Gisele Bundchen has donated 1.5 million dollars to the Haiti earthquake relief effort, reports said Friday as the army of celebrities offering support to the Caribbean nation swelled its ranks.
People magazine quoted a source close to Bundchen -- the highest paid model in the world with annual earnings of around 35 million dollars -- as saying she was "so moved, she knew what she had to do to help."
Bundchen, 29, who is married to American football star Tom Brady, wrote a check for 1.5 million dollars on Thursday to the Red Cross Haitian relief fund, People reported.
News of Bundchen's donation came as pop icon Madonna pledged 250,000 dollars to Partners in Health, which provides health services in the impoverished Caribbean island nation.
"My prayers are with the people of Haiti. I can't imagine the terrible pain and suffering they are experiencing," Madonna said in a statement.
"Sadly the depths of the tragedy are just becoming known and the need for our support grows more urgent with every passing moment," she added.
"I urge all of my friends and fans around the world to join me collectively to match my contribution or give in any way you can. We must act now."
On Thursday, Hollywood star George Clooney confirmed he plans to host a televised fundraiser on January 22 involving a bevy of stars.
News of Clooney's fundraising efforts came as power couple Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie donated one million dollars to Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF/Doctors Without Borders) for the organization's operations in Haiti.
"It is incredibly horrible to see a catastrophe of this size hit a people who have been suffering from extreme poverty, violence and unrest for so many decades," Jolie said in a statement.
One of MSF's emergency care centers collapsed in the devastating earthquake, and two others were severely damaged and unusable.
"We understand the first response is critical to serve the immediate needs of countless people who are now displaced from their homes, are suffering trauma and most require urgent care," Pitt said.
Pitt and Jolie are among the most generous philanthropists in Hollywood. They donated two million dollars in 2008 to help children affected by AIDS and tuberculosis in Ethiopia.
The couple also reportedly donated to a humanitarian cause 11 million dollars received for exclusive photos of their twin children born in 2008.
Copyright 2010  AFP Global Edition
