Adriana Lima first walked in the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show in 1999.
Lima’s debut came at the 1999 show, held at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City. She was 17 at the time, although some summaries have incorrectly listed her as 19; the year of her first Victoria’s Secret runway appearance is consistently identified as 1999.
The 1999 event was notable beyond Lima’s debut. It was webcast by Broadcast.com rather than being a conventional television broadcast, and its online distribution made it an early high-profile internet fashion event. Other models in that show included Tyra Banks, Heidi Klum, and Gisele Bündchen.
Lima’s debut began one of the longest relationships between a model and the brand. She became an Angel in 2000, later opened the show five times, and closed it three times. Although she took part in a farewell walk in 2018, her later appearances in 2024 and 2025 extended her Victoria’s Secret runway history.