How Taylor Hill Went From Gymnast to Victoria’s Secret Angel

November 23, 2016 5:00 am
CNBC EVENTS -- 2015 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show -- Pictured: Model   Taylor Hill walks the runway during the 2015 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in New York City on November 10, 2015.  -- (Photo by: Adam Jeffery/CNBC)
CNBC EVENTS -- 2015 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show -- Pictured: Model Taylor Hill walks the runway during the 2015 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in New York City on November 10, 2015. -- (Photo by: Adam Jeffery/CNBC)
NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 06: (Editors Note: this image was altered using digital filters) Model Taylor Hill attends the 2016 CFDA Fashion Awards at the Hammerstein Ballroom on June 6, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Stewart/Getty Images)
Model Taylor Hill attends the 2016 CFDA Fashion Awards at the Hammerstein Ballroom on June 6, 2016 in New York City. (Michael Stewart/Getty Images)
Getty Images

 

Taylor Hill is one of the 20 highest-paid models in the world, which is particularly impressive because she’s only 20. (Having become a Victoria’s Secret Angel in 2015—making her the youngest Victoria’s Secret model—it seems very likely come the next rankings she will enter the top 10.)

It’s an undeniably abrupt transition for the teenager, who starts her day as an Angel by meeting with her hairstylist, makeup artist, wardrobe stylist, publicists, social media correspondents, photographer, and security detail.

CNBC EVENTS -- 2015 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show -- Pictured: Model Taylor Hill walks the runway during the 2015 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in New York City on November 10, 2015. -- (Photo by: Adam Jeffery/CNBC)
Model Taylor Hill walks the runway during the 2015 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show in New York City on November 10, 2015. (Adam Jeffery/CNBC)
MILAN, ITALY - SEPTEMBER 23: Taylor Hill walks the runway at the Versace show during Milan Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2017 on September 23, 2016 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Jacopo Raule/Getty Images)
Model Taylor Hill walks the runway at the Versace show during Milan Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2017 on September 23, 2016 in Milan, Italy. (Jacopo Raule/Getty Images)
Getty Images

 

Raised in Colorado, Hill’s original passion was gymnastics. She credits the sport with providing “a good work ethic that translates to my workouts now.” Watch Hill in action on the mats in 2011 with the video below. (The serious flipping starts around the 30-second mark.)

 

Her break in modeling came at 14 when she did a shoot at a “dude ranch in the middle of nowhere” and the photographer was so taken he urged her to get to a big city where she could be discovered. The photographer later became her agent, but not before Hill’s father “did a ton of research” on him. Both parents still insisted on accompanying Hill to L.A., where she almost immediately signed with the Ford Agency.

NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 14: Model Taylor Hill walks the runway wearing Tommy Hilfiger Women's Spring 2016 during New York Fashion Week: The Shows at Pier 36 on September 14, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Neilson Barnard/Getty Images for Tommy Hilfiger)
Model Taylor Hill walks the runway wearing Tommy Hilfiger Women’s Spring 2016 during New York Fashion Week: The Shows at Pier 36 on September 14, 2015 in New York City. (Neilson Barnard/Getty Images for Tommy Hilfiger)
Getty Images for Tommy Hilfiger
NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 07: Model Taylor Hill attends AOL BUILD Series: Victoria's Secret Angels Behati Prinsloo and Taylor Hill at AOL Studios In New York on December 7, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Desiree Navarro/WireImage)
Model Taylor Hill attends AOL BUILD Series: Victoria’s Secret Angels at AOL Studios In New York on December 7, 2015 in New York City. (Desiree Navarro/WireImage)
WireImage

 

Hill has modeled for Lancôme, Topshop, Jimmy Choo, Miu Miu, Vivienne Westwood, and many, many others. She says the transition from Colorado life to globetrotting was particularly jarring because in her teen years she was “so tall,” had “bad posture,” and was generally miserable around her peers: “I started modeling and all of these people who didn’t talk to me started messaging me on Facebook, like, ‘Hey remember me?’ I thought, Yeah, I remember how mean you were to me!”

Below, watch Hill discuss how she became a model and got the gig with Victoria’s Secret. Learn about former Angels Karlie Kloss (here) and Cara Delevingne (here), as well as newcomer Jasmine Tookes (here).

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