Elsa Hosk Biography

Elsa Anna Sofie Hosk (born 7 November 1988) is a Swedish model and current Victoria's Secret Angel, who has worked for a number of leading brands including Dior, Dolce & Gabbana, Free People, Ungaro, H&M, Lilly Pulitzer and Guess. She modeled for Victoria's Secret, appearing in the brand's annual fashion show in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015. She has also appeared in many of the brand's campaigns, especially for the sub-division PINK In 2015, she was announced as one of 10 new Victoria's Secret Angels. She has also played professional basketball in Sweden.

Career

Growing up in Sweden, Hosk was presented with offers to model during high school after her father submitted photographs to various modeling agencies in Sweden when she was 13; she began modeling at 14. She did some modeling in high school but decided to primarily concentrate on her studies instead (she did some notable work with Guess and other companies however). After graduating, she decided to pursue a career in the Swedish women's basketball league. Hosk has commented that the level of play in the Swedish professional basketball league was not on par with the WNBA, and that interest in the sport was not as great in Sweden as in the United States. Although she ultimately abandoned professional basketball for modeling, Hosk has said that the intense rigor of practices (8 per week when playing basketball) and travel helped prepare her for the physical and travel demands of the modeling world.

After playing professional basketball for two years, she began receiving many job offers and soon moved to New York City to begin modeling full-time. Some writers have speculated that her work with Victoria's Secret was what brought her into the top tier fashion world, but Hosk also identifies her work with photographer Ellen von Unwerth in campaigns for Guess.

She is ranked 15th on the Top Sexiest Models list by models.com.

Personal life

Elsa Hosk is the daughter of Swedish father Pl and Finnish mother Marja. She has two siblings. Her cousin, Alice Herbst, is also a model. Herbst won the televised competition of Sweden's Next Top Model in 2012.

Hosk has worked to support the anti-human-trafficking organization, FAIR Girls. She became interested in the issue after seeing the movie The Whistleblower, which dealt with issues of sex trafficking.