Victoria’s Secret was started in San Francisco, California, in 1977 by Stanford Graduate School of Business alumnus Roy Raymond, who felt embarrassed trying to purchase lingerie for his wife in a department store environment. He opened the first store at Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto, and quickly followed it with a mail-order catalog and three other stores. Since than, a lot of beautiful women were models for Victoria Secret. We probably didn’t mention someone who should be on this list, but still it was really hard to pick up 25 from many, many beautiful and sexy girls who have worked for Victoria Secret. So, lets begin…
25. Amanda Marcum
Marcum comes straight out of the heartland, born and bred in Oklahoma. She’s appeared on the cover of Stuff magazine and in advertising campaigns for many clothing lines including Tommy Hilfiger and Armani.
24. Jessica Van Der Steen
Van Der Steen is a Belgian fashion model, and is actually currently working with Victoria’s Secret. She’s also an SI swimsuit alum.
23. Andi Muise
Muise was discovered in a shopping mall at the age of 14 in Canada. Muise recently appeared in a season finale of Project Runway.
22. Candice Swanepoel
Swanepoel is a South African model who was discovered in a flea market of all places. She’s appeared in advertisements for Nike as well as working for Victoria’s Secret.
21. Josie Maran
Maran is a model, but she’s also just as known for acting having appeared in movies such as Van Helsing and The Aviator. She also appeared on Dancing with the Stars, but only made it through one episode before being voted off.
20. Jarah Mariano
Mariano is Hawaiian, but grew up in California. She’s modeled for Abercrombie and appeared in SI’s swimsuit edition in addition to her work with Victoria’s Secret.
19. Estella Warren
Warren has appeared in Sports Illustrated, Vogue, Vanity Fair, and two television commercials for Chanel No. 5 perfume. She was named Maxim Magazine’s Hottest Woman in 2000. She was ranked Number 61 in FHM’s “100 Sexiest Women in the World 2005″ special supplement and was the November 2007 entry in Stuff magazine’s 2006-07 pinup calendar.
18. Kim Smith
Smith has worked for Guess as well as Victoria’s Secret. She appeared in Catwoman alongside Halle Berry, and has also starred in numerous music videos including NSync’s “Bye, bye, bye”. Don’t hold that against her though.
17. Niki Taylor
Niki Taylor is one of the original models considered to be super models. Appeared on the cover of Vogue at the age of 14, and has since appeared on more than 400 magazine covers in total.
16. Stephanie Seymour
Another massively famous supermodel, Seymour has appeared on over 300 magazine covers. A serial dater back in the early 90′s, Seymour was attached to various famous men such as Warren Beatty and Axl Rose.
15. Rebecca Romijn
Romijn is obviously one of the msot famous models in the world, but she’s just as well known for her acting work in movies such as the X-Men franchise as well as the television show Ugly Betty.
14. Olga Kurylenko
Kurylenko is probably best known for being the Bond girl in Quantum of Solace. She also just recently appeared on the cover of Maxim for their December, 2008 edition.
13. Jill Goodacre
She was a primary lingerie and hosiery model for the relatively new Victoria’s Secret company in its mail-order catalogs and retail stores in the 1980s, and she appeared extensively in the catalogs. She, Stephanie Seymour and Dutch model Frederique helped Victoria’s Secret grow from a new company to one of the world’s giants in women’s lingerie, hosiery, swimwear, and clothing.
12. Nichole Robinson
Nichole Robinson, also known as Nichole Mercedes Robinson, is a Panamanian-American actress and model. She has had a recurring role on the Showtime television series Huff, and before that appeared in roles that showcased her bikini body beauty with a supporting role in the 2003 movie Love Don’t Cost a Thing and as one of the 3 main girls (along with Jaime Pressly and Kim Smith) in the Aerosmith video for their single “Girls of Summer” off of the O, Yeah! Ultimate Aerosmith Hits compilation.
11. Petra Nemcova
She has modeled for Victoria’s Secret and been featured in advertising campaigns, including Cartier and Max Factor. On 3 June 2004, she was one of the telecast judges during the 53rd annual Miss Universe competition in Quito, Ecuador.
10. Anne Vyalitsyna
“I’ve wanted to be a model ever since I was little, playing with my Barbie doll,” she told The Age. “It helped (for the catwalk) that I can dance but everything is self-taught.” She also h
9. Gisele Bundchen
The inspiration for this list, Bundchen has been hot tabloid fodder ever since she started dating Tom Brady. She’s the face of more than 20 brands internationally and is supposedly worth over $150 million. Actually dated Leonardo DiCaprio before hooking up with Tom Brady, which means DiCaprio might be the luckiest bastard on the face of the planet considering he landed Bar Refaeli following Gisele.
8. Bar Refaeli
Refaeli is an Israeli model, probably better known for dating Leonardo DiCaprio. She caused some controversy recently when it came out that she evaded compulsory military service in Israel, saying “Why is it good to die for our country? What, isn’t it better to live in New York?”
7. Ana Beatriz Barros
Another Brazilian model, Barros has worked with Guess, Bebe, Chanel, and of course Victoria’s Secret. Has made a whopping seven appearances in SI’s swimsuit issue.
6. Laetitia Casta
Easily one of the most iconic faces in the history of Victoria’s Secret. Casta has been on the cover of more than 100 magazines and has been featured in Guess, Tommy Hilfiger, and XOXO campaigns.
5. Claudia Schiffer
One of the most famous models ever, Schiffer has appeared on over 500 magazine covers and has pitched a wide variety of products, from Pepsi to Chanel.
4. Tyra Banks
Tyra Banks is inescapable these days, with her talk show as well as America’s Next Top Model. Tyra’s TV career actually began on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air where she played Will Smith’s old friend Jackie Ames.
3. Alessandra Ambrosio
Tyra Banks has anointed Ambrosio “The future of the modeling world” and it’s not too tough to see why. Actually had her ears pinned back when she was 11 years old, and has since sworn off plastic surgery after having numerous complications. Has made cameos on Entourage as well as the film Casino Royale.
2. Heidi Klum
Klum has been on the cover of fashion magazines, including Vogue, ELLE and Marie Claire. She became widely known after appearing on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue and for her work with Victoria’s Secret as an “Angel”. Klum has hosted the 2002, 2006, 2007 and 2009 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Shows. On October 1, 2010, the New York Post reported on its six page gossip collumn that Heidi Klum would be leaving Victoria’s Secret. “Heidi Klum is quitting Victoria’s Secret after 13 years, Page Six has learned. The supermodel has told bosses she’s hanging up her wings and won’t be walking in the November show. Klum, 37, told us”.
1. Andriama Lima
