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In 1995, Amy Heckerling wrote and directed the teen movie Clueless. It starred Alicia Silverstone and featured a song about a girl who was young, hip and beautiful, and because of these, wanted to be a supermodel. Had that girl pursued her dream, she would probably have made the list by now.
These are the richest models in the world. The beautiful faces, the amazing bodies, the legs that go on forever…these are all captured in pictures that young boys around the world would pin up on their bedroom walls. What the cameras failed to capture, however, were the brains behind these girls, who are often derided for relying on their physical gifts alone. If you are worth hundreds of millions of dollars like those on the list, then there obviously was some intellect behind those looks. They are more than just a pretty face:
1. Kathy Ireland - $350 million
She had been a regular in the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition back in her younger years. She was both sporty and classy, with covers in glamour magazines like Cosmo and Vogue included in her resume. Kathy knew how to maximize her potential, appearing as a guest in a variety of television series, co-starring in several movies and endorsing several products in advertisements. Among her lucrative deals include endorsing Caress and Fruit of the Loom and designing clothes for K-Mart. Amazingly, she was able to maintain her whistle-bait figure despite swearing on the taste of Baked Lay’s, Cheerios and Budweiser beer. She also appeared in different movies, like National Lampoon’s Loaded Weapon 1, The Player and Alien from L.A. She also played a place-kicker for a college football team in Necessary Roughness. On the small screen, Ireland had guest spots in Melrose Place, Boy Meets World and Touched by an Angel.
2. Gisele Bundchen - $250 million
She is married to a Super Bowl quarterback who will one day be in the Hall of Fame. Tom Brady is lucky he did not marry a groupie who would suck his money dry, as Bundchen earns serious money by herself. She has high-paying deals with Louis Vuitton, Versace and Victoria’s Secret, and she has endorsement contracts with Nivea and American Express. Aside from appearing in covers for Vogue and GQ, she was also seen in a couple of movies entitled Taxi and The Devil Wears Prada. And Bundchen also has her heart in the right place. She has her own foundation called The Luz Foundation, and she goes around as a goodwill ambassador of the United Nations Environment Programme.
3. Cindy Crawford - $100 million
One of the original supermodels, who can ever forget her appearance in a fantastic red dress during the 1991 Oscar Awards ceremony. She has endorsed Pepsi, Revlon, Gap and Liz Claiborne, as well as appeared in Vogue, Maxim and Vanity Fair. Crawford is not shy about showing off her body as well, appearing nude in print for Playboy magazine and in the movies in Fair Game opposite William Baldwin. She was also seen in 54 and Unzipped. In the boob tube, Crawford has featured in several comedies, like Frasier, 3rd Rock from the Sun, and According to Jim. Crawford also has her own home collection products distributed by JC Penney and Raymour & Flanigan.
4. Tyra Banks - $90 million
The host of America’s Next Top Model was once a young gun herself who was dubbed as the next top model during the time when the likes of Naomi Campbell was ruling the roost. It didn’t take long for her to become the first African American to grace the cover of Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit edition in a solo capacity. Endorsements with Nike, Victoria’s Secret, Ralph Lauren and Dolce & Gabbana cemented her status as a supermodel. She has gone on to appear in movies like Coyote Ugly and in music videos like Michael Jackson’s Black or White. Banks also had her own talk show which ran for five years up to 2010.
5. Christie Brinkley - $80 million
She was Billy Joel’s Uptown Girl, and Brinkley has gone on to appear in the cover of different publications like Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, Sports Illustrated, Rolling Stone, Cosmo, and even Life Magazine and Playboy. She also hosted her own magazine show in news channel CNN.
6. Heidi Klum - $70 million
She endorses McDonald’s and Fit Yogurt. She models for H&M and Victoria’s Secret. She has appeared on the covers of Sports Illustrated, Esquire, Cosmo, Glamour and GQ. She guest starred in Sex and the City and The Devil Wears Prada. She was also involved in Project Runway. She can sing, and she even released a single back in 2006. She has her own sports line for New Balance. The only thing she hasn’t done is to keep her marriage with Seal intact.
7. Kate Moss - $50 million
She was almost blacklisted after getting involved with drugs in 2005, but Moss has come back big time with ads for Nikon. Her heroin chic look is now behind her, and Moss hopes for a return to the days when she was sought after by Versace, Prada and Donna Karan.
8. Naomi Campbell - $48 million
After several run-ins with the law, Campbell has remained rich and recognizable. It’s hard to forget her after her appearances in ads for Ralph Lauren, Prada and Louis Vuitton. And the model has heart, running a charity to combat poverty in Brazil.
9. Elle McPherson - $45 million
She’s a cover girl with five appearances for Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition, as well as turns for Playboy and Cosmo. She’s an endorser, appearing as the face of Revlon. McPherson is also a movie star, with films like Batman and Robin, The Mirror Has Two Faces and Sirens under her belt. She was on TV on the popular series Friends. She has her own lingerie collection and beauty products. McPherson is definitely a supermodel.
10. Claudia Schiffer - $40 million
Schiffer walked into the public’s consciousness with her ads for Gap. She later appeared for Chanel, Guess? and Salvatore Ferragamo. She now does fashion consultancy after starting a cashmere collection in 2011.
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