What These Victoria's Secret Models Look Like Today
Victoria's Secret models are some of the biggest names in the fashion world — and for a good reason. The brand is huge. If you've seen the inside of a mall, you've seen a Victoria's Secret store. And although you might not know the name of every item they sell, you most definitely know the names of the models who have turned the company into a lingerie brand juggernaut. In 2001, Victoria's Secret took its act to prime time with the first televised Victoria's Secret Fashion Show.
However, in 2018, the televised fashion show suffered the worst ratings in its broadcast history with a measly 3.27 million viewers, according to USA Today. While that might be bad for the brand, Victoria's Secret models have become household names themselves, and are just as recognizable as their angel wings. Let's take a look at what some of these famous models looked like at the beginning of their Victoria's Secret careers, as well as what they look like (and what they're up to) today.
Adriana Lima
A Victoria's Secret model since 1995, Brazilian beauty Adriana Lima is the lingerie retailer's longest-running model and de facto face of the brand. Appearing on countless magazine covers and runways, Lima has been a spokesmodel for Maybelline since 2003. And she's been such an effective ambassador for other brands, she even appeared in two commercials during the same Super Bowl. The mother of two earned $10.5 million in 2016, nabbing the No. 2 spot in Forbes' list of the world's highest paid models.
After 20 years with the lingerie brand, the Brazilian bombshell announced on Nov. 8, 2018, that she was hanging up her wings. "Dear Victoria, Thank you for showing me the world, sharing your secrets, and most importantly not just giving me wings but teaching me to fly," she wrote on Instagram. "[Love] to the best fans in the [world]! Love, Adriana."
It didn't take Lima long to find a new gig. Lima was appointed the global ambassador for Brazilian-based shoe brand Schutz in May 2018 and hosted the grand opening of their new flagship boutique in Miami's Aventura Mall less than a week after announcing her retirement.
Candice Swanepoel
Discovered at 15 while shopping in a South African flea market, Candice Swanepoel graced her first Victoria's Secret catalog in 2007 before officially becoming an Angel in 2010. Quickly becoming one of their most popular models, Swanepoel was chosen to unveil the $10 million Royal Fantasy Bra in 2013, and a year later, nabbed the coveted cover of the Victoria's Secret Swim Issue for the fourth year in a row.
On the Forbes list of highest-earning models since 2010, the blonde bombshell and proud mama is also a philanthropist. She advocates for Mother2Mother, a South African charity organization that "trains and employs HIV-positive mothers to work alongside doctors and nurses, empowering them to bring help and hope to other mothers," according to ELLE.
Swanepoel skipped the 2017 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show due to pregnancy, but she returned in 2018 a mere five months after welcoming her second child, Ariel Nicoli. Five months? Is she an Angel or an X-Man? Impressive.
Karlie Kloss
Karlie Kloss was already one of the top models in the world before making her Victoria's Secret Fashion Show debut in 2011. Dominating New York Fashion Week in 2008 at the age of 16, Kloss instantly became a runway staple and muse to multiple designers. She retired her wings in 2014.
When she's not busy starring in a Taylor Swift music video or serving as the face of L'Oreal Paris, Kloss can be found pursuing her true love: computer programming. In 2015, she launched Kode with Klossy, a charity organization that "empowers girls to learn to code and become leaders in tech."
In Oct. 18, 2018, Kloss married venture capitalist Joshua Kushner (yes, Ivanka Trump is her sister-in-law). "I love being married," she told reporters at 2019 Winter Television Critics Association (via People). "Honestly, I just feel really happy. It's so nice to just have a home base. I can't explain. Nothing has really changed, but in all the best ways, it feels different. I love it."
Lily Aldridge
The daughter of an artist and a Playboy Playmate, Lily Aldridge started her modeling career at the age of 16 before donning Victoria's Secret wings in 2010. Not relegated to lingerie, Aldridge made her Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue debut by gracing the cover in 2014 for its 50th Anniversary. You know, no big deal. Maybe in an attempt to wash away the memory of being in Limp Bizkit's "Break Stuff" video, Aldridge married Kings of Leon frontman Caleb Followill in 2011 and welcomed a daughter the following year.
