Candice Swanepoel isn't your average supermodel. In fact, she's full of surprises. While most
fans might be familiar with seeing Candice rock the Victoria's Secret fashion show, these
days, the South African-born beauty is a devoted mom and influencer with an eye on the future.
Here's what you don't know about Candice Swanepoel.
Despite her clear talent for rocking a runway look, Swanepoel's first love wasn't modeling
at all.
"I wanted to be a ballet dancer. Or a mermaid."
She told Entertainment Tonight in 2014,
"I was a ballerina in South Africa before I went to [a] general girls boarding school.
That was what I actually wanted to do. I wanted to go to ballet school in New York."
Swanepoel also gushed about her love of dance in an interview with Marie Claire, explaining
that her training and passion for movement had directly impacted her modeling career.
She explained,
"[Ballet] has helped a lot with modeling because I think about all parts of my body, from my
fingers to my toes."
After being discovered in her native South Africa, Swanepoel took a major leap of faith
and traveled to Europe as a teen to try and build her career. But along with the move
came a serious bout of homesickness. She revealed to Self in 2015,
"Every day, I was working with different people who were speaking different languages, so
I was never able to form any relationships. I just wanted to go home."
Pouring more salt in the wound, industry insiders kept telling her to lose more and more weight.
At age 17, barely two years into pursuing her career, she began to seriously consider
giving up on her high fashion dreams. She said, quote, "I was [always] crying." But
this beauty toughed it out and went on to find massive success.
You might think someone who has walked in hundreds of fashion shows and posed for countless
photo shoots wouldn't be the least bit phased by the thought of strutting down a runway.
But in this case, you'd be wrong. As Swanepoel revealed in an interview with Her Campus,
the butterflies never really go away. Not completely, at least. She said,
"The runway, I don't know what's wrong with me, I get more nervous every year!"
"I always say I get goosebumps when I walk out."
"She gets Angel-bumps."
"Angel-bumps."
When she was asked if she gets more nervous on set at a photo shoot or during a fashion
show, she explained,
"The fashion show, because it's live, because there's a massive audience, because millions
of people see it — it is just crazy."
The popularity of coconut oil has exploded over the years and its long list of health
and beauty benefits have solidified it as a holy grail product for its legions of fans.
And, as it turns out, Swanepoel has been on the coconut oil train for years. Speaking
with Vogue in 2015, the supermodel revealed just how she incorporates it into her day,
sharing,
"I use organic coconut oil to take my makeup off, I also add it to my smoothies to keep
my skin glowing. It's a great all round natural beauty product. The main thing my mom taught
me was that you can never be too young to start taking care of your skin!"
In 2014, Swanepoel landed the top spot on Maxim's Hot 100 list, snagging the enviable
honor of being the planet's most beautiful woman. Just one year earlier, she came in
at Number 63, which just goes to show just how quickly her brand had skyrocketed. Swanepoel's
fame had grown so quickly, in fact, that she couldn't quite believe the news herself. She
admitted to Entertainment Tonight,
"My agent gave me the call and I was, at first, a little bit wary. I was like, 'Who rigged
that? Who decided that? Is this a practical joke?'"
"I'm extremely flattered that so many people voted for me."
So, who exactly was the other beauty that Swanepoel thought should have taken home the
winning title? Referencing the woman who came in at number two that year, she said,
"I was really surprised that Scarlett Johansson was not number one."
When Swanepoel graced the cover of 10 Magazine's Sensuality Issue in 2015, she opened up about
— you guessed it — her intimate side, but also about her favorite place on earth.
As a supermodel, Swanepoel has had the chance to travel across the globe, but picking just
one favorite spot wasn't as tough as it might seem. The star, who is also fluent in Portuguese,
shared with the outlet,
"In New York, we base people on what they do, how much money they have. No one knows
anything about the fashion industry in Brazil. They don't care what you do. They just want
the beach and the sun and the fun. I feel the freest and the happiest there. There,
I can just be the normal Candice."
Swanepoel and model Hermann Nicoli welcomed a son together in 2016. In addition to literally
making all of their fans swoon by sharing plenty of Instagram snaps of their bundle
of joy, Swanepoel delighted followers by giving her little guy a unique name. The couple decided
to pay tribute to Hermann's Brazilian roots and Swanepoel's love of the country by choosing
a unique moniker based on a Brazilian slang word for "bird," Anacã.
"Wow you have dinosaurs on your pajamas? Show Mommy."
She then welcomed her second son, Ariel, in 2018. And, according to Instagram, the family
just seems to be getting more beautiful by the minute.
Swanepoel makes it a point to let her fans know how blessed she feels to be able to model
for a living. She has frequently shared her gratitude in interviews, even once telling
Vogue,
"I feel very lucky to be able to work with people from all over the world, everyone has
their story and their journey and we're all there to have fun and create art in our own
way."
On her ASK FM page, she said that working in the industry has opened up her view of
the world, sharing,
"[Modeling is] an incredible blessing for someone with such a sheltered upbringing."
So, what does a supermodel and busy mama do when she needs to unwind and de-stress? She
told Fox News magazine in 2016,
"My secret indulgence is sleep and massages."
"I wish I could stay in my pajamas all day long."
No doubt those simple luxuries aren't all that easy to come by as Swanepoel continues
to juggle motherhood with constant work. But according to this particular celebrity parent,
it appears that sometimes the best treats in life are the simplest ones.
