Lily Aldridge

Lily Aldridge, an American model born in Santa Monica, California, in 1985, walked the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show every year from 2009 to 2018, was named an Angel in 2010 and wore the brand's $2 million Fantasy Bra in 2015. That decade on the Victoria's Secret runway is her place in lingerie history.

Abercrombie & Fitch at sixteen

Aldridge's first major job came at 16, in an Abercrombie & Fitch campaign. Her first magazine cover was Spanish Vogue in August 2003. She is represented worldwide by IMG Models. Earlier accounts gave her a long list of early runway clients and campaigns; only the Abercrombie start and the Vogue cover are confirmed by the sources consulted here.

Wings in 2010

She made her Victoria's Secret Fashion Show debut in 2009. In 2010 she became an Angel, the brand's contracted inner circle of models, and wore wings for the first time in that year's show. The Angel group of that period included Candice Swanepoel and Adriana Lima, and the televised show was at the height of its audience.

The 2015 Fantasy Bra by Mouawad

The Fantasy Bra was the show's annual set piece: one jeweled bra, given to one Angel. On 2 November 2015 Victoria's Secret announced that Aldridge would wear that year's piece. Made by the jeweler Mouawad, it was valued at $2 million and set with more than 6,500 precious stones. Being chosen for it was the most visible honor the show gave an Angel in any given year.

Sports Illustrated's 50th anniversary cover

Her swimwear work peaked the year before. In 2014 she shared the 50th anniversary cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue with Chrissy Teigen and Nina Agdal. Swimwear and lingerie modeling overlapped heavily in those years, and the SI issue and the Victoria's Secret show were the two biggest annual stages for both.

After the Angel years

Aldridge stepped away from the show after 2018. In the fall of 2019 she launched a fragrance line, Lily Aldridge Parfums, with a first scent called Haven and a second called Summit.

Lily Aldridge back on the runway in 2025

The show itself was paused after 2018 and revived in 2024. Aldridge was not in the 2024 cast, but she returned for the 2025 edition, walking in the opening segment and the closing Black Tie segment, one of several former Angels, among them Stella Maxwell, brought back for that show.

Last updated October 7, 2026