Victoria’s Secret Angel, Candice Swanepoel sizzles on the cover of British GQ May 2012 as she poses seductively wearing nothing but sexy lingerie for the camera lens of acclaimed photographer Terry Richardson. The South African bombshell looks divine with her flawless looking skin and perfectly sculpted silhouette, so no wonder that she makes jaws drop with every appearance. Between modelling gigs and photoshoots, Ms. Swanepoel found the time to sit down for a chat with GQ UK, where she gushed on her home town, being teased in school for her looks as well as the secret to her successful career, so check out highlights of Candice’s interview with GQ to find out more about the South African goddess.

Before she was discovered by a model scout at the age 15 and moving to pursue a modelling career, Candice Swanepoel recalls that she grew up in a lovely environment and loved her home town. She tells GQ UK that:

“It was such a pure, beautiful way to grow up. I used to wear overalls. And big boots, and poke cow poo, and helped the cows give birth. It was a really amazing playground.”

Now she’s all grown-up, she’s considered one of the sexiest women in the world, walks for Victoria’s Secret, the world’s most watched fashion show and she is one of the highest paid models in the industry. But things weren’t always this dreamy, as apparently Candice was teased when she was growing up for her physical appearance. If people only knew then she would grow up to be an internationally renowned model, things would have probably been different, but Candice got her revenge as she says:

“A year before I got scouted [Candice was discovered aged 15 at a flea market in 2003], I would watch a lot of Fashion TV. At school I got teased because I was so thin and awkward-looking. But the girls on TV looked similar to me. I would say to my mom, the girls at school are teasing me, but I look like those girls on TV. A year later, someone took me to an agency and that’s it. Revenge is always… [Laughs] I know it sounds terrible, but it does feel good to show those people.”

The road to success wasn’t all paved with diamonds as Candice remembers that it took a lot of work to get where she is now. The secret to her successful modelling career was work, work and more work as she shares with the magazine that:

“I put all my eggs in one basket when I left South Africa. I put my head down and worked my a%$ off. And look where it got me.”

Check out Candice Swanepoel’s complete interview and full photo spread in the May 2012 issue of GQ UK.

Photos courtesy of GQ UK