Miranda Kerr on motherhood, turning 40 and why she has ‘no regrets’ over Victoria’s Secret

Supermodel Miranda Kerr has opened up about her time as a Victoria’s Secret Angel – and how she feels about the controversial US lingerie giant now.

From the runways of Victoria’s Secret to her own beauty empire, Miranda Kerr is one of Australia’s most successful supermodels.

Here, Kerr sits down with Stellar’s podcast Something To Talk About to discuss co-parenting with ex Orlando Bloom, her deep bond with Bloom’s finance Katy Perry – and how she just wants to be a “grandma with great skin”.

On her time strutting the runway at the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show – and her stint as a VS Angel.

“I look back at my years with VS and I really do have such fond memories. I remember the first time I actually walked into a Victoria’s Secret store. I was on a rotary exchange program to this little country town called Tazewell in Virginia, and my host family took me to a mall where I saw the first Victoria’s Secret store. I was in such awe of this store. I was like a kid in a candy shop. It had underwear and all of these lifestyle things and swimwear and cute clothes, and I’d never seen anything like it. So it was quite surreal that six years later, I moved to New York and became the first Australian Victoria’s Secret Angel.”

Miranda Kerr on the runway during the 2011 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in New York. Picture: Getty Images

Miranda Kerr reached Angel status at VS – and has no regrets about her time at the controversial US lingerie giant. Picture: Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage

On the Victoria’s Secret casting process. “I went to a few castings for Victoria’s Secret before I eventually worked with them, but I do remember my first casting for them. I was playing Eminem in my earpods and I had the little iPod, because at the time you didn’t have music on your phone. Just playing Eminem’s Lose Yourself as I was trying to shake out the nerves. And I remember one of the first trips for Victoria’s Secret that I went on. I went to this beautiful island and it was a swimwear shoot. I remember seeing Adriana [Lima] and Alessandra [Ambrosio] and Gisele [Bündchen] and I was just blown away by their beauty and their energy and their confidence. I remember thinking, Oh my goodness, what am I doing here? All these women are just so stunning. And then after a couple of years, I got into the swing of things and we had a lot of fun together. Victoria’s Secret really launched my modelling career internationally and put my name out there. So I’m so grateful for that opportunity. And it’s one that I never, ever took for granted. I really did have a very positive experience throughout that whole time.”

Listen to the full interview with Miranda Kerr on the Stellar podcast Something To Talk About. Follow or subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.

On turning 40 last month [April 20] and how Kerr’s husband Evan Spiegel encouraged her to celebrate her milestone birthday.

“I’m feeling good. I’m loving it. I actually don’t feel much different to be honest. Just loving every minute. [Evan] is amazing. Normally what we do is we have a little small picnic with the family to celebrate. But this year, he encouraged me to have a celebration with friends of mine and family from all over the world, so that was really incredible. We danced the night away and it was pretty magical. Those are memories that I’ll really cherish forever. My parents were here and my brother was here, and those experiences are just the best gift – sharing those moments with the people you love.”

Supermodel Miranda Kerr is in her ‘grandma’ era. Picture: Stellar

On her beloved grandmother, who passed away in 2021.

“I’ll get teary thinking about it. My grandma was just such an influence in my life and she taught me to lead from my heart. She was always in the kitchen in a great little outfit with like a little wedge. It was all about the energy that she brought to the house because she was really charming and funny. You just could feel the warmth when you walked into the room with her. She was cracking jokes up until like the last moment before she passed. It’s something for me to aspire to, to be like her. She was a stay-at-home mum and grandma. I did say to one of my friends the other day, ‘I can’t wait until I can be a grandma.’ I won’t be running my business by then. I’ll be retired and I can just be cooking in the kitchen and pottering around just like my grandma was. I make sure I prioritise my time and I am fortunate enough to have my own business. I drop [the kids] off at school in the morning and then on the weekends we have that quality time together. It’s fun to be able to do both. But some days I just want to be a grandma and be with my kids and grandkids, which is not even here yet.”

Listen to the full interview with Miranda Kerr on Stellar’s podcast, Something To Talk About below.

On co-parenting their son Flynn with ex-husband, actor Orlando Bloom.

“From day one, Orlando and I really made a commitment to put Flynn’s needs at the forefront of everything that we do. So that’s how he has grown up – with two loving parents that want the best for him. And then obviously, when Evan and Katy [Perry, Bloom’s fiance] came into the picture, we just felt like that offered Flynn even more love. And he really sees that. He sees that in the way that we communicate and in all of the special moments that we have together, celebrating different milestones and when we go on holidays together. And I think it makes him feel safe knowing that we are always going to put his needs first, and also that we naturally all get along so well. It’s pretty special. I feel very lucky.”

On the deep friendship she shares with singer Katy Perry, Bloom’s fiance

“I literally say how thankful I am for Katy every day because as she’s said in the past, she will sometimes sidebar text me and be like, ‘Hey, what do you think of this?’ or ‘What if we do this?’ and ‘Maybe this is a good solution’. So we’re always kind of working together as that female force to try and do the best thing for our families. And she’s such an incredible mum. She’ll often reach out to me about different tips and things with her little daughter, Daisy, especially when it comes to food and wellness tips and things like that. Andshe’s been so supportive of me. I feel very blessed to have that relationship with her. She really is like a sister to me and we’ve kind of connected from day one. I mean, she even dressed up at the G’Day LA event when she gave me the award [for Excellence in Arts]. She dressed up as our turmeric glow moisturiser because that’s her favourite moisturiser in the world. And that was her idea. She was like, ‘Surprise!’”

Miranda Kerr at the Met Gala in May. Picture: Getty Images

On the vanilla-coloured carpet! Picture: Getty Images

On whether, if she had a daughter, she would allow her to take up modelling at a young age.

“It was interesting for me because I won the Daily magazine cover contest when I was 13. I was a couple of weeks off 14, and I remember my mum saying to me, ‘You can do this, but any shoot you do, I’m going to accompany you and I’m not letting you miss any school. You can maybe do something in the school holidays.’ So my modelling career wasn’t really even a thing until after I graduated from school. My husband’s a very private man, so it wouldn’t be something that he would want to encourage. And I obviously respect that. For our children to not be in the public eye is something that is really important to us as a family. But it would be a hard decision if she really wanted to do it. But I guess after she’s 18, it would make more sense. And obviously at the end of the day, you want your children to be happy and you want to support them.”

On ageing and how she wants to be a “grandma with great skin”.

“Life is such a gift and it is such a privilege to be able to age. It’s a privilege to be able to wake up every day. And what’s really important to me is to try and be as healthy as I can for as long as I can … I’ve always said healthy skin is the most beautiful skin … I really do want to be a grandma with great skin. My grandma was a beautiful grandma with great skin. A friend of mine texted me the other day and was like, ‘Wow, Miranda, I’ve been using [Kerr’s beauty products Kora Organics] for the last two weeks and I’m noticing a serious difference to my skin and it’s making me feel more confident.’ And that’s really what it’s all about for me; trying to give people these kinds of tools to have their skin be as healthy as they can be for as long as it can be. And as I said, it’s a privilege to grow old, but I do want to be a grandma with great skin.”

Find out more about Miranda’s Certified Organic Skincare brand here or on Instagram at @KORAOrganics.

Listen to the full interview with Miranda Kerr on the Stellar podcast Something To Talk About. Follow or subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.

Originally published as Miranda Kerr on motherhood, turning 40 and why she has ‘no regrets’ over Victoria’s Secret