South African model Candice Swanepoel turned 38 on Tuesday, more than two decades after a scout spotted her at a Durban flea market and set her on a path to becoming one of the best known Victoria’s Secret Angels.
Her story began in Mooi River, a small town in KwaZulu Natal, where she was born and, as a child, danced ballet. She went to boarding school at St. Anne’s Diocesan College in nearby Hilton.
The flea market discovery
In 2003, at 15, she was spotted at a flea market in Durban. Kevin Ellis, the agent who saw her, later said she “reminded me of a flamingo,” with her height, blond hair and long legs.
Her look and height drew attention quickly. She went on to work for Chanel, Givenchy, Dior and Stella McCartney and with photographers including Mario Testino, Steven Meisel and Bruce Weber, according to profiles of her career.
A career of firsts
Victoria’s Secret was the turning point. She first appeared in the brand’s advertising and runway show in 2007, and in 2010 she was named an Angel, one of the brand’s contracted supermodels.
That year she also opened the brand’s first Canadian store, at West Edmonton Mall in Edmonton, on Aug. 12. In 2011, she took the opening slot in the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show.
In 2013, she wore the $10 million Royal Fantasy Bra on the runway and was chosen as cover model of the brand’s swim catalog.
Forbes ranked her eighth on its list of top earning models in 2016.
Her 2011 walk, in a slogan baby tee, red lace lingerie and curled flamingo feather wings, is remembered as one of her best known runway moments.
She has also appeared in campaigns for Tom Ford, Versace, Michael Kors, Ralph Lauren and Nike, according to IMDb’s biography.
IMDb says she appeared in nine Victoria’s Secret fashion shows between 2007 and 2015.
Beyond the runway
Swanepoel returned to the Victoria’s Secret runway when the brand brought back its fashion show in 2024 and again in 2025, and she appears in the brand’s 2026 Elemental campaign with her swimwear label, Tropic of C.
She is a mother of two and runs Tropic of C, the swimwear label she founded, according to published biographies.
The brand stopped holding its annual show after 2018, amid falling ratings and criticism of its image, then revived it in 2024.
Profiles often describe her as a small town girl discovered at a flea market, a story that has become part of her brand.
Her rise also shows how global fashion finds talent: scouts look in markets, malls and schools far from Paris or New York, and one meeting can change a career. Most scouted teenagers never reach that level.
At 38, Swanepoel is still busy working at the very top of her field, more than two decades after a chance meeting in a Durban flea market. The 15 year old who happened to walk past a scout is now one of the most recognizable faces in global fashion.
