As a 14-year-old student, she undertook
work experience at
London West End-based model agency Profile, before taking her
GCSEs. Signed after leaving school in Summer 2003, aged 16, her first modelling session was for a Levi's jeans commercial. In early 2006, she was signed to American lingerie brand
Victoria's Secret, making her debut at the brand's fashion show in Los Angeles. '' in 2011 Huntington-Whiteley remained unknown outside the fashion industry until 2008, when she was cast by chief creative director
Christopher Bailey, replacing
Agyness Deyn for
Burberry's Autumn/Winter campaign with actor
Sam Riley. She got her first
British Vogue cover on the November 2008 issue, alongside Eden Clark and
Jourdan Dunn in a feature celebrating British models. The following year, she was featured as the face of
Karen Millen's Spring/Summer 2009 advertising campaign. She starred in a short film for Agent Provocateur lingerie, playing a woman whose boyfriend forgets Valentine's Day. For Fall/Winter 2009, she modelled in campaigns for
Godiva and Miss Sixty. and took part in the annual
Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in New York City. She confirmed the following year that she wouldn't walk the show, and has since stated that she left Victoria's Secret to pursue other opportunities, as she was "well aware of the short shelf-life a model has". In 2010, she posed nude for the
Pirelli Calendar, which was photographed by
Terry Richardson. For SS10 her advertising campaigns included Monsoon's first underwear line, Thomas Wylde, Full Circle, and
VS Online. In March, she collaborated with VOGUE.COM to share her outfit choices daily for the ''Today I'm Wearing
feature. She appeared on the covers of the May 2010 issues of Harper's Bazaar Russia and GQ UK. She was featured on the cover of LOVE'' Magazine's September issue, styled as a
pinup girl. For
FW10 she modelled for
Burberry as well as the company's first beauty line; her other advertising campaigns included Thomas Wylde and
Leon Max. In May 2010, it was announced that Huntington-Whiteley would become the new female lead in
Transformers: Dark of the Moon, released 29 June 2011, replacing
Megan Fox. She had previously worked with the film's director,
Michael Bay, on a Victoria's Secret commercial.
MTV Networks' NextMovie.com named her one of the "Breakout Stars to Watch for in 2011". Prior to the film's release, she won the "Female Star of Tomorrow" award at the 2011 CinemaCon Awards. Reviewers were critical of the acting of Huntington-Whiteley and co-star
Shia LaBeouf.
Peter Travers (of
Wenner Media) stated the two "couldn't be duller". Jason Solomons of
The Observer wrote that "we're first introduced to Rosie via a close-up of her bum, segueing straight from the film's opening sequence and titles on to the pert buttocks and underwear of our heroine", and that Huntington-Whiteley's English posh girl accent "renders her practically unintelligible when surrounded by American accents and falling masonry". In a positive review, Drew McWeeny of
HitFix said, "She reminds me of
Cameron Diaz in
The Mask, an actress who doesn't really show off any range, but who gives a natural, winning performance and who is up to the challenge of this particular picture." Fashion photographer
Rankin devoted a book entirely to her entitled
Ten Times Rosie. Rankin opined that Huntington-Whiteley brought something different to modelling: "We've been looking at very, very skinny, almost masculine girls for a long time. [Rosie] really is the model of the moment. She's the actress of the moment. She's definitely going to become something much, much bigger." Celebrity make-up artist
Ruby Hammer, who has worked with Huntington-Whiteley for years, described her as the "quintessential"
English rose. In March 2011, Huntington-Whiteley landed her first solo
British Vogue cover and appeared on the covers of the UK's July issues of
Elle and
GQ. She was unveiled as the face of
Burberry's newest fragrance, Burberry Body, in July 2011. In 2013, Huntington-Whiteley starred alongside
Helena Bonham Carter and
David Gandy in the
Marks & Spencer Christmas advert. She was also announced as the face of Australian cosmetics brand ModelCo. In 2014, PAIGE announced Huntington-Whiteley as their ambassador for their upcoming Spring 2015 ad campaign. In February 2017, PAIGE launched their first ever design collaboration with Huntington-Whiteley on a 17 piece capsule collection for Spring called Rosie HW x PAIGE. This was followed by a Fall collection consisting of 20 pieces. Huntington-Whiteley had her second acting role in the film
Mad Max: Fury Road, which was released in May 2015. She played The Splendid Angharad, one of the Five Wives of the warlord
Immortan Joe. In order to portray her pregnant character, she wore a prosthetic abdomen throughout the film. Shortly following the birth of her first child, she launched her website named "Rose Inc". The page started out as a beauty publication which worked in tandem with its Instagram and YouTube accounts. In August 2021, the brand expanded to selling its own clean makeup and skincare. In May 2024, Huntington-Whiteley announced her departure from Rose Inc. after its acquisition by AA Investments, following the bankruptcy of its joint venture partner, Amyris Inc. == Personal life ==