Doutzen Kroes (West Frisian pronunciation: [ˈdʌu̯tsə(ŋ) ˈkrus]; born 23 January 1985) is a Dutch model, actress, activist and philanthropist. She began her modelling 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.^[2] She has been a brand ambassador for L'Oréal Paris since 2006.^[3] Kroes has been one of 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.^[4] 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"^[6] 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.^[7]

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 song and dance to educate youth about HIV and AIDS prevention. She is also one of the supporters of Wildlife Conservation and World Wildlife Fund.

Doutzen Kroes was born on 23 January 1985, in the village of Eastermar (Dutch: Oostermeer).^[8] Her mother, Geartsje Leistra, was a nurse, then a teacher,^[9] 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.^[10]

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.^[11]

In 2005, Kroes won "Model of The Year" on Vogue.com by readers.^[12] She was presented on the May 2007 cover of Vogue as one of the "World's Next Top Models" along with Chanel Iman among others.^[13] Along with several of these models, she appeared in the 2008 Pirelli Calendar.^[14]

In 2006, a Frisian documentary directed by J.J.M. Jansen about a week in Kroes' life as a model was released. It documented Kroes at Milan Fashion Week and her thinking about the modeling industry.^[15] In July 2007, earning at an estimated total of $1.5 million in the previous twelve months, Forbes named Kroes fourteenth in the list of the world's 15 Top-Earning Supermodels.^[16] In April 2008, she was in fifth position, with an estimated income of $6 million.^[17] Forbes named Kroes fifth again in 2009 ($6 million), 2010 ($6 million) and 2012 ($6.9 million).^[18][19][20] Kroes escalated to the second position of the ranking in 2014, having earned $8 million the year before.^[4]

Kroes is in the official Frisian provincial campaign for the Frisian language, her mother tongue.^[21]

At the end of August 2008, Victoria's Secret confirmed to People magazine that Kroes was to be the newest Victoria's Secret Angel.^[22] Her first campaign as the brand's newest Angel was "Supermodel Obsessions".^[23]

There is a wax figure of Kroes in the Amsterdam branch of Madame Tussaud's wax museum.^[24] From November 2009 to July 2010, Kroes wrote a monthly column about her life for the Dutch edition of Marie Claire.^[25]

In February 2010, Kroes returned to the catwalk during fashion week for Prada with fellow Angels Alessandra Ambrosio and Miranda Kerr. Prada was praised by former editor-in-chief of Glamour, Cosmopolitan and Marie Claire magazines, Bonnie Fuller in her blog for using a curvy model such as Kroes for the fashion show.^[26]

In September 2013, Kroes became the first model in history to appear on the cover of four international editions of Vogue in one month.^[7][27]

In 2014, Kroes appeared in the new Calvin Klein Reveal Fragrance commercial alongside Charlie Hunnam, as well as continuing her long-standing contracts.^[28] She also announced that she was ending her contract with Victoria's Secret after seven years of being with the brand; she walked in the 2005–2009 (excluding 2007), and 2011–2014 Victoria's Secret Fashion Shows. Kroes is considered one of the "New Supers" by Models.com.^[29]

In 2016, Kroes was announced as the spokesmodel for Dutch lingerie retailer Hunkemöller. Kroes released her own collection line 'Doutzen's Stories' and has starred in several campaigns for the Hunkemöller brand to date.^[30]

On 24 November 2011, Kroes debuted in Nova Zembla, the first Dutch 3D film made. Kroes has been taking acting classes in New York City for several years and has stated in interviews that she plans to act in more movies to come. In 2017, she appeared in the superhero film Wonder Woman, as an Amazon warrior.^[31]

Kroes is actively involved with the non-profit organization Dance4Life, which uses song and dance to educate youth about HIV and AIDS prevention.^[32] She is also an ambassador for "Praat mar Frysk" ("Just speak Frisian") campaign which aims to promote the Frisian language, which is spoken in Kroes' native Friesland.^[33][34]

In 2009, Kroes started dating Dutch DJ Sunnery James Gorré.^[35][36]. On 7 November 2010, she and Sunnery married in Eastermar.^[37] The couple have two children: son Phyllon Joy Gorré (born January 2011)^[38] and daughter Myllena Mae Gorré (born July 2014).^[39] Both children were born in Amsterdam, Netherlands. In an April 2014 interview on the future of her daughter, Kroes said: "Instead of saying, 'You're so beautiful', I'll say, 'You're smart', so she'll have different aspirations in life than beauty and modeling. Though I love my job, I'm not changing the world. I'd love for her to study and to have different aspirations. We need to teach girls they can become presidents, and it's not about beauty all the time."^[40][41]

Television