On Jan. 29, 2019, Aldridge and Followill welcomed their second child, Winston Roy Followill (per E! News). Pregnancy didn't stop this hot mama from working, however. She posed for Vogue while pregnant, and even walked the runway for Brandon Maxwell during New York Fashion Week. "So proud to walk the @brandonmaxwell runway pregnant!" she wrote on Instagram. "I've walked a few runways in my life and this is a moment that I'll look back on forever with great emotion."
Heidi Klum
If you're ever at Trivia Night and they ask who is the only Victoria's Secret model with 23 Emmy nominations (and one win), you'll be glad you read this post. Heidi "The Body" Klum is a household name. Appearing on countless magazine covers, as well as movies and TV shows (as herself, of course), Klum, who literally boasts million dollar legs, is firmly cemented into the zeitgeist. Although her 13-year run with Victoria's Secret ended in 2010, she stayed plenty busy as a mom and businesswoman. Among Klum's numerous film and TV credits are a judging stint on America's Got Talent and an executive producer title for the hit series Project Runway.
Klum has been one of the most gorgeous women on the planet for so long even Drake wasn't immune to her charms. In a 2018 interview on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, the beauty said the "In My Feelings" rapper reached out for a date, but she ignored his texts. "Someone who I know knows [Drake] and I guess he asked to have my number, and then he texted me," Klum explained (via USA Today). "I was like, 'Oh, my gosh. This is so weird!' But I never texted him back, because I found the love of my life." The love of her life is now her current fiancé, Tokio Hotel guitarist Tom Kaulitz. "Sorry, Drake," Klum went on to say. "You snooze, you lose. He was basically like a week too late."
Miranda Kerr
Miranda Kerr became the first Australian to don the "Angel" wings in 2007 (although her Victoria's Secret Fashion Show debut was one year earlier), and her name remained front and center for years, fueled in part by her high-profile marriage and divorce to actor Orlando Bloom, with whom she has one son. Kerr retired her Angel wings in 2013 and has since settled down and started a family with Snapchat creator Evan Spiegel. We can't help but wonder how many Snap filters were her idea.
The couple welcomed their first child (Kerr's second), Hart Kerr Spiegel, in May 2018, and the Aussie beauty isn't too concerned about lingerie. In a Nov. 2018 interview with Marie Claire Australia, Kerr said she's happy and totally fine with her "mum-bod," and noted that women shouldn't feel pressure to "snap back into shape" immediately after giving birth. "I don't mind. It's all part of it. I took nine months — well, 10 months — to grow a beautiful child and it might take 10 months to feel good in a swimsuit again. Or longer. Or never!" she explained.
Tyra Banks
Not only was she the first black woman to appear in the Victoria's Secret Catalog (per Biography), but Tyra Banks also holds the same distinction for the covers of GQ and the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. In other words: Banks was already a household name in the '90s before she became a Victoria's Secret Angel in 1997. She appeared on the classic Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, 1995's Higher Learning, and the 2000 cult-classic, Coyote Ugly.
By the time Banks hung up her wings in 2005, she had already created the fashion reality TV hit, America's Next Top Model. She launched The Tyra Banks Show, which won two Emmys; wrote Modelland, a novel that made it on the The New York Times' Best Sellers list; hosted America's Got Talent; and became a mom to son York, who "was born via surrogate," according to The Sun. It's clear that Banks can do it all.
Ever the entrepreneur, Banks announced in Feb. 2019 that her next business savvy nature would be an amusement park called Modelland. Per Variety, the 21,000 sq. ft space is slated "to open in late 2019" in Santa Monica. "I've always been insanely inspired by attractions like Disneyland and Universal Studios and have wanted to bring that spirit of adventure and storytelling to the world of modeling," Banks revealed. "But not the exclusive modeling industry. I'm talking about modeling for the masses."
