The World’s Top 10 Highest Paid Models 2012

Gisele Bündchen

Born: 20 July 1980
Agency: IMG Models
Earning: $45 million (May 2011-May 2012)

Brazilian fashion model Gisele Caroline Bündchen is one of the most intellectual faces besides being known as the most successful and beautiful supermodel in the world. She has also appeared in films including Taxi in 2004, in the role of bank robbers’ leader, Vanessa, and in 2006, in The Devil Wears Prada. She is a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations Environmental Program. In 2009, she married New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady with whom she has a baby boy Benjamin Rein Brady.

In 1999, she was named as “The Return of the Sexy Model” by Vogue magazine. She has been the world’s highest-paid model since 2004 and the sixteenth richest woman in the entertainment industry. According to reports, Bündchen is also set to become the World’s First Billionaire Supermodel.

Kate Moss

Born 16 January 1974
Agency: IMG Models
Earning: $9.2 million (May 2011-May 2012)

English supermodel Kate Moss< is widely known for her heroin chic look and waifish figure. She has been featured in fashion magazines of UK, US, the Face, Another Man, Vanity Fair, and French Vogue magazines and international versions of Vogue. She has appeared on British Vogue for 30 times, and several other covers and issues. Besides working with the most renowned photographers in the fashion industry, she has won the prestigious Vogue/CFDA award in 2005 from the Fashion Designers of America.Throughout her fashion career, she has been one of the most famous fashion icons. She is married with her longtime boyfriend Jaime Hince since July 2011. Kate Moss has been highly controversial for her high-profile relationships, lofty parties, lifestyle, drug addiction, and size-zero fashion. She was the center of the debate of eating disorders across the world. In 2007, Forbes ranked her 2nd among top ten highest paid models' list with $9 million earning in one year.

Natalia Vodianova

Born 28 February 1982
Earnings: $8.6 million (May 2011-May 2012)
Agency: DNA Models

Russian model and philanthropist Natalia Mikhailovna Vodianova is the third highest paid model in Forbes list with approximately $8.6 million earning in one year.
Natalia was born in Gorky, Soviet Union where she grew up in hardships with her mother and two half sisters. At the age of 15, she started modeling and within two years she moved to Paris, where she signed with Viva Models and made her identity as a runway, editorial and advertising campaign model. She has been featured in worldwide editorials of fashion magazines and has done several advertising campaigns for Calvin Klein, L’Oréal, Guerlain, Givenchy, David Yurman, Marc Jacobs, Yves Saint Laurent, Stella McCartney,Versace, Guerlain, Etam and many others. Apart from modeling, she has appeared in Roman Coppola’s film CQ along with Billy Zane in 2001 and played the leading role in Albert Cohen’s 1968 novel Belle du Seigneur. In 2001, she met and got married with Justin Portman with whom she has three children but they are currently separated.

She is the founder as well as the president of the philanthropic organization Naked Heart Foundation, that works for the safe, secured and inspiring environment for children living in urban Russia. She was awarded with the ‘Inspiration of the Year’ in November 2010 by Harper’s Bazaar for her philanthropic achievements.

Adriana Lima

Born: On June 12, 1981
Earning: $7.3 million (May 2011-May 2012)
Agency: Marilyn New York

Brazilian model and actress Adriana Lima ranks 4th on Forbes’ lists of the 10 highest-earning models across the world with estimated $7.3 million earning. She has been the spokes-model for Maybelline cosmetics for 6 years from 2003 to 2009 and is widely known as a Victoria’s Secret Angel since 2000. At the age of 15, she entered modeling contest and took the first place in Ford’s “Supermodel of Brazil” model search and took second place in the Ford “Supermodel of the World” competition. She has been in Forbes’ edition of The World’s Best-Paid and powerful Celebrities for many times and in People magazine’s world’s 100 most beautiful people, on FHMs “100 Sexiest Women 2007” list and won many other titles.

She was born in Salvador, Brazil and is a devout Roman Catholic. She is married to a Serbian professional basketball player Marko Jarić with whom she has one baby Valentina Lima Jarić.

She helps an orphanage “Caminhos da Luz” (Ways of Light) in Salvador besides expanding the orphanage, and provides clothes for poor children in Salvador, Bahia.

Doutzen Kroes
Born 23 January 1985
Earning: $6.9 million (May 2011-May 2012)
Agency: DNA Models

Dutch model and actress Doutzen Kroes is specially known as the Victoria’s Secret Angel for which she began working in 2004 and became an Angel in 2008. She has been featured on several covers including Vogue, Time, Harper’s Bazaar, Avantgarde, Marie Claire, Seventeen Glamour, Dazed & Confused, Numéro and many. She was chosen as “Model of The Year” on Vogue.com by the readers in 2005, and appeared on cover of American Vogue in 2007 as one of the “World’s Next Top Models” and others. She campaigns for Gucci, Valentino, Versace, Tommy Hilfiger, Blumarine and Calvin Klein and most recently for L’Oreal and Tiffany & Co.

Doutzen Kroes was born a Frisian family in the village of Eastermar, Friesland, in the Netherlands. In 2009, she involved in a relationship with Dutch DJ Sunnery James whom she married on 7 November 2010 in Amsterdam and gave birth to a baby boy Phyllon Joy Gorré on 21 January 2011. She actively involved with non-profit organization Dance4Life that promotes awareness about HIV and AIDS among youths through song and dance.

