Photo Credits: Gigi Hadid , Buro. Singapore, CC BY 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons. Image cropped from the original.
Highest paid models 2026 still proves one thing: Forbes stopped publishing its official list in 2019, but the hierarchy hasn’t changed much.
Kendall Jenner prints money, Gisele Bündchen turned modeling into a wellness empire, and Gigi Hadid is quietly becoming fashion’s most bankable girlfriend. In 2025, the top 10 women in modeling earned between $20 million and $40 million a year from contracts, not catwalks — and these three still sit at the top of highest paid models 2026.
Highest Paid Models 2026: 1. Kendall Jenner — $22 Million and Jacob Elordi
The money: Kendall dethroned Gisele in 2017 and never looked back. Forbes estimated $22 million in 2023, and the 2025 UK estimate put her at £16 million ($20.3M), ahead of Gisele’s £13.2 million. Her income is no longer just Estée Lauder and Calvin Klein — it’s 818 Tequila, FWRD creative director fees, and Instagram posts that reportedly command $750K each.
Latest news: Kendall is no longer the “single Jenner.” After two years of on-off rumors with Bad Bunny and Devin Booker, she has been dating actor Jacob Elordi since February 2026. The pair were first caught “making out” at Justin Bieber’s Coachella afterparty, then flew to Hawaii in May for what OK! Magazine called a “getting serious” trip.
Sources told PEOPLE they are “figuring things out” and keeping it low-key, but Khloé Kardashian accidentally confirmed it on a family movie night podcast, and insiders claim Kylie Jenner played matchmaker. Hollywood isn’t just watching the romance — analysts note their combined brand value (Kendall’s $180M net worth + Elordi’s post-Euphoria heat) delivers 30% higher engagement for dual campaigns. That’s why Kendall still leads highest paid models 2026.
Private life: Still lives in her $8.5M Beverly Hills compound, co-parents her horses, and avoids the family Hulu cameras more than her sisters. At 30, she’s told friends she wants kids “before 35, but not with a basketball player.”
Highest Paid Models 2026: 2. Gisele Bündchen — The Comeback Mom Baby River
The money: Gisele held the No.1 spot for 14 straight years — a Forbes record. Even in semi-retirement she earned $17.5 million in 2023, largely from Arezzo shoes, Vivara jewelry, and her Gaia wellness platform. In 2025 she was still No.2 globally in highest paid models 2026.
Latest news: The biggest headline isn’t fashion — it’s family. Gisele welcomed her third child, a baby boy, in February 2025 with husband Joaquim Valente, her jiu-jitsu instructor turned partner. She has kept his first name private, but told People his middle name is River, continuing her water theme (Benjamin Rein and Vivian Lake with ex Tom Brady).
At 45, she returned to the red carpet nine months postpartum at the Fashion Trust Arabia gala in Doha, then posted the clearest photos yet of her son on Mother’s Day 2026, writing: “Nothing in this world fills my life with more meaning and joy than being a mom.”
She’s also back in campaigns — Louis Vuitton’s “Horizons” travel ads and a new IWC watch deal — proving that motherhood didn’t pause her earning power, it rebranded it.
Gossip: Despite tabloids linking her to Tom Brady reconciliation rumors after his roast, sources close to Gisele say she and Valente are “very private, very grounded” in Miami, splitting time between Costa Rica and their new wellness retreat project.
Highest Paid Models 2026: 3. Gigi Hadid — Bradley Cooper and Guest in Residence
The money: Gigi first cracked Forbes‘ top five in 2017 when her income doubled from $4M to $10M. In 2025 she sits comfortably in the top five again, thanks to Guest in Residence (her cashmere line now in 120 stores), Maybelline, and Versace contracts. Estimates place her 2025 earnings around $20 million, keeping her in highest paid models 2026.
Latest news: Gigi, 31, went Instagram-official with Bradley Cooper in May 2025 on her 30th birthday, after dating quietly since October 2023. In 2026 the couple is practically domestic: they skipped the Golden Globes to eat at Giorgio Baldi, were spotted on a family outing in the West Village with his daughter Lea (9) and her daughter Khai (5), and Gigi now wears a custom $2,995 Sheryl Lowe necklace engraved “G ♥️ B.”
She called Cooper her “happy place” on the Met Gala red carpet (he skipped the steps but waited inside), and sources told iHeart he is “seeking her mother’s approval” for a proposal. They co-parent seamlessly — Khai and Lea are often photographed together — and both prioritize low-key dinners over premieres.
Private life/business: Gigi is expanding Guest in Residence into menswear in fall 2026 and just opened a design studio in NoHo. She shares Khai with ex Zayn Malik amicably and told Vogue the key to dating in the public eye is “mutual respect and self-awareness.”
Why Highest Paid Models 2026 Still Win
In 2013 female models earned 148% more than male models, and that gap has widened. Kendall, Gisele and Gigi aren’t just faces — they’re founders, mothers, and tabloid-proof strategists. Kendall monetizes attention, Gisele monetizes longevity, Gigi monetizes relatability.
The 2026 lesson of highest paid models 2026? The highest-paid model is no longer the one who walks the most shows. It’s the one who can turn a Hawaii vacation, a baby’s middle name River, or a $3,000 necklace into a global headline — and get paid for it.
**Sources & Verification:**
- Forbes – Highest Paid Models archive $22M 2017-2023, Gisele 14 years No.1 – forbes.com- PEOPLE Magazine – Kendall Jenner Jacob Elordi Hawaii May 2026, Gisele baby middle name River Feb 2025 – people.com- Vogue – Gigi Hadid Guest in Residence 120 stores, Bradley Cooper relationship – vogue.com- OK! Magazine – Kendall Hawaii “getting serious” trip – okmagazine.com- Louis Vuitton / IWC – Gisele Horizons campaign 2026 – louisvuitton.com
