For the first time since 2002, Brazilian Gisele Bündchen is not the world’s highest-paid model. The 37-year-old has been knocked from the top spot on Forbes’ annual list by comparative newcomer 22-year-old Kendall Jenner,
Beautiful and daring Kendall Jenner toppled Gisele Bündchen into second place on the Forbes list, banking $17.5 million this year. Bündchen, who formally retired from catwalk appearances last year, posed for adverts for Carolina Herrera fragrances, Arezzo shoes and Vivara jewellery in her homeland Brazil, but, in taking on less, her overall earnings had dropped 43% from the $30.5 million she made in 2016.
Her successor Kendall Jenner, is one of the half-sisters of Kim Kardashian and she has successfully gained public acclaim as a result of her family’s reality television show. She has also managed to spin this into a 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, she moved 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 the last year, Jenner now boasts lucrative 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.
Congratulations to Kendall Jenner.