How many supermodels are there in the world

BBC fashion. Under models face catwalk ban. How supermodels went social. Campbell 'exposing fashion racism'. The new wave of Arab supermodels. Image source, Getty Images. She successfully leveraged her huge social media following of She also walks more catwalks than most of the other models in this list. Kerr left Victoria's Secret in but has made huge amounts of money from other lingerie firms such as Wonderbra.

Lima is the longest running "Angel" to model for Victoria's Secret. Delevingne made her name in high fashion modelling but her prolific social media presence with 19 million Instagram followers, 3. Bundchen's earnings massively outstrip that of her younger peers and that of her American football player husband Tom Brady. Bundchen retired from the catwalk this year but she makes most of her money from beauty and fragrance contracts with Chanel and Carolina Herrera and designing her own shoes for other brands.

Next Story A hairstylist turned a vintage camper into her o Like beauty itself, supermodeldom is in the eye of the beholder. One day, perhaps, there will be a Model Sanctioning Body that will establish clear rules for who qualifies as a supermodel—but until then we'll just have to muddle our way through. The difference between regular and super models is generally believed to involve not money but fame: A supermodel is someone whose celebrity extends outside of the fashion world.

That is to say, you don't have to know your Dolce from your Gabbana to know that Cindy Crawford is really pretty. And I'm Perfect , coined the term supermodel in Hence, she calls herself the world's first supermodel. A better candidate for first-ever supermodel might be Suzy Parker. Out of all the gorgeous women signed to agencies across the world, why is it that only a handful will evolve into a true "super", turning making a living into making a fortune? T here are, of course, common characteristics — perfectly structured, statuesque bodies, for a start.

Beauty always helps, but it can only get you so far. Not content with just ruling the catwalk, models have to take their off-the-runway careers just as serious to really make it as one of the chosen few. The big names are far more than just a pretty face — they must have the power to capture the world's attention outside the limited fashion industry — super-brands as well as supermodels.

These days, supermodels are selfie pros hello Cara , and have more fans than many of Hollywood's biggest celebs. No better time, then, to count down the women who made being gorgeous big business. If there was a face to define the s, it's Paulina's. Breaking records in the modelling world, at 19 she became the youngest model and first Eastern European to grace the cover of Sports Illustrated.

The Lauder contract transformed her from model to household name and she remained the company's face until Her supermodel status spanned decades, featuring on all the major magazine covers including Vogue, Elle, Harper's Bazaar, Glamour and Cosmopolitan. Author and actress, and former America's Next Top Model judge, she's still in demand today. Achingly cool in a grunge-meets-boho kind of way, Daria is the supermodel you don't know you know.

She may not be a household name but she's definitely a household face. After a rocky start, she caught the attention of fashion photographer Steven Meisel and landed a Prada campaign in Since then she's been everybody's girl, from Gucci, to Chanel, Lancome, to Celine and Balenciaga, and holds the record for opening and closing the most catwalk shows in one season. We've a soft spot for her as she hung out at Electric Picnic last year, and has made west Cork her home, so was the obvious choice of model when Vogue came to shoot in Co Kerry for the September issue.

In , Forbes named her one of the top-earning models in the world. There was a time in the s when you couldn't walk by a newsstand without seeing Janice Dickinson's face. Now, the self-proclaimed "world's first supermodel" might best be known for her wit and her brutally honest critiques on many a reality show. Struggling to make it in the s, where the blonde bombshell was de rigueur, Janice was considered too exotic and was turned down by several agencies. It wasn't until photographer Jacques Silbersten took a shine to her that she got her big break.