Alessandra Ambrosio
Born: On April 11, 1981
Earning: $6.6 million (May 2011-May 2012)
Agency: DNA Models

Brazilian model Alessandra Ambrosio is widely known as the Victoria’s Secret Angel and the brand’s first spokes-model for Victoria’s Secret Pink line. She was born in the small town of Erexim, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil on April 11, 1981. She is of an Italian and Polish-Brazilian descent who began her modeling career at the age of 12 and within three years, at the age of 15, she won Brazil’s Elite Model Look which took her a step ahead in modeling career. Alessandra has been in several reputed brand’s advertisements including Giorgio Armani, Revlon, Ralph Lauren, Christian Dior, and Pirelli Calendar and others. She has appeared in several international magazine covers such as Elle, Cosmopolitan, Harper’s Bazaar, GQ, Marie Claire, and Vogue. She is often called one of the world’s sexiest women by the popular media and has been chosen as one “100 Most Beautiful People in the World” by People magazine in 2007. Besides being a model, she is the National Ambassador for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

In 2008, she married her Californian businessman boyfriend Jamie Mazur with whom she has two children, a daughter named Anja Louise Ambrosio Mazur and a baby boy named Noah Phoenix Ambrosio Mazur.

Miranda Kerr
Born: On 20 April 1983
Earning: $4 million (May 2011-May 2012)
Agency: IMG Models

Australian model Miranda Kerr is best known as the Victoria’s Secret Angels. Miranda May Kerr was born in Sydney, Australia on April 20, 1983 and grew up in a small town of Gunnedah. She had a very pleasing childhood and was a tomboy with hobbies that included racing motorbikes, riding horses, and enjoying the country life. Later, she moved to Brisbane, Queensland to have a city life where she decided to study nutrition before pursuing modeling as a career.

Her modeling career took a very good start after winning the Australian nationwide model search hosted by Dolly magazine and Impulse fragrance in 1997. Kerr was chosen for print campaigns for major labels such as Baby Phat, Betsey Johnson, Alex Perry, Lisa Ho, Neiman Marcus, Heatherette, Levi’s, Bettina Liano, Voodoo Dolls, Trelise Cooper, Nicola Finetti, L.A.M.B., Jets, John Richmond, Blumarine Swimwear, Anna Molinari, Rock and Republic, Ober Jeans and others. She has been frequently appearing in magazines including Elle, Australian Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar.

In 2010, she married the renowned English actor Orlando Bloom and has a son named Flynn Christopher Blanchard Copeland Bloom.

Lara Stone
Born: On 20 December 1983
Earning: $3.8 million (May 2011-May 2012)
Agency: IMG Models

Dutch model Lara Stone is widely famous as the world’s number-one fashion model on models.com’s Top 50 Models Women and has maintained the position till 2012. She was born on 20 December 1983 in the small Dutch town of Mierlo to a British father and Dutch mother. She started her modeling career at the age of 14 and took part in the Elite Model Look competition in 1999 at the age of 15. Her presence impressed Elite executives and they assigned her for Elite Modeling Agency. She campaigns for CK, Hugo Boss Orange, Givenchy, Calvin Klein Cosmetics, Belstaff, and Jil Sander. In 2008, she was one of the models selected for one of the fourteen covers of V magazine.

In 2009 she started dating the British comedian David Walliams and got married at London’s Claridge’s hotel in the year 2010.

Carolyn Murphy
Born: On August 11, 1973
Earning: $3.5 million (May 2011-May 2012)
Agency: IMG Models

American model and actress Carolyn Murphy is an internationally acclaimed model and known as one of the world’s top fashion models. She started her modeling career at the age of 16 in Florida and gradually expanded it to abroad in Japan and Paris. After graduating from Choctawhatchee High School in 1991, she moved to New York for pursuing a better modeling opportunity. In 1998, she was the “Model of the Year” by VH1/ Vogue. In 1999 she appeared on the cover of Vogue’s “Models of the Millenium” on the issue of rising model of the new millenium. In 2001, she won the coveted title of Estee Lauder spokesmodel. In 2002, she did her first advertising campaign for “Defining Beauty” after which she continued to appear in the advertisements for Estee Lauder’s new fragrance, Sensuous. She campaigns for Versace, Missoni, and Tiffany & Co. In 1999, she appeared in Barry Levinson’s Liberty Heights with the role of Dubbie the Blonde.

She was born in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, USA on August 11, 1975 and was raised throughout Northwest Florida in Panama City, Florida. She married surf shop owner named Jake Schroeder and has a daughter Dylan Blue.

Candice Swanepoel
Born: On October 20, 1988
Earning: $3.1 million (May 2011-May 2012)
Agency: IMG Models

South African model Candice Swanepoel became the first South African model to walk in the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show in 2007. She was born on October 20, 1988 in Mooi River, KwaZulu-Natal Province. She was discovered by a model scout in a Durban flea market when she was 15 and thus her career started. She has appeared in several covers for ELLE, Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, GQ, and Ocean Drive and assigned for advertising campaigns for Tommy Hilfiger, Diesel, Nike, Guess?, Tom Ford, Versace and several others. She has walked the runway for Dolce and Gabbana, Chanel, Tommy Hilfiger, Betsey Johnson, Jean Paul Gaultier, Diane von Fürstenberg, and many other renowned designers.

Candice Swanepoel ranks 10th in Forbes’ The World’s Top-Earning Models list with an approximate earnings of $3 million. She is fluent in Afrikaans and Portuguese. Currently, she is into relationship with male model Hermann Nicoli whom she met in Paris when she was only 17.

Info Source: Forbes