Doutzen Kroes was born 23 January 1985 and is a Dutch model, actress, activist and philanthropist.
She was born in the village of Eastermar. Her mother, Geartsje Leistra, was a nurse, then a teacher, and her father, Johan Kroes, was a psychotherapist. In the 1970s, they were both champion speed skaters. As a young girl, Kroes aspired to be a professional speed skater. Kroes has a younger sister, Rens, who is a nutritionist.
Describing herself as a “tomboy” in her youth, she had never seriously considered modeling, but sent snapshots to modeling agency Paparazzi Model Management in Amsterdam, in 2003.
She began her modeling career in 2003, in the Netherlands and was quickly sent by her agency to New York where she was cast by lingerie brand Victoria’s Secret. She was a Victoria’s Secret Angel from 2008 until 2014. She has been a brand ambassador for L’Oréal Paris since 2006.
Kroes has been one of the highest-paid models, with an estimated income of more than $5 million per year, since 2008. In 2014, she came in second on the Forbes top-earning models list, estimated to have earned $8 million in one year. As of December 2015, she was ranked as one of the “New Supers”[5] in the fashion industry and dubbed “Helen of Troy of advertising” by Models.com.
In 2013, she became the first model to land 4 different solo international covers of Vogue’s September issue in a single year.
Her film debut was in Nova Zembla (2011). She is one of the active members to contribute to Dance4Life, a Dutch non-profit organization that uses songs and dance to educate youth about HIV and AIDS prevention. She is also one of the supporters of Wildlife Conservation and World Wildlife Fund.
Kroes is in the official Frisian provincial campaign for the Frisian language, her mother tongue.
