Candice Swanepoel was born on October 20, 1988, in Mooi River, South Africa. She grew up on a dairy and beef farm and was raised in an Afrikaner family of Dutch origin. Her father, Willem Swanepoel, is from Zimbabwe, and her mother, Eileen Swanepoel, is from South Africa.

She has one older brother named Stephen. Swanepoel was a ballet dancer during her childhood and attended boarding school at St. Anne's Diocesan College in Hilton.

At the age of 15, she was discovered by a model scout in a Durban flea market. This marked the beginning of her modeling career. Candice Swanepoel has appeared in editorials for various international fashion magazines, including Vogue, Elle, GQ, and Harper's Bazaar.

She has walked the runway for renowned fashion brands such as Fendi, Chanel, Tommy Hilfiger, Dolce and Gabbana, Michael Kors, and many others. In 2007, she began working with Victoria's Secret and became a Victoria's Secret Angel in 2010.

She has also appeared in advertising campaigns for brands like Tom Ford, Givenchy, Ralph Lauren, and Nike. In 2018, she launched her own swimwear brand called Tropic of C. Swanepoel has received several accolades throughout her career.

She was listed 8th on Forbes' top-earning models list in 2016 and has been among the top 10 earning models every year since 2010. She was honored with Revolve's Woman of the Year award in 2019.

Candice Swanepoel was also voted No. 1 in Maxim's Hot 100 List in 2014. She was in a long-term relationship with Brazilian model Hermann Nicoli, with whom she has two children, Anacã and Ariel.

The couple got engaged in 2015 but eventually split in 2019.