On Tuesday, Dec. 8, the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show 2015 aired on CBS, and in a similar fashion to every other year, the show has been blowing up social media all month long. Take a look at these five African American beauties who have stunned on the Victoria’s Secret runway.
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1. Maria Borges
The Angolan fashion model was born in 1992 in Luanda, and was raised by her siblings during the Angolan Civil War. After being discovered in 2010, placing second at the Angolan edition of the Elite Model Look contest, Borges was named Forbes Africa’s top model of 2013. After strutting the VS runway in 2013 and 2014, she made history in November 2015 by becoming the first black model to walk the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show while wearing her natural Afro hair. “I told my agent I wanted to walk in the Victoria’s Secret show with my natural hair,†Borges told Essence Magazine. “I was nervous, but I had to do it. When they said ‘yes’ I didn’t expect it, but I was so happy.â€
Her best advice for women unsure about wearing their natural curls? “Be strong. If you say you’re beautiful without hair and makeup, then they will believe you. It’s about being confident and always being yourself.â€
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2. Jasmine Tookes
Born on Feb. 1, 1991, in Huntington Beach, California, Tookes earned her spot on the runways of Tom Ford, Dolce & Gabbana, and Marc Jacobs after beginning her modeling career in an Abercrombie & Fitch catalog. According to The New York Post, Oprah Winfrey
3. Chanel Iman
Perhaps most well known for her work as both a Victoria’s Secret Angel and model, Iman was born in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1990. With her father being of African American descent and mother being 50% Korean and 50% African American, it wasn’t hard for Iman to land a modeling job with her looks. She booked a job with Ford Models at the age of 13 in Los Angeles, won third place in Ford’s Supermodel of the World Contest in 2006, and appeared on covers and campaigns including Ralph Lauren, DKNY, Allure, Yves Saint Laurent, and many more. She became a Victoria’s Secret Angel in 2010 and has been used in many of the company’s popular ad campaigns.
4. Lais Ribeiro
The Brazilian model was born in Teresina, Piaui in October 1990, and became a local model in Brazil after giving birth to son Alexandre. Ribeiro quickly escalated in her career, after walking major shows in 2009 for designers such as Chanel, Gucci, and Louis Vuitton. In 2011, she was the most booked runway model with 27 shows during Brazil fashion week for spring/summer 2011 collections. Having appeared in the 2010, 2011, and 2013 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, she proudly earned her wings in 2015.
5. Jourdan Dunn
The British supermodel has walked the last three Victoria’s Secret Fashion Shows, but didn’t make her fourth appearance for the 2015 show. During the airing of this year’s show, she tweeted, “Feeling soo much better about not doing BS… Sorry I mean VS now that Rihanna isn’t doing it also,” but it was quickly deleted. The reasons for why she didn’t appear for this year’s show aren’t clear.
Dunn has been making headlines since her discovery in 2006, appearing on international runways and being the first black model to walk a Prada runway in over a decade in Feb. 2008. In April 2014, she was announced as the new face of Maybelline New York, and several months later in July she was listed in the Forbes top-earning models list, having estimated earnings of $4 million in one year.