Kendall Jenner dethrones Gisele Bündchen as world's highest-paid model after 15 years

Her earnings have more than doubled since last year, taking her to the top of the 'Forbes' list

In a rather surprising turn of events, Kendall Jenner has knocked Brazilian beauty Gisele Bündchen off of the top spot as the world's highest paid model for the first time in 15 years, reported Daily Mail.

The catwalk queen and reality star, 22, has topped the annual Forbes list thanks to earnings of $22 million over the past year. Kendall’s earnings have more than doubled since the $10 million of last year, rendering the highest-paid model already. The 37-year-old Gisele scored second place with $17.5 million, marking the first year she has not topped the list since 2002.



Rounding out the top three is singer John Legend’s significant other Chrissy Teigen, 31, who joins the list for the first time with $13.5 million over the past 12 months. Also making the cut for the first time are sisters Gigi, 22, and Bella Hadid, 21, at number give and nine respectively. Gigi raked in $9.5 million and the younger sibling earned $6 million.

PHOTO:FILE

Ashley Graham, 30, is the first ever plus size model to make the highest-paid list, coming in at 10th place with $5.5 million from her lingerie and swimsuit lines and high-profile contracts. In eighth place with $6.5 million is Chinese model Liu Wen, 29, the only person of colour on the list, reflecting the lack of diversity that continues to plague beauty contracts and runways.

Adriana Lima, 36, came in fourth place with earnings of $10.5 million, with new mother Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, 30, ($9.5 million) and Karlie Kloss, 25, ($9 million) rounding things off in sixth and seventh places, respectively.

Together, the world's 10 highest-paid models banked a total of $109.5 million between June 1, 2016, and June 1, 2017, before taxes and fees. Nine out them have worked with Victoria's Secret in some capacity, Ashley being the only exception.



Lucky for Kendall that she has been in the limelight since the age of 12, shooting to fame on her family's E! reality show Keeping up with the Kardashians. The model began her catwalk career when she was signed by Wilhelmina Models at the age of 14.

The American beauty queen made her Fashion Week debut at the Diane von Furstenberg New York presentation in 2014, and has by now worked with some of the world's biggest designers, including Chanel, Dior, Balmain and Oscar de la Renta.



Kendall made her Victoria's Secret Fashion Show debut in New York City in 2015, and appeared again at the showcase in Paris last year. Unfortunately, she was unable to participate in this year's gala due to her multi-million dollar contract with Italian lingerie brand La Perla which is said to have included a 'non-compete clause.' Along with that, she also has deals with PacSun, Topshop and Adidas and many others. The model also has her own app and continues to star in Keeping up with the Kardashians. Talk about being successful at a young age!

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