Today's Birthday 20/10
Today's Birthday, October 20: South African supermodel Candice Swanepoel (1988 - )
There are many words to describe Victoria's Secret model Candice Swanepoel, but fat isn't one of them.
But the blonde beauty was shamed online for not bouncing back into shape, just days after giving birth to her second child in June 2018.
Taking to Instagram, Swanepoel hit back at those who made fun of her post-partum belly.
"This is me 12 days after having my son," she captioned a series of paparazzi shots.
"If you have something bad to say about it... check yourself. Society can be so cruel to one another. Beauty standards are sometimes impossible for women these days."
Swanepoel was born on October 20 1988 in the village of Mooi River, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and grew up on a dairy and beef farm.
As a teen, she attended boarding school at St Anne's Diocesan College in the nearby town of Hilton and took ballet.
At 15 she was spotted by a model scout in a Durban flea market and her life changed forever.
"Within a year of meeting the scout, at age 16, I was booking more and more modelling jobs all across Europe," Swanepoel said in a post on her website.
"While this was an incredible blessing for someone from such a sheltered upbringing, it also forced me to make tough decisions about my life at a young age."
After two years of travelling between Paris, Milan, London and South Africa, the model moved to New York. It was there that she was discovered by lingerie giant Victoria's Secret.
Swanepoel walked in her first show for the company in 2007, was promoted to an "angel" in 2010 and was chosen in 2013 to wear the $US10 million "Fantasy Bra".
The bra and its matching belt featured more than 4,000 precious gems, including rubies, diamonds and yellow sapphires set in 18-carat gold with a 52-carat ruby at the centre.
She has been among the Forbes Top 10 earning models every year since 2010.
Swanepoel has been dating Hermann Nicoli, a Brazilian model, since they met in Paris when she was 17. The couple announced their engagement in 2015 and have two sons.
They split their time between Brazil and New York.
