People | October 08, 2015 02:50 PM EDT
45 Facts About The Gorgeous Candice Swanepoel - #1 in 2014’s ‘Hot 100’
Candice Swanepoel is a South African model, famous for her work with Victoria's Secret. Within a very sport span of time, she managed to become one of the top 10 earning models in the fashion industry. Here are 45 facts about the stylish model -
- She ranked #1 in the Maxim's list of "Hot 100" in the year 2014.
- She is the first South-African model to walk the runway in the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show.
- Candice Susan Swanepoel was born on 20 October 1988 in a village of Mooi River, Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa.
- Her parents father Willem Swanepoel and mother Eileen Swanepoel, an aerobics teacher are of Dutch descent. Her brother Stephen Swanepoel is a professional golfer.
- She was raised in a dairy and beef farm, and calls herself a natural girl.
- She believes the career of modeling is "an incredible blessing for someone with such a sheltered upbringing."
- She did her schooling in an all-girls boarding St. Anne’s College. She once said that what she had in childhood was so perfect that she couldn’t find the right words to describe it.
- Her mom gave her the nickname of "Moosie," at her young age, and even now calls her by the name.
- It is reported that her mother even calls her by the name of Lucie.
- Swanepoel has a pet Jack Russell terrier, Luna and according to her, the best thing to do after a hard day at work is to cuddle up with Luna.
- She recently welcomed three more puppies to her family - Milo, Bolt and Baby.
- Actresses Minka McConaughey and Mila McConaughey are her cousins.
- She grew up learning ballet and was convinced that she would become a professional ballet dancer. She even wanted to go to a ballet school in New York.
- During her childhood, she never thought she would be a model, as she feels she was very skinny and braces.
- At the age of 15, she caught the eyes of Kevin Ellise, model scout in a Durban flea market. It was reportedly a long time before the agency was convinced in signing her.
- Within a period of a year, she had more major designers signing her on more and more modeling contracts, from all over the Europe.
- Her first magazine cover was the Italian edition for Vogue, when she was just 16. Later, she graced the covers of other Vogue editions including Australian, Brazilian, Mexican, Greek, Spanish, Portuguese and Japanese.
- Her first ramp walk was Ready to Wear – Spring / Summer 2006 fashion show for Tommy Hilfiger, and Dolce & Gabbana.
- She moved to New York, after 2 years of modeling in Paris, Milan, London and South Africa, where she was discovered by Victoria's Secret.
- Before she signed for the Victoria’s Secret, she was considering quitting modeling career and go back to South Africa.
- Swanepoel's parents have been very encouraging when it comes to her modeling career, especially her mother. "If I was ever homesick and wanted to come home, my mum was strong and said I should stick it out," she once said.
- In the year 2005, she started dating the Brazilian male model, Hermann Nicoli, whom she met in Paris, in a campaign in which they both were modeling.
- She has walked the runway for Tommy Hilfiger, Dolce and Gabbana, Michael Kors, Donna Karan, Giambattista Valli, Jason Wu, Prabal Gurung, Rag & Bone, Oscar de la Renta, and many other brands.
- Swanepoel has been appearing in the commercials of Victoria’s Secret since the year 2007.
- She was among the featured models in the 2010 “SWIM” catalog, and officially became a Victoria’s Secret Angel.
- She was the one to open the first Victoria’s Secret retail shop in Canada, at West Edmonton Mall, Edmonton on August 12, 2010.
- She ranked #10 in the Forbes list of “The World’s Top-Earning Models, with estimated earnings of $3 million for the year 2010-2011.
- She was voted at #20 in the list of Ask Men Top 99 “Most Desirable Women” in the year 2011.
- Unlike the other models, who follow a strict diet plan, Swanepoel claims that she eats whatever she wants. “Food-wise, I’m very, very lucky that I can eat whatever I want. For me, I’ve always had a healthy lifestyle. If I eat something that’s not fresh, I feel it immediately, so I crave good food. I crave meat. I grew up on a dairy and beef farm, so I crave that. I don’t cut anything out, and I just work out more,” she once said.
- She believes boxing to be the best full-body workout for her to burn excess calories. “Boxing has always worked really well for me as a full-body workout. I like something that’s fast; you really feel like you’re getting the energy up,” she said once in an interview.
- However, she also often does Yoga to relax herself in her busy schedule.
- Besides, the model is also a fan of the excitement that the sport of Skateboarding provides, as it is one of her hobbies and interests.
- In the year 2013, she wore the “Royal Fantasy Bra” in the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, which costs around 10 million.
- The said bra is the most expensive, since the "Sexy Splendor Fantasy Bra" that was worn by another famous Victoria’s Secret Angels model Gisele Bundchen in 2005.
- The bra along with its matching belt had over 4200 precious gems set in 18 karat gold. The bra was designed with diamonds, yellow sapphires and a 52-carat ruby at the center.
- The same year, she was named the cover model of the coveted Victoria's Secret Swim Catalogue.
- On the side of controversy, Swanepoel drew the ire of the internet by adding a picture of a woman with a cat between her legs, to her “pics i love” board on Pinterest, which was not acceptable by everyone.
- Blogger Sarah Taylor wrote about the post “Hey, how’s this for a horror of horrific photos? On behalf of the cat, I say, “YOU SUCK.””
- Victoria's Secret Angel Behati Prinsloo, an African model and British model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley are close friends with Swanepoel.
- It is said that she and model Miranda Kerr once disliked each other. However, they are good friends now.
- She has designed denims for the Mother2Mother, a charity aimed at achieving an "HIV-free generation" of children and mothers in Africa.
- In August 2015, Swanepoel and Nicoli announced their engagement. The duo now lives together in New York City.
- It is said that Nicoli calls her by the nickname “pequeno gato” which means “little cat” in Portuguese. However, the models are known to keep their relationship private.
- The couple has been together for nearly 10 years, and it is reported that they spend their downtime in Brazil. Swanepoel also owns a house in Brazil.
- She is known for her support to wild life animals, and she even voiced her opinion about hunting animals during the killing of Cecil the lion by Walter Palmer the American dentist. She took it to her Instagram calling Palmer “disgusting.” Swanepoel wrote “How dare you Walter Palmer? Seeing these animals alive in their natural habitats, is such a blessing, you have to be so sick to want to kill such a majestic creature of God.”
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