Former Victoria’s Secret Angel Bianca Balti says she was turned down for a place in this year’s runway show as she continues her journey with ovarian cancer.
In a heartfelt essay on Substack, the 41-year-old model shared that she reached out to the brand the week of Oct. 6, asking to walk in the Oct. 15 show. Balti, who began treatment for ovarian cancer in October 2024, wrote that she decided to take a chance — even if it felt daunting.
“I don’t know exactly where the courage came from, but I did it,” she wrote. “The only things we regret in life are the chances we don’t take. So I asked myself, ‘What do I have to lose?’ and went for it. I searched LinkedIn for email addresses and sent this open letter to anyone I could find at the company.”
Addressing her note to the “Victoria’s Secret Team,” Balti expressed admiration for the brand’s evolution.
“Over the past few years, I’ve watched your brand’s beautiful transformation — a true commitment to diversity and inclusion,” she wrote. “When I saw the announcement that the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show was returning this year, I felt something powerful: I should be there too.”
She continued, “I’m not the youngest, curviest, or fittest. But I am strong, brave, and alive — and I’m still damn sexy. I wear my scars proudly and rock my newly grown hair with pride. Having me on that runway wouldn’t just be a personal dream fulfilled; it would send a message to millions of women: ‘Life goes on in the face of adversity. You are not less of a woman. You are whole. You are sexy. You are unstoppable.’”
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Later in her essay, Balti praised the diversity of last year’s show, noting appearances from “two trans women, three plus-size powerhouses — Ashley Graham, Paloma Elsesser, Devyn Garcia — and an age range that stretched from 22-year-old Lila Moss to 56-year-old Carla Bruni.”
She explained that her hope to return to the runway was about more than nostalgia: “Not (only) because I’m beautiful but because I represent the millions of women who have, have had, or will have cancer. I want to show them that a diagnosis is not the end of beauty, or confidence, or sensuality. That scars don’t erase who we are. That life after cancer can still be bold, sexy, and full.”
Balti shared that Victoria’s Secret “kindly” declined her request, saying the show had already been fully cast.
“And that’s okay,” she wrote. “I made this bold move because ever since I got sick, I’ve felt a responsibility to bring hope not just to women with cancer, but to everyone learning to live again after hardship. I tried. It didn’t happen. But I have no regrets. Cancer taught me that life is too short not to try and that trying never kills you.”
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Balti has been candid about her health journey. She underwent a preventative mastectomy in 2022 after discovering she carried the BRCA1 gene mutation, which increases the risk of breast cancer. Two years later, she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer.
Balti first walked the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show runway in 2005, when the annual spectacle was at its peak. The brand canceled the show in 2019 following criticism over its lack of inclusivity, then revived it in 2024.
This year’s lineup featured WNBA star Angel Reese, model Jasmine Tookes, who proudly showcased her baby bump, Olympic gymnast Suni Lee, and supermodels Ashley Graham and Gigi Hadid, among others.
