Who is Bar Refaeli, the model who keeps hitting the headlines for all the wrong reasons?

Shes hit the headlines in recent days after being accused of tax evasion in her native Israel, but who is Bar Refaeli?

Well, you probably recognise her name; she was catapulted into public consciousness in 2005 when she started a relationship with serial modelizer Leonardo DiCaprio.They remained a couple until 2009, briefly reconciled in 2011, then split for good.The relationship undeniably boosted her profile and she soon became Israels most famous model export, appearing on the cover of Sports Illustrated and countless other titles.

She was born in Hod HaSharon to parents Rafi and Tzipi, a successful model throughout the Seventies whom Bar looks remarkably similar to.She started modelling at eight months old, taking a break form the ages of 12 to 15 because of braces.

This latest brush with controversy isnt her first.She was heavily criticised for evading army service in Israel by marrying a family friend so that she could instead pursue her modelling career.If she had not married she would have had to serve two years of full service in line with Israelis conscription laws.She was brazenly unapologetic about the situation, telling GQ:"I really wanted to serve in the IDF [Israel Defence Forces], but I don"t regret not enlisting, because it paid off big time.That"s just the way it is, celebrities have other needs.I hope my case has influenced the army."

She wed billionaire Israeli businessman Adi Ezra in September this year, and once again found herself in the headlines.For the occasion, the couple had requested that the airspace above their wedding venue, the Carmel Forest spa resort hotel near Haifa, be closed to air aircraft except those they had hired for guests and photography purposes – specificallyfive drones, two helicopters and a hot air balloon.The civil aviation authority initially agreed, but the countrys transport minister made them withdraw the agreement, saying:“The skies belong to the public at large, and exclusivity should not be granted for commercial reasons to relevant organisations.”

She wore a custom-made Chloédress for the occasion.

In 2013 Bar was named Israels highest-paid model, and currently sits at number 18 on models.coms list of the most-followed models on social media with almost 6 million followers across Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

While shes made most of her rumoured $20 million fortune from modelling, shes also invested in several start-ups, including MyCheck, an app that allows customers to pay from their phones.To boot, shes the presenter of Israeli The X Factor, helping it pull in huge viewer ratings.