Tom Brady shared that his dog, Junie, is a clone of his late dog, Lua, a pitbull mix, who died in 2023.
The retired quarterback said in a statement obtained by People that Colossal Biosciences, a biotech company which Brady is an investor in, cloned Lua — the dog he shared with his ex-wife Gisele Bündchen and their children — using a blood sample collected prior to her death.
“I love my animals. They mean the world to me and my family,” Brady, 48, said. “A few years ago, I worked with Colossal and leveraged their non-invasive cloning technology through a simple blood draw of our family’s elderly dog before she passed.”
Bündchen and Brady, who divorced in 2022 after 13 years of marriage — adopted Lua during their marriage.
The Brazilian supermodel, 45, first announced Lua’s death in an Instagram post in December 2023, including photos of their family pet with the exes’ children Benjamin, 15, and Vivian, 12.
Brady has an 18-year-old son, Jack, from his previous marriage with actress Bridget Moynahan.
“[Colossal Biosciences] gave my family a second chance with a clone of our beloved dog,” Brady said, adding that he is “excited how Colossal and Viagen’s tech together can help both families losing their beloved pets while helping to save endangered species.”
Brady and Lua starred in commercial for UGG Australia for the men’s fall collection in 2014.
“Our little Lulu, our guardian angel is gone to heaven,” Bündchen wrote, including pictures of her kids with Lua, following the pet’s death. “She will forever live in our hearts. We already miss her sooooo much! #unconditionallove RIPLua 💔.”
Brady also shared an image of his kids with Lua and wrote at the time, “We love you Lua, RIP.”
It was announced Tuesday that Colossal Biosciences, which is based in Dallas, acquired Viagen Pets and Equine, the global leader and expert in animal cloning.
Viagen notably cloned Barbra Streisand’s dog Samantha, who died in 2017, and Paris Hilton’s dog, Diamond Baby, into two puppies after going missing in 2022, according to People.
Bündchen welcomed a baby boy with her boyfriend Joaquim Valente, in February.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
