By: Carla Perez
Photo Credit: AP Press
For the first time since 2002, Brazilian Supermodel Gisele Bündchen is not the highest paid model in the world. The 37 year-old has been knocked from the top spot on Forbes’ annual list by the reality show tv star/supermodel Kendall Jenner, 22.
It was only a matter of time before one of the new generations Instagram models would top Gisele Bündchen, who fell into second place on the Forbes list, banking in just a crazy $17.5 million this year. Bündchen, who formally retired from catwalk appearances last year, collaborated with Carolina Herrera fragrances, Arezzo shoes and Vivara jewelry in her homeland Brazil, but, in taking on less, her overall earnings had dropped 43% from the $30.5 million she made in 2016.
It’s not surprising that her successor is Kendall Jenner, the 22 year-old half-sister of Kim Kardashian, who has obviously generated success and a massive following from an early break on her family’s reality television show, and managed to convert that fame and success into an incredible modelling career.
She first appeared on Keeping Up With The Kardashians at the age of 12 and was signed to Wilhelmina Models at the age of 14. The beginning of her career was filled with appearances in brands and magazines aimed at the American teen market – shoots for Seventeen and Teen Vogue, as well as a campaign for prom dress designer Sherri Hill.
By 2013, though, she had indicated that she wanted to move into high fashion modeling, signing with Society Management and making a landmark catwalk debut, walking for Marc Jacobs in the designer’s autumn 2014 show with bleached eyebrows and a blunt bob wig. From there, her credentials rose, with Chanel, Givenchy, Versace and more hiring her for runway appearances.
With earnings of more than $22 million in this last year, Kendall now has major deals with Estée Lauder, La Perla and Adidas, as well as running her Kendall + Kylie clothing line with her sister, Kylie Jenner, and cashing more fees from paid-for posts distributed to her 85 million followers on Instagram. Also getting paid 120K an episode for her family reality tv show.
