Barbara Palvin made her return to the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show runway Sunday night in Los Angeles, just six weeks after giving birth to her first child.
The Hungarian model, 33, walked the 2026 show in a sheer pale pink dress layered over a matching bra and panties set, her hair styled in loose waves and oversized gold hoops bearing the lingerie brand’s logo swinging from her ears. She gave birth to daughter Sylvie on Sept. 7, sharing the news on Instagram with husband Dylan Sprouse alongside the caption, “We took Labor Day literally this year.”
Backstage before the show, Palvin downplayed the feat in an interview Style. “I tell everyone: This is normal. Maternity leave is six to eight weeks; I’m six weeks tomorrow, so I’m just doing what everyone [else] is doing. And I only need to walk down a runway!”
She continued, “I’m happy. I’m excited. I hope I don’t fall!”
Sprouse, 33, voiced his admiration on Instagram after watching his wife hit the catwalk so soon after childbirth. “Proud of my missus, jumping right into the vs fashion show post-birth. Built different. I don’t know where you find the energy but damn!”
The former Disney Channel star has built a reputation for theatrical displays of support at his wife’s VS appearances, having previously brought cardboard cutouts of their pets to the pink carpet and once delivered hamburgers to her directly at the show. Palvin confirmed ahead of Sunday’s event that he would be in attendance, though she expressed some practical concerns. “My wonderful husband will be here tonight,” she said. “I don’t know what he’s planning — hopefully nothing, because he has to be taking care of our baby girl right now!”
The couple revealed their pregnancy in May, with Palvin debuting her baby bump on the Cannes Film Festival red carpet in a feather-trimmed light blue Miu Miu gown. Victoria’s Secret teased her return to the runway days before the show with an Instagram video showing the model pushing a stroller, captioned, “Motherhood looks good on you, @realbarbarapalvin. So does the runway—see you in LA.”
Palvin’s quick comeback places her within a tradition of model mothers who have walked the VS runway shortly after giving birth. Heidi Klum returned eight weeks after delivering son Henry in 2005 and five weeks after daughter Lou Samuel arrived in 2009, having previously concealed her pregnancy with Leni during her 2003 Fantasy Bra appearance. Adriana Lima made her first post-baby runway walk eight weeks after daughter Valentina’s birth in 2008, then returned two months after her second child in 2012. Jasmine Tookes walked while nine months pregnant during last year’s show.
Palvin first stepped onto a runway for Prada at age 17 and made her Victoria’s Secret debut two years later. She did not return to the brand’s catwalk until 2018, when she earned her official Angel wings the following year and subsequently walked in the 2024 and 2025 editions.