Doutzen Kroes was born on 23 January 1985 and is a Dutch Frisian model and actress. She began her modelling career in 2003 in the Netherlands but quickly got sent by her agency to New York where she was cast, among other names, by lingerie giant Victoria’s Secret. She became an ‘Angel’ for the brand in 2008.  Just as she started her career as model for Victoria’s Secret, she was voted as “Model of The Year” on Vogue.com in the year 2005.

She has been a brand ambassador and spokesperson for L’Oréal Paris for over 5 years. Kroes has been in the top five of best-paid models, with an estimated income of more than five million per year since 2008. In 2014, she came in second on the Forbes top-earning models list (after Gisele Bündchen), estimated to have earned $8 million in one year. She is considered one of the “New Supers” and described as “Helen of Troy of advertising” by Models.com.

Her first film debut was in Reinout Oerlemans’, Nova Zembla, the first Dutch feature film in 3D, which was released in November 2011. She is one of the active members to contribute to Dance4Life, a Dutch non-profit organization that uses song and dance to educate youth about HIV and AIDS prevention.