Sylvie van der Vaart in new bikini ads

Sylvie Françoise van der Vaart (born in 1978) is a Dutch television personality and model, and wife of footballer Rafael van der Vaart.

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Aged 18, she decided that she wanted to be a model and was cast for various shoots by casting agencies. After becoming interested in television, she gained popularity through assignments at FoxKids and music station TMF.

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After being elected the Netherlands' Sexiest Female in 2003, she started a relationship with then-AFC Ajax footballer Rafael van der Vaart. 

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They soon become the Netherlands' most famous "football couple".

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Their fame grew after their marriage on 10 June 2005 and live coverage of the wedding on SBS6, a Dutch television channel, with the broadcast gaining high ratings in the Netherlands; Sylvie took Rafael's last name, van der Vaart.

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On 16 June 2009, she announced that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer, and had undergone surgery in May 2009

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She has finished post-op chemotherapy and is cancer free. In the summer of 2009, Real Madrid wanted to sell Rafael van der Vaart, but the player decided to stay in Madrid because Sylvie was undergoing cancer treatments there

All photos: Splash/All Over Press