"Haaaaaaaaa…"
[Laughter]
Victoria's Secret isn't just any modeling job; it's the modeling job. The brand's iconic
fashion show routinely drew in millions of viewers worldwide. But while some of us were
excited about the newest million-dollar fantasy bra, everybody wanted to know how the models
got in such great shape. And, spoiler alert: it's not easy. And as Swanepoel sees it, being
an Angel is a year-round commitment.
"For us girls, it's kind of Christmas, you know? It's the day that we've all been waiting
for."
She told Vogue Arabia,
"I lead a really balanced lifestyle. It is important to eat healthy but also allow yourself
to indulge a bit. I am also incredibly active and I enjoy working out."
Since her job is all about her looks, Swanepoel can fit a workout in almost anywhere, like
squeezing her butt as she climbs the stairs. The South African native extolled the virtues
of finding a practice that you enjoy, noting that she likes boxing and resistance training
in particular.
Many models have made the jump into the entertainment industry, from Cara Delevingne to Cameron
Diaz — with varying levels of success. As Entertainment Weekly noted, several big-name
actors like Andie MacDowell and Uma Thurman have such huge careers, fans probably forgot
that they started out on the runway. Fellow Victoria's Secret Angel, Rosie-Huntington
Whitely, made the move into acting with 2011's Transformers: Dark of the Moon and continued
down the action path with Mad Max: Fury Road.
But even though the camera clearly loves her, Swanepoel is in no hurry to follow in her
friends' footsteps. When asked by GQ whether she could ever see herself on the big screen,
the self-described "shy" model admitted,
"I have thought about it. But it's different when you're speaking; it's harder for me."
Swanepoel stunned in the 2017 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show just five months after welcoming
her second child. At the time, she revealed to Elle UK just how her life had changed,
telling the outlet,
"I appreciate things I would have overlooked before. I mean, just sitting and getting glammed
on is such a nice experience, I would never say, 'Are we done?' now!"
Swanepoel also admitted to Vogue UK that — although she was anxious about stepping back into the
spotlight, and found it particularly nerve-wracking to walk the Met Gala red carpet — motherhood
had shifted her priorities. She said,
"To be honest, after becoming a mum, you don't really care about much else. […] It's always
been about me, and my career, and it's so nice to have this shift and put all my love
and energy into something else."
In 2018, Swanepoel took everything she'd learned from a decade of crushing it in the industry,
to launch her luxury swimwear line, Tropic of C. Far from simply slapping her name on
some bikinis and cashing the checks after, the supermodel took a hands-on approach to
her labor of love. As she told Fashion Week Daily,
"Fittings are definitely my favorite part, and when all my creative input comes to life.
We transform styles and create new ways of finishing, adding details, and making sure
my ideas are executed. It also triggers my fantasies on how to shoot the styles, what
location, and with who."
She also models her designs, of course, but Swanepoel is proud of wearing many hats behind
the camera, as well. She said,
"I get to apply all I learned working with so many amazing photographers, stylists, and
creatives."
"You guys get to see how it works, what it takes and how much fun we have."
Tropic of C was a natural progression for the star in more ways than one. The brand
even aims to partner with, and empower, women artisans around the world. Swanepoel also
told Forbes that sustainability has been important to her ever since she was a kid, having grown
up surrounded by nature in South Africa. As a result, sustainable textiles are used for
the brand's garments, with each swimsuit being crafted using materials that create a light
footprint on the planet. It's a focus that the notoriously toxic fashion industry can
certainly aspire toward, as it moves away from its long history of damaging the environment,
according to the BBC.
Swanepoel runs one of the most popular accounts on Instagram, with more than 15 million followers,
as of 2021. Although she mostly shares stunning shots of herself, her beautiful designs and
her travels, there's a major business mind ticking behind everything she posts. A 2018
report by the Evening Standard crowned Swanepoel the most influential lingerie model on Instagram,
with the star beating out fellow iconic Angels and influencers Adriana Lima and Alessandra
Ambrosio.
"It's part of my Victoria's Secret contract to Instagram or tweet certain things, yeah."
Although her following is hugely impressive, it's the interaction from those very fans
that puts the stunner above the rest. High-end lingerie brand Bluebella noted that pics of
the supermodel typically get hundreds of thousands of more likes than other Victoria's Secret
stars. As a result, Swanepoel stood to earn roughly $70,000 per post. Considering her
star has only risen further in the years since, it's likely the low-key beauty is making significantly
more at this stage.
One of the biggest perks of being an internationally renowned supermodel has to be getting styled
by the best in the business. Although Swanepoel loves getting glammed up, the South African
beauty also takes great joy in experimenting at home. She told Grazia Daily,
"I love doing my own makeup. Sometimes I prefer doing it myself."
"It's all about enhancing what you have naturally, to be true to your own features and not try
and change that."
Although the model acknowledged she could never come close to what the professional
artists do for her looks, she's content to simply play with products for fun. But doing
her own hair doesn't come quite as naturally for the star. As Swanepoel confessed to Harper's
Bazaar,
"I can't [do it myself], I wish I could. I usually just tie it in a bun or let it naturally
dry. […] I just do that messy bedhead thing."
Considering how stunningly gorgeous she is, something tells us that the "bedhead thing"
looks nothing at all like the rest of us!
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