Brooklyn Decker

Early life

Decker was born in Kettering, Ohio, the daughter of Tessa (née Moore), a nurse, and Stephen Decker, a pacemaker salesman. She has one brother, Jordan, who is three years younger. She and her family moved to Middletown, Ohio, then to Matthews, North Carolina, a suburb of Charlotte.

She was discovered in a Charlotte shopping mall as a teenager. Decker began her modeling career as the face of Mauri Simone, a popular prom dress maker. She won the 2003 Model of the Year award at the Connections Model and Talent Convention. In a January 2011 interview with Self magazine, Decker stated that she suffered from an eating disorder and states, "My father did an intervention and got me to stop obsessing about everyone else and wrecking my body."

Career

Decker has been featured in pictorials in Teen Vogue, Cosmopolitan, FHM, and Glamour, and has modeled for The Gap, Intimissimi and Victoria's Secret. She has appeared in music videos for Jimmy Buffett and the band 3 Doors Down. She is also an avid North Carolina Tar Heels basketball and Carolina Panthers fan.

In 2005, within two months of moving to New York City, Decker auditioned for the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition, in which she first appeared in 2006. She was again featured in the 2007 edition, and hosted the 2007 behind-the-scenes television special. She returned for a third consecutive time in 2008. Decker was chosen cover girl for the 2010 edition, shot on location in the Maldives islands. In 2007, she had a recurring feature on the CNN/SI website called "She Says, Z Says," along with Paul Zimmerman, discussing NFL football games of the week. Decker appeared in the 2007 made-for-television Lipshitz Saves the World. She worked for a period in Australia. She joined the cast of Sports New York to discuss the 2010 NCAA basketball tournament. In 2008, Decker rang the New York Stock Exchange bell with other Sports Illustrated models.

Decker made a guest appearance on NBC's Chuck, where she played a model applying to be a "Buy More Girl." She made a guest appearance on USA Network's Royal Pains on July 30, 2009. Decker played swimsuit model Rachel, while Peter Jacobson played Alan, her nebbish husband.

On February 8, 2010, David Letterman announced on Late Show with David Letterman that Decker had been chosen as the 2010 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit covermodel. Calling her selection "the news of a lifetime," Decker admitted that her mother cried when she heard her daughter would grace the cover.

Decker served as a guest judge in the 5th cycle from Germany's Next Topmodel. She was reportedly considered for the lead female role in Transformers: Dark of the Moon. Decker won Esquire magazine's 2010 "Sexiest Woman Alive" bracket challenge.

MTV Networks' NextMovie.com named her one of the 'Breakout Stars to Watch for in 2011'.

In 2011, Decker was cast as the female lead, Samantha Shane, daughter of a naval officer who works as a physical therapist, in the film Battleship, which was based on the board game of the same name. The role allowed her to spend some time with the Wounded Warriors Project. She also traveled to medical hospitals in Pearl Harbor and San Antonio and worked with troops who came back injured from overseas. She was also part of the ensemble cast of the comedy What to Expect When You're Expecting (2012), based on the book of the same name. She played the wife of Dennis Quaid's character.

She was named one of the "100 Hottest Women of All-Time" by Men's Health.

Personal life

Decker began dating U.S. tennis player Andy Roddick in 2007 and became engaged in March 2008. The couple wed on April 17, 2009, and now live in Roddick's home town of Austin, Texas. Decker gave birth to their son Hank in September 2015.