Tonight, 33 of the most beautiful girls in the world will light up close to 11 million televisions clad in little more than lace and glitter during the annual broadcast of the Victoria's Secret runway show. The show, shot in New York on November 10, is a chance to muster holiday excitement and sales for the country's largest lingerie chain—and it's also an unparalleled platform for the industry's top models.
"The numbers of people who can do this pare probably under 100 in the world," said Edward Razek, Limited Brand's chief marketing officer this month. Victoria's Secret models—those lucky enough to earn spots in the catalog or even a contract to be a face of the brand—enjoy unprecedented exposure and lucrative payouts that can lead to more diverse opportunities. Tyra Banks transitioned her talents and became a television impresario. Gisele Bündchen became one the most well-known international cover girls in the world. And of course, Heidi Klum has Auf Wiedersehen'ed her way into pop-culture superstardom.
Gallery: Victoria's Secret Models
ADVERTISEMENT
The company's first "Angels" (usually designated as faces of the brand, with certain exclusivity agreements in their contracts) were chosen as the faces of the brand's Angel line in the '90s, but have seen their ranks expand since, to encompass more models in varying degrees of relationship to the brand.
In honor of tonight's broadcast, The Daily Beast considered which Victoria's Secret models have had the longest and most successful tenures. To "rank" the models, we started with the 10 models that have walked in the most VS runway shows. We then considered the total number of years they have been modeling for the brand, either in a campaign, runway show, or under contract. Finally, we looked at the volume of press mentions each model has garnered to consider how much attention the model has attracted for the brand and vice versa.
