Victoria Secret Angels

Some just refer to them as supermodels, while others are more detailed by calling them Victoria Secret Angels. Now matter what you call them, there's no doubt that the lingerie market changed in 1977 when Victoria's Secret opened it's doors. The lingerie was beautiful, and so too were the models hired to promote it. The faces of the models are now familiar the world over. You see them on billboards, in magazines, in catalogs and online. And of course, any fashion show with these beautiful women is a media event.

By the 1990's, Victoria's Secret became the most successful supplier of lingerie in the country. You can find a store in most malls and the catalogs are popular enough that some even collect them. There are eight issued every year. Check out the difference between those early catalogs and the ones put out today. You'll see how much the product line has changed. Now it's not just lingerie, bras, hose and panties. You'll also find things like perfume, shoes and evening wear, all modeled, of course, by Victoria Secret Angels.

But it wasn't until 1999 that the first Angels appeared. It was during the 4th annual Victoria Secret Fashion show. These women are more than just models, they are spokeswomen for the company. To be an angel you need more than just good looks, personality also plays a large role.

The original Angels reads like a who's who of supermodels. Names like Adriana Lima, Heidi Klum. Tyra Banks, Rebecca Romijn and Maria Ines Rivera made up the original members. Adriana Lima remains a Victoria Secret Angel, but new names are always popping up. Names like Alessandra Amborsio, Karolina Kurkova, Selita Ebanks, Miranda Kerr and Izabel Goulart now appear on the runways and in the catalogs. The Angels are a group of women, but they can be seen as one entity. For that reason People Magazine put the Angels on their 2007 list of the 100 Most Beautiful People.

And the honors keep coming in. In November 2007 the Angels were invited to be part of the Hollywood Walk of Fame. On a street dominated by entertainers, the Angels became the first commercial representatives given a star. Along with their status comes a nice paycheck, but you can easily argue that it is well deserved. It is because of them that lingerie became both more desirable and respectable,

Now you'll find former Angels just about everywhere. They appear in movies and host reality shows. Jill Goodacre appeared in an episode of the hit TV show Friends in 1994. It's a hilarious episode where Changler becomes trapped in an ATM vestibule during a power outage. Chandler becomes crippled with nerves as he is trapped with this icon.

The Victoria Secret Angels are always more than just beautiful women and models.