The age of the oldest Victoria’s Secret Model is actually really surprising

With the annual 2017 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show going down next week in Shanghai, you better believe I’m getting hype for it in more ways than one. Wine is in the fridge, the snack list is made, and I have several face masks on deck I’m set to try that night in the hopes of eliciting angelic radiance ( see what I did there?) — I’ll report back on the results soon, folks.

Another “tradition” of mine, is to take a walk down memory lane and reminisce on years past, as it’s actually quite fascinating to see how much has changed over the course of the last two decades, and the ways in which the show has evolved with respect to everything from the performances and the hair to the outfits and the models the brand casts. For example, we’ve watched some original Angels, such as Rosie Huntington-Whitely and Gisele Bündchen, retire their wings, while others — Adriana Lima and Lily Aldridge, I’m looking at you — are still going at it strong.

To celebrate the highly-anticipated event, why not highlight the longest-running models who are still in it to win it? Without further ado, the VS models that further prove age ain’t nothin’ but a number.

Adriana Lima, 36

She walked her very first show in 1999 and was contracted as an Angel in 2000. She’s now looked up to by the younger models who had watched her walk the runway for all those years. What’s more, the 36-year-old stunner opened the show in 2003, 2007, 2008, and2010.

Alessandra Ambrosio, 36

She just dropped the devastating news that this will be her last year (!) strutting her stuff on the VS catwalk. She’s been with the brand since 2005, making this year her 12th and final show. Fun fact: The 36-year-old has even walked in the show while pregnant, as well as three months postpartum.

Lily Aldridge, 32

She joined the VS fam in 2009, became an Angel a year later, and has been with the lingerie brand ever since. And if her Instagram posts are any indication, the 32-year-old might just be walking the runway for life. (We certainly hope so!)

Candice Swanepoel, 29

After taking a year off to give birth to her sweet baby son, Anacan, she is officially back at it — and killing it no less. She’s been with the brand since 2010, making it almost eight years with her VS fam. “I definitely missed it, so of course I’m excited to be back,” she told Vogue in a recent interview.

Liu Wen, 29

She broke boundaries in 2009 when she became the first woman of East Asian descent to walk in the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. This marks her eighth year killing it on the catwalk with her VS sisters.