Victoria's Secret's First Asian Model Liu Wen Is Oh-So Stunning Today

Although there's still work to be done, spotting a diverse range of models stomping down fashion's biggest runways is more common today than it once was. Liu Wen was the first East Asian model to walk down a Victoria's Secret runway, and that was in 2009! In the years since, Wen has continued to model for VS and for other brands, and she's one of the Angels slated to appear in the 2026 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show — and she's still a stunner today. The much-buzzed-about VS Fashion Show kicks off on Sunday, Oct. 18 in Los Angeles, and is expected to feature other OG Angels including Joan Smalls, Candice Swanepoel, and Adriana Lima.

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Wen was just 21 years old when she was booked for the Victoria's Secret show back in 2009. In a backstage interview with CNN, she said, "I was surprised when my agent told me. I asked my agent if she was joking. I didn't think an Asian girl would get this job." Whether rocking an off-duty look during Paris Fashion Week in 2026 or turning heads at this year's Met Gala, Wen is still a total knockout. When she' not modeling for storied fashion houses like Chanel and Givenchy, Wen is a regular at the glitziest events, and she walked the epic Cannes red carpet in 2026, totally holding her own up against the Cannes Film Festival looks we'll never forget.

Considered China's first supermodel, Liu Wen was discovered in Beijing in 2006 after entering a modeling contest to win a laptop for school and, not long after, she was flown to Paris and then to New York, where her career took off. In the years after her first Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, Wen became the first Asian face of Estée Lauder. And she was the first Chinese model featured on the cover of American Vogue for the pub's March 2017 issue; that was the same year Forbes named her one of the highest-paid models in the world. Other top models in the industry have shone a light on the dark side of modeling, and the lack of diversity is certainly a key issue that warrants continued attention. 

Wen's decades-long participation in a famously sealed industry that has so much say in how women feel about their own place in the world is historic. And Wen isn't the first model of color to help disrupt tired old beauty standards. One other example is supermodel Naomi Campbell; her most iconic looks from the '90s are still remembered today alongside her barrier-smashing work. We wouldn't be surprised one bit if we're still marveling at what Wen has done for modeling and fashion decades from now, too.