Supermodel's Manager: She Didn't Diss Dollar

AP Gisele Bundchen

Contrary to earlier reports, supermodel Gisele Bundchen has NOT asked to be paid in euros instead of dollars, her manager told CNBC.

The manager, Anne Nelson, said stories about Bundchen requesting to be paid in euros are completely fabricated, adding that "some idiot in Brazil" reported something just to make news.

Gisele, who lives in New York, needs dollars for a New York City lifestyle, not euros, Nelson said.

The report, which originated with a Bloomberg writer in Brazil according to Nelson, stated that Gisele isn't happy with the recent sharp decline in the greenback.

According to the report, her 27-year-old twin sister Patricia said Gisele prefers the euro, which hits record highs against the dollar nearly every day.

"Contracts starting now are more attractive in euros because we don't know what will happen to the dollar," Patricia Bundchen told Bloomberg in a telephone interview in September.

When Gisele Bundchen signed a contract in August to represent Pantene hair products for Procter & Gamble , she asked to be paid in euros, Brazil's biggest weekly magazine Veja reported.

Veja also said the supermodel will be paid in euros for a deal with Dolce & Gabbana in Milan to promote its new fragrance, The One.

According to Forbes, Gisele Bundchen, who earned $33 million in the year through June, earns more than anyone in the modeling industry.

Based on the Bloomberg report, news outlets, including CNBC, reported that the supermodel was adding her name to a growing list of rich people who are dumping the falling greenback for the safety of other currencies, notably billionaire investors Warren Buffett and PIMCO Managing Director Bill Gross.

The dollar plunged to new lows versus major currencies last week after the Federal Reserve cut the interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point to alleviate fears of a recession because of the credit turmoil that has gripped the markets since August.

© 2008 CNBC.com