Candice Swanepoel was born on 20th October 1988 in Mooi River, Natal, South Africa to her parents Willem and Eileen Swanepoel. They were Dutch settlers living in the coastal KwaZulu Natal Province. Her father is originally from Mutare in Zimbabwe while her mother is from South Africa.
Candice has a brother named Steven whom she grew up with on a dairy and beef farm. She attended boarding school at St. Anne’s Diocesan College in the nearby town of Hilton.
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. 
Candice was discovered when she was spotted by a modeling scout named Kevin Ellis in a flea market in Durban, a small South African harbor city that’s extremely popular with surfers. She was only 15 years at the time.
She Began Modeling in Europe 
Deciding to pursue modeling full-time, Candice moved to Europe, and the move paid off. In the first year, she modeled for major designers and began booking more modeling contracts all over Europe.
Barely two years into pursuing modeling full-time, she began to seriously consider giving up on her high fashion dreams and moving back home to her parents’ farm and continuing her old life. 
The industry insiders kept telling her to lose more and more weight and she was working with different people every day. They all spoke different languages, so she was never able to form any relationships. 
Her first ramp walk was Ready to Wear, a Spring or Summer 2006 fashion show for Tommy Hilfiger, and Dolce & Gabbana. She was earning 5000 euros a day by then. After traveling through Europe for two years, she moved to the big apple, New York City. This is where she took her career to new heights.