May 23, 201113 yr From quiet Midlands to top of the world May 22, 2011 1:32 AM | By BIÉNNE HUISMAN *IN PICTURE: Candice with brother Stephen, dad Willem and mom Eileen in Cape Town recently. * She’s gone from being a skinny, barefoot farm girl and a school dropout (with her parents’ blessing) to becoming one of the world’s highest-earning models. Last year, Candice Swanepoel earned $3-million. She was romantically linked to rapper Kanye West and counts Leonardo DiCaprio as a friend. The 22-year-old, who grew up in Mooi River in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands, is listed as the 10th-highest-earning model in the world by Forbes. She joins Kate Moss, Heidi Klum and Gisele Bündchen (who topped the list with an annual salary of $45-million) on the publication’s top 10 list of high-earning supermodels. Her proud parents, Eileen and Willem Swanepoel, spoke to the Sunday Times at their home in Somerset West in the Western Cape this week. “The tabloids have linked Candice to Zac Efron and Kanye West, but that is not true. She has met them, but they haven’t dated,” said her mother. The Swanepoels moved from a Mooi River dairy farm to the Cape in 2008. Pictures of Candice and her brother, Stephen, a professional golfer, line the walls of their home. “As a young girl, she was teased for being so tall and thin,” said Eileen, adding that whenever she visited her daughter abroad, she always carried biltong for her. Candice’s skinny frame sparked a heated debate in tabloids this year. “She called me and said, ‘Mom, I’ve been working really hard and lost a few kilos. There’s going to be some bad publicity, but just know that I’m fine.’” A scout “discovered” her at a Durban flea market when she was 15 . She left school two years later. By 19, she had moved into her own New York penthouse. In 2007, she was chosen as an ambassador for Victoria’s Secret and, in February this year, a front-page shoot for Italian Vogue catapulted her into the fashion limelight . “She’s met Heidi Klum,” said her mother. “They’ve worked together. When I was there last, I also met Seal (Klum’s musician husband) and the boys from (rock band) Kings of Leon.” Her father said she initially would call him for financial advice, but she now had a financial manager. He said that, looking back, it had been the right decision to let their daughter leave school. “When this whole thing exploded, it was a difficult decision to let her leave school, as we value education highly. The only sad thing is that we don’t get to see her often.” Candice is to visit her family in August. Eileen said her well-heeled daughter shared her good fortune - and stilettos - with her . “W e wear the same size shoe, so you can just imagine the shoes she brings me. The last was a pair of Louboutins!”
May 23, 201113 yr Candice Swanepoel. Looking relaxed and gorgeous as ever, what can't be seen is the sun is about 1 minute from going down, people are running in all directions to get the shot setup, I am hanging over a balcony with adam holding me by the back of my shorts. The illusion of photography and very satisfying when you see the result knowing the truth. russell james facebook
May 23, 201113 yr love erin and candice my favourite blonde bombshellsits even cuter that they are best friends! True that, that video where they spoke about how they became best friends having residencies next to each other was cute And she never dated Kanye yes?
May 23, 201113 yr The rumors about Candice and Kanye make me laugh. I think Candice would be the last model attracted to Kanye's glitzy lifestyle and arrogant personality (love his music, not his personality!) Also because her & Herman have been together for 6 years and seem totally in love
May 24, 201113 yr they have been 6 years? they should marry NOOOOOOO!!! She will marry me!!! :evil: Badboy
May 24, 201113 yr they have been 6 years? they should marry no, 5 years....she is too young to marry only 22 And her career has just begun...
May 24, 201113 yr That last montage, Fashion icon, looks awesome! Thank you! Where are the pictures from?
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