Engel began modeling at the age of 12, and after meeting Bruce Weber,[3] landed campaigns for Guess?, Versace Jeans, and Abercrombie & Fitch. She is most known for her exclusive campaigns with Ralph Lauren and Covergirl cosmetics,[4] the former being a brand she has worked with for over a decade.
Over the span of her modeling career, she starred in advertisements for Roberto Cavalli, Chanel Allure, Kate Spade Twirl, Bebe, Brunello Cucinelli, Alberto Guardiani, and London jeweller David Morris.[5] In addition to multiple magazine editorials, she also did catalog work for J. Crew and Neiman Marcus. Engel has appeared on multiple magazine covers, including Elle, Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Avant Garde, and Marie Claire. But her infamously noted appearance was on cover for the March 1999 issue of Seventeen (American edition) and in January 2011, she appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated South Africa.
She appeared in Tiësto's music video "Love Comes Again" in 2004.[6] She also appeared in a commercial for BMW I model vehicles in 2012.[7]
In 2008 Engel founded Organice Your Life, a lifestyle site promoting organic and sustainable living. She received certification as a Health Coach from Institute of Integrative Nutrition in New York in 2009.[8]
In 2012, after two decades of modeling, Engel retired as an active model to concentrate on her new lifestyle site. As of 2014, Engel is also the American agent for shoe designer Mano Macchiato.[9] She is working on a children's book featuring her adopted shelter dog, Vito.[10]
Engel is a staunch conservative,[11] and backed Donald Trump during the 2016 US presidential election.[12] She has taken the same position during the 2020 presidential campaign.[13]
