With bombshell blond hair, crystal blue eyes, and a winning smile, Candice Swanepoel embodies a physical representation of angelic beauty, wings included. The supermodel is best known for her work as a Victoria’s Secret Angel, a тιтle that she earned in 2010 (via Vogue). What many fans may not realize about Swanepoel, however, is that her glamorous life as an international supermodel is something that she could have never imagined from her humble beginnings as a child growing up on a dairy farm in South Africa (via CandiceSwanepoel.com).
Though a chance encounter led to Swanepoel entering the world of high fashion, her dedication to her craft demonstrated the supermodel’s unimpeachable work ethic and pᴀssion. Through maintaining a vigilant fitness routine and crafting a sustainable diet for herself, Swanepoel continues to dominate the runway as one of Victoria’s Secret’s most iconic Angels of all time. Here is the stunning transformation of Candice Swanepoel and the journey that led her to finding and owning her wings.
Candice Swanepoel grew up in a farm in South Africa
Far removed from any bustling city life, Candice Swanepoel spent her earliest years in Mooi River, a small farming town in South Africa (via CandiceSwanepoel.com). For the first 13 years of her life, Swanepoel grew up on a meat and dairy farm with very little knowledge of the fashion industry. In an interview with Elle, Swanepoel opened up about how her hometown had caused confusion in the past when introducing herself to new people. “You know that ‘Mean Girls’ quote? It happens to me a lot in real life,” she told the magazine. “‘So if you’re from Africa, why are you white?!'”
Swanepoel remembers her childhood spent on the farm with fondness. “I was very wild,” she said in an interview with Fashionista. Though growing up on a farm in South Africa is a fairly unconventional childhood, Swanepoel insists that it was a pretty typical rural upbringing. “People think I have lions in my backyard. I mean, I grew up on a farm,” the supermodel told Elle. “I didn’t have lions in the garden but I did go on safari for holiday, and we had animals on our farm,” she explained.
She spent her adolescence at an all-girls boarding school
At age 13, Candice Swanepoel made the move from her family’s meat and dairy farm to an all-girls boarding school in South Africa. “My parents were humble. They’re farmers, but they worked really hard to send us to good schools,” she told Elle in an interview. According to IOL, Swanepoel attended St. Anne’s Diocesan College, which served as the sister insтιтution to the all-boys boarding school her older brother attended.
Her education in an all-girls boarding school helped prepare the supermodel for a future career that can have its less-than-glamorous moments. “I loved the experience of it, but it’s definitely unique,” she said to Elle. The girls resided in what the school called “houses,” which were dorms that accommodated about 70 girls each. “You learn how to get up and out of bed so fast,” Swanepoel recalled. Upon reflection, Swanepoel credited the disciplined lifestyle of boarding school as an experience that would help her acclimate to a lifestyle of sharing spaces and traveling with other models for brand campaigns.
A talent scout noticed Candice Swanepoel at a flea market when she was 15
Candice Swanepoel was only 15 when she got scouted at a flea market in South Africa by a talent agent (via Self). In a surprising turn of fate, the young teenager would soon be living the life of an international supermodel with modeling gigs booked all across Europe. Although this chance encounter has long since contributed to Swanepoel’s Cinderella story, one modeling agency insists that Swanepoel was already modeling at age 14.
The South African news source Independent Online ran a story in 2013 that interviewed Irene Olivier, who had reportedly scouted Swanepoel before her legendary meeting at the flea market. “I’m very proud to say that I discovered Candice at St. Anne’s Diocesan College in Hilton in 2003 when I did a talk at the school in connection with starting modeling courses,” Olivier told Independent Online. “I soon realized she had a lot of potential and asked her to sign a contract with Irene’s Models while she was still doing her course,” she added. To back up her claims, Olivier produced portfolio sH๏τs of Swanepoel at 14 and an invoice for one of Swanepoel’s paid gigs. While Swanepoel’s team has yet to respond to the claim, Olivier ᴀssured readers in 2013 that she harbored no ill will towards the supermodel.
It took some time for Candice Swanepoel to adjust to the modeling life
Though Candice Swanepoel now enjoys the life of an international supermodel and star, her first few years in modeling nearly cut her career short. Swanepoel has opened up about her early career in interviews, and distinctly remembers her initial awkwardness when she first began. “When I first started modeling, I was younger and quite shy,” she told Vogue in an interview.
Swanepoel’s first major gig came in the form of an editorial shoot for Italian Vogue. The supermodel looked back on her first Vogue appearance and laughs. “I really didn’t even know how to move,” she said in an interview with Fashionista. 
It also took her a while to get used to the environment of the fashion world in general, and as a teen model, Swanepoel often felt the stress of the fashion industry eating away at her mental health. “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,” she told Self in an interview. Combined with the industry’s notoriety for body shaming, Swanepoel became overwhelmed by the unstable environment she had been thrust into at an early age.
Candice Swanepoel started her own swimwear brand in 2018
Candice Swanepoel is known for being an international supermodel and supermom, but in 2018, she became an entrepreneur too. Swanepoel created her own swimwear line that sought to bring fashion and sustainability to the beach. Her brand, Tropic of C, creates timeless swimwear pieces that can survive the dreaded trend cycle and avoid the wastefulness of fast-fashion. “I wanted the line to be something I could be proud of from all angles, not just adding to the problem. I want to leave the world a better place, not worse,” she told Fashion Week Daily.
Tropic of C has allowed Swanepoel to push herself for the better. “When I started this company I knew nothing about business. I’ve enjoyed stepping into my entrepreneurial power,” she told Fashion Week Daily in an interview in 2021. The young brand managed to survive the initial setbacks of the pandemic in 2020, and continues to thrive. As Swanepoel continues to lend her talents to the development and longevity of the brand, she says the key to her success is living in the moment. “Life is all about learning and evolving, so I’m looking forward to what lessons 2022 has in store for me, both professionally and personally,” she said.