Doutzen Kroes
Described as the "Helen of Troy of advertising" and "the face of a generation," Dutch powerhouse Doutzen Kroes has been one of the world's highest-paid models since the day she stepped on the scene in 2003. From her debut as a Victoria's Secret Angel in 2008 to her departure in 2015, Kroes is a force to be reckoned with as a working mom. If there were any model who could inhabit the mythical Themyscira as an Amazon warrior in the 2017 blockbuster Wonder Woman, it would be Kroes. Oh, wait. She did!
In a June 2017 interview with Glamour, Kroes said she was "a fan of Wonder Woman growing up," so a chance to appear in the film was a no-brainer. But Kroes wasn't just a pretty face in the superhero flick – she performed her own stunts. "I was able to do my own riding, and had several weeks of combat and weapons training for the scenes on the beach," she said. "I've always ridden horses, but learning to handle a sword at a full gallop was pretty intense. But I loved every minute of it!"
Rosie Huntington-Whiteley
According to the Daily Mail, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley's "big break" in modeling came via Teen Vogue in 2004. From there, it didn't take long for her to make her debut as a Victoria's Secret Angel in 2009. The exposure launched her career to new levels, and in 2011, the British star shifted her focus to acting and replaced Megan Fox in Transformers: Dark of the Moon. She followed that up with a part in the critical and box-office smash, Mad Max: Fury Road. In 2017, she welcomed her first child, Jack, with actor Jason Statham.
In Jan. 2019, Huntington-Whiteley signed up to use her powers and influence for good. Over "concerns that social media stars are not properly declaring when they have been paid, or otherwise rewarded, to endorse goods or services," Britain's Competition and Markets Authority called for social media transparency (via The Hollywood Reporter). Huntington-Whiteley and 16 other celebrities immediately pledged "to disclose clearly if they have been paid or received any gifts or loans of products they endorse on social media."
Alessandra Ambrosio
It seems one of Brazil's greatest exports is supermodels. Alessandra Ambrosio was a Victoria's Secret Angel for a staggering 17 years from 2000 to 2017. A regular on "Highest-Paid Models" lists, Ambrosio's name has become synonymous with the lingerie brand. In 2014, the mom of two launched her own fashion and lifestyle brand, Alé by Alessandra, and In 2016, she was NBC's food and culture correspondent for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, along with fellow Angel Adriana Lima.
Not content to be only a pretty face, Ambrosio serves as an ambassador for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (her father suffered from MS). The Brazilian bombshell also made the transition into acting. In 2016, she appeared as herself in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows, and in 2017's Daddy's Home 2, she played a doctor. Wait, a supermodel playing a doctor? Duh.
"I do not think that there's such a perception, [it] is an old myth. I know so many women [who are] extremely intelligent and powerful, trying to stand out for the rights of other women, so that judgment seems very old-fashioned," she told HOLA! USA. "For me [it] remains a myth that beautiful women are not intelligent."
Gisele Bundchen
On the 2016 Forbes' World's Highest-Paid Models list, Gisele Bundchen's $30.5 million was so far above the rest that she beat runner-up Adriana Lima by nearly $20 million. That's pretty much all you need to know about the Brazilian beauty who was once dubbed the last remaining supermodel. If you were born in the '90s, there is a 100 percent chance you've seen a fashion magazine or an ad campaign featuring Bundchen. You could almost say she was slumming it as one of Victoria's Secret models between 1999 and 2007.
In 2009, Bundchen married another legend — New England Patriots quarterback and future Hall of Famer Tom Brady. (By the way, she gets very heated when her husband loses.) Bundchen is nothing less than a global brand and cultural icon. All bow down.
According to Brady, his success is partly due to Bundchen being superstitious. "I've learned a lot from my wife over the years," Brady said at a Boston charity event in Feb. 2019 (via WCVB5). "She's about the power of intention, believing that things are really going to happen." Along with a "little altar" he can take with him wherever he goes, Bundchen makes him wear a necklace with healing and protection stones. "I stopped questioning her a long time ago. I just shut up and listen," Brady said. The six-time Super Bowl champion should win another MVP for that alone.