heroines employ everything from blow-dryer guns to fist fights, in order to thwart Dr. Faux Pas' dastardly plans. The Kluminator and Girl Wonder avoid a chain of fashion disasters to neutralize a death ray that threatens to vaporize the community of fashionistas gathered in Bryant Park.
In 2010, Klum became the new face and creative advisor for European cosmetics brand Astor, where she sets artistic direction and designs new products and fashion forward color collections.
In October 2010, Klum parted ways with Victoria's Secret after 13 years of working with the brand. She provided a simple explanation in her official statement, stating "All good things have to come to an end. I will always love Victoria and never tell her secret. It’s been an absolute amazing time!"
It was reported on May 2011 that Klum trails far behind Bündchen at No. 2 with estimated earnings of $20 million on forbes' list of the World's Top-Earning Model (2010-2011). Noting that since ending her 13-year run as a Victoria's Secret Angel, Klum has become more of a businesswoman than a model. She's partnered with New Balance and Amazon.com to launch a clothing line and signed a 20-episode deal to host a new show on Lifetime, called Seriously Funny Kids.
Klum married stylist Ric Pipino in 1997; the couple divorced in 2002.
Klum gave birth to her first child, Helene Boshoven "Leni" Klum on May 4, 2004 in New York City. According to Klum, Leni's biological father Flavio Briatore, is not involved in the child's life; she has stated emphatically that "Seal is Leni's father".
In early 2004, while still pregnant, Klum began a relationship with musician Seal Henry Olusegun Olumide Adeola Samuel; he was present for Leni's birth. Klum and Seal married on May 10, 2005, on a beach in Mexico. They have three biological children together: sons Henry Gunther Ademola Dashtu Samuel (born September 12, 2005) and Johan Riley Fyodor Taiwo Samuel (born November 22, 2006), and daughter Lou Sulola Samuel (born October 9, 2009). In December 2009, Seal officially adopted Leni, and her last name was changed to Samuel. Klum and Seal renew their vows to one another each year on their anniversary in front of family and friends.
On hearing her family referred to as a "patchwork family" in a German newspaper, Klum said, "I was, like, Hmm, is this an insult or is this positive? I talked to Seal about it, and we’re, like, it’s actually kind of great—we’re all different shades and we came together and we all love each other. They may call it black and white, but I’m not white, I’m a shade of brown and so is our daughter, Leni. She’s the lightest, then it’s me, then it’s our son, and then it’s Seal. So I think, Hey, it’s actually kind of nice to have a 'patchwork family.'"
In 2008, Klum became a naturalized American citizen, officially taking the oath to become an American citizen in order to cast her vote for then presidential candidate Barack Obama.
On November 21, 2009, she officially adopted the surname of her husband, Seal, and is now legally known as Heidi Samuel.