You’ve probably seen the headlines or heard the whispers during a late-night Twitter scroll. "Wait, was Kimberly Guilfoyle actually a Victoria’s Secret model?" It sounds like one of those weird internet myths, right? Like finding out a Supreme Court Justice used to be a professional breakdancer. But here's the thing: it’s actually true. Well, mostly true.
Before she was standing on stages at the RNC or anchoring The Five on Fox News, Kimberly Guilfoyle was just a law student in San Francisco trying to make rent.
San Francisco isn't cheap. It wasn't cheap in the 90s, and it definitely isn't cheap now. Kimberly was attending the University of San Francisco School of Law, and like a lot of ambitious students, she needed a side hustle. Most people wait tables or color-code files in a basement office. Kimberly modeled.
She didn't just model for anybody, though. She ended up working for some of the biggest names in retail, including Macy’s and, yes, the world’s most famous lingerie brand.
What Victoria's Secret Kimberly Guilfoyle Actually Looked Like
When people hear "Victoria's Secret model," they usually think of Gisele Bündchen or Adriana Lima strutting down a runway with 40-pound wings strapped to their backs. That wasn't exactly Kimberly's vibe. She wasn't an "Angel" in the traditional sense of the multimillion-dollar contracts and the televised fashion shows.
Instead, she was what the industry calls a working model. She appeared in the iconic catalogs and specifically modeled lingerie for bridal magazines that were associated with the brand.
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"I modeled everything from clothes, swimwear, and lingerie, including Victoria’s Secret," she told People magazine back in 2014. She’s never been shy about it. Honestly, why would she be? It paid the bills and, according to her, it helped her build the confidence she needed for the courtroom later on.
It’s a wild career trajectory when you think about it.
- Law school student and catalog model.
- High-stakes prosecutor in San Francisco and L.A.
- First Lady of San Francisco (while married to Gavin Newsom).
- Cable news powerhouse.
- Political advisor and diplomat.
That’s a lot of lives for one person to live.
Why the Victoria's Secret Connection Keeps resurfacing
People love a "before they were famous" story. It’s the contrast that gets us. Seeing a woman who is now known for her fiery, high-decibel political speeches in a soft-lit bridal lingerie ad from 1993 is just... interesting.
But there’s also a bit of a "gotcha" culture involved. In the hyper-polarized world of 2026, critics often try to use her modeling past to undermine her legal or political credentials. It’s a classic tactic. If you can’t argue with the policy, bring up the swimsuit photos from thirty years ago.
The reality? It didn't seem to hurt her career in the DA's office. She was a "Prosecutor of the Month" in Los Angeles. She handled the high-profile Diane Whipple dog-mauling case, which was a massive national story. She proved she could be more than just a face on a page long before she ever sat behind a news desk.
The Gavin Newsom Era and the "New Kennedys"
You can't talk about Kimberly’s rise without mentioning the time she spent as the First Lady of San Francisco. In 2004, Harper’s Bazaar did a spread on her and then-husband Gavin Newsom. They called them the "New Kennedys."
Think about that for a second.
The photos were glamorous. They were spread out on the floor of the Getty mansion in Pacific Heights. It was peak San Francisco royalty. At that point, the modeling days were in the rearview mirror, but that "camera-ready" quality never really left her.
Even back then, people were fascinated by the fact that the Mayor’s wife was a former lingerie model who could also take you to school in a courtroom. It’s a duality that has defined her entire public life.
Navigating the Myth vs. The Reality
So, let's clear up a few things that people usually get wrong when they Google this.
First, she wasn't "fired" from modeling to become a lawyer. She did both simultaneously for a while. Modeling was the engine that funded the degree. Second, there aren't thousands of "lost" Victoria's Secret photos floating around. Most of her work was for specific catalogs and retail advertisements.
Is it a "secret" past? Not really. She’s talked about it in interviews for decades. She’s even joked about how it prepared her for the "theatrics" of the legal world.
What You Can Learn from the Guilfoyle Hustle
There is actually a practical takeaway here, whether you like her politics or not.
- Diversify your skill set. Kimberly didn't just rely on her looks or just her law degree. she used one to get the other.
- Control your own narrative. By being open about her modeling past early on, she took the "scandal" out of it. It’s hard to "expose" someone for something they’ve already put on their resume.
- The "Working Model" grind is real. People think modeling is just standing there, but it’s a business. It requires punctuality, stamina, and a thick skin—all things that help in law and TV.
Moving Beyond the Catalog
Today, Kimberly Guilfoyle is a long way from the pages of a bridal magazine. As of late 2025 and moving into 2026, her focus has been entirely on the international stage and her role as the U.S. Ambassador to Greece.
It’s a pivot that many didn't see coming, but if you look at her history, it fits the pattern. She’s constantly reinventing herself. From the Mission District to the DA’s office, from the Fox News studios to Athens.
The Victoria's Secret chapter is just a footnote now, but it’s a footnote that proves she’s been working the system and building her brand for a lot longer than most people realize.
If you’re looking to dig deeper into how public figures manage their early-career "rebrands," you should look at how other media personalities have transitioned from entertainment to serious advocacy. The blueprint is almost always the same: acknowledge the past, highlight the work ethic it required, and then pivot hard toward your current mission.
The next time you see a grainy photo of Kimberly from the 90s, just remember—that photo paid for the law degree that started the whole climb.
To get a better sense of her legal background that followed her modeling years, look into the transcripts of the 2002 dog-mauling trial in San Francisco. It shows a completely different side of the persona we see on TV today.