Angel Reese becomes first pro athlete to walk in Victoria's Secret Fashion Show

Angel Reese took her game from the court to the catwalk and made history along the way.

The Chicago Sky forward became the first professional athlete to walk in the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show on Wednesday, joining the brand’s high-profile “Wings Reveal” lineup in New York.

“It was destined for me,” Reese said during an interview before the show began. “This is already for me. I'm so happy to be sitting in this room with so many amazing models and women. The team that put this all together has been amazing. I'm so excited.”

Reese said she hired a modeling coach to “perfect my walk.”

“I walk, sleep, hoop,” she said. “And I hoop, sleep, walk.”

Reese, 23, made her debut on the Victoria Secret runway wearing pink floral lingerie set adorned with blossoms and lace detailing, paired with a dramatic feathered stole draped across her arms. The wrap was covered in soft pink and rose-toned textures.

The 6-foot-3 Reese donned the signature angel white wings that have defined the show for decades, a new stage for an athlete known for her confidence, charisma and crossover appeal. She walked to the tune of Lumidee's “Never Leave You (Uh Oooh, Uh Oooh.)”

Reese is a former Louisiana State University national champion and NCAA tournament most outstanding player in 2023.

“One of her biggest dreams was to walk this show,” said celebrity stylist Law Roach, a co-host on the pink carpet who helped reinvent Zendaya, turned Celine Dion into a fashion icon and is a close friend to Reese.

“We had a conversation. I told her, ‘I don’t think that’s a big dream at all.’” Roach said. "And for that to happen in a year or less, that she’s walking the show and, I mean, she looks stunning, like the hair, the makeup, her presence, she’s ready, she’s excited. That makes me the most proud because she’s the one out of most of the girls I have, you know, the kind of deepest connection with.”

The show was livestreamed on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok and Prime Video in the U.S. The show is a mix of music and celebrities, with Madison Beer sporting pink wings performing “Make You Mine” with lingerie-clad models strutting on the catwalk.

K-pop group TWICE hit the runway too, performing “This is For” and “Strategy.” Karol G sang “Ivonny Bonita” before she walked solo in red wings and lingerie ensemble.

Reese has become one of the most visible figures in women’s sports. Her style, outspokenness and social media influence have helped bridge the gap between sports, fashion and pop culture.

The lingerie show began in 2001 and took place annually for nearly two decades. Victoria’s Secret canceled the show in 2019, but brought it back last year, with Reese attending.

Associated Press writer John Carucci in New York contributed.

Angel Reese walks the runway during the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show on Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

Angel Reese walks the runway during the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show on Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

Angel Reese walks the runway during the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show on Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

Angel Reese walks the runway during the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show on Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

FILE - Chicago Sky's Angel Reese, left, shoots against Washington Mystics' Kiki Iriafen during the second half of a WNBA All-Star basketball game, July 19, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File)

FILE - People prepare the runway prior to the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show Oct. 15, 2024, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP/File)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un criticized the United States and South Korea for proceeding with their annual joint military exercises at a perilous moment for global security and warned that any challenge to the North’s safety would bring “terrible consequences.”

Kim Yo Jong’s statement Tuesday came a day after the allies started their 11-day Freedom Shield exercise involving thousands of troops, while Washington also wages an escalating war in the Middle East.

Without directly referring to the Iran war, Kim said the U.S.-South Korea drills undermine regional stability at a time when the global security structure is “collapsing rapidly and wars break out in different parts of the world due to the reckless acts of outrageous international rogues.”

Freedom Shield is one of two annual command-post exercises conducted by the U.S. and South Korean militaries. The largely computer-simulated drills are designed to test the allies’ joint operational capabilities while incorporating evolving war scenarios and security challenges. As usual, Freedom Shield will be accompanied by a field training program, called Warrior Shield.

Mentioning the country’s expanding nuclear program, Kim Yo Jong said North Korea will continue to bolster its “destructive power” against what it sees as external threats and “constantly and repeatedly convince the enemies of our war deterrence and its fatality.”

North Korea has long portrayed the allies’ joint drills as invasion rehearsals and often used them as a pretext to ramp up its own military demonstrations or weapons tests. The allies say the exercises are defensive in nature.

Meanwhile, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung acknowledged “some anti-defense weapons" could be relocated by the U.S. but said such moves wouldn’t seriously undermine defenses against North Korea. His comments followed media speculation that the United States was moving some Patriot missile defense systems and other equipment from South Korea to support operations in the Middle East.

“Our government has expressed opposition to such moves, but it's also an undeniable reality that we cannot fully control the situation according to our wishes,” Lee said at a Cabinet meeting.

North Korea’s Foreign Ministry last week described the U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran as an “illegal act of aggression” carried out under the pretext of “fake peace.”

Amid a yearslong diplomatic freeze with Washington and Seoul, Kim Jong Un has increasingly framed his foreign policy around the idea of a new Cold War, deepening ties with Moscow and Beijing while portraying Pyongyang as part of a united front against Washington.

Pyongyang and Tehran were among the few governments to support Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, and both have been accused of supplying Russia with military equipment.

Separately, South Korea’s Unification Ministry said it believes train services between Pyongyang and Beijing will resume this week for the first time in six years after being suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic. North Korea and China had already resumed rail operations between border towns, mainly for trade, after the North began easing border restrictions in 2022. It remains unclear whether the renewed services between their capitals will result in increased exchanges, including tourism in North Korea.

While prioritizing Russia in foreign policy, Kim has also sought to strengthen ties with China, the North’s traditional main ally and economic lifeline. He traveled to Beijing last September and held his first summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in six years.

A soldier stands at a North Korean military guard post flying a national flag, seen from Paju, South Korea, near the border with North Korea, Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

A North Korean military guard post, top, and a South Korean post, bottom, are seen from Paju, South Korea, near the border with North Korea, Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)