Tom Gerencer
Victoria’s Secret models are among the highest paid in the world. The models typically earn $5 million a year. That money doesn’t come exclusively from Victoria’s Secret though. In fact, most of the money earned by a VS model comes from outside modeling contracts.
Gisele Bundchen is the highest paid Victoria’s Secret model ever. The former VS model earned an estimated $44 million in 2015 alone. Bundchen is followed up by Adriana Lima with $9 million and former VS model Doutzen Kroes with an annual salary of $7.5 million. The lowest paid Angels in the lineup are relative newcomers Lily Aldridge and Martha Hunt with $2 million each in annual earnings.
There’s some evidence that Victoria’s Secret may be turning into a bit of a supermodel springboard to fame. There’s no doubt the lingeriegiant is a lucrative option, paying an estimated $100,000 to $1 million per year depending on seniority and fame. However, most of the money earned by Victoria’s Secret models comes from outside jobs for big-bucks companies like Maybelline, L’Oreal, Versace and Calvin Klein.
See our list of Victoria’s Secret models ranked by income below.
1. Gisele Bundchen: (Former Victoria’s Secret Model) $44 Million
Gisele Bundchen is the highest paid Victoria’s Secret model of all time. The Brazilian superstar earned a reported $5 million a year during her time with VS. In 2015, Bundchen tops Forbes’ list of highest earning models.During her career, she has been the face of dozens of brands and retired from runway work in 2014.
According to Forbes, Bundchen’s net worth is $386 million. In 2000, the model wore the $15 million dollar Victoria’s SecretRed Hot Fantasy Bra. The Guinness Book of World Records called the bra the most expensive lingerie item ever made. In 2008, a photo of Bundchen was auctioned for $193,000. In 2000, she reportedly earned $7,000 an hour. The supermodel is married to legendary NFL quarterback Tom Brady. The couple’s combined net worth is over $700 million.
Gisele’s inspiring campaign for Under Armor has been known to induce chills. See an example below.
Victoria’s Secret Models Ranked by Earnings
The table below shows all current Victoria’s Secret angels ranked by the money they earned in 2015. We’ve included former VS models Gisele Bundchen, Doutzen Kroes and Karlie Kloss for perspective.
| Earnings Rank | Victoria's Secret Model | Annual Earnings | Status | Outside Deals |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gisele Bundchen | $44,000,000 | Former Victoria's Secret Model | Under Armour |
| 2 | Adriana Lima | $9,000,000 | Current Victoria's Secret Model | Maybelline, Vogue Eyewear |
| 3 | Doutzen Kroes | $7,500,000 | Former Victoria's Secret Model | L'Oreal |
| 4 | Alessandra Ambrosio | $5,000,000 | Current Victoria's Secret Model | Signature swim line |
| 5 | Candice Swanepoel | $5,000,000 | Current Victoria's Secret Model | Versace fragrance deal |
| 6 | Karlie Kloss | $5,000,000 | Former Victoria's Secret Model | L'Oreal |
| 7 | Kendall Jenner | $4,000,000 | Current Victoria's Secret Model | Calvin Klein |
| 8 | Gigi Hadid | $2,500,000 | Current Victoria's Secret Model | CoverGirl |
| 9 | Lily Aldridge | $2,000,000 | Current Victoria's Secret Model | Michael Kors |
| 10 | Martha Hunt | $2,000,000 | Current Victoria's Secret Model | Free People |
2.Adriana Lima:$9,000,000
Adriana Lima makes the most money of any current Victoria’s Secret model. Her high earnings are likely due to her long tenure as a VS model and her widespread fame and recognition. She’s not only the #2 highest earning VS angel, she also makes the second most money of any model in the world.
Lima wore the Victoria’s Secret $5 million dollarFantasy Bra in 2008. The bra incorporated3,575 black diamonds, 34 rubies, 117 one carat round white diamonds, and two black diamonds of100 carats total. The Brazilian beautycurrently has big money deals with Maybelline and Vogue Eyewear.
Also see: Taylor Swift Net Worth
3.Doutzen Kroes: (Former Victoria’s Secret Model)$7,500,000
Doutzen Kroes makes the third most money on our list of Victoria’s Secret models. The former VS angel has branched out on her own, securing deals with L’Oreal and other big name companies. She has repeatedly placed in the top ten models for annual salary according to Forbes.
Kroes is from a small town in the Netherlands. Kroes’ parents were both championspeed skaters, a sportthat Kroes originally aspired to as a career. Kroes’ Calvin KleinReveal commercial below features British actor Charlie Hunnam. The clip has over 3 million YouTube Views.
Also see:Adele Net Worth
4.Alessandra Ambrosio:$5,000,000
Alessandra Ambrosio takes the #4 Victoria’s Secret model earnings slot, with $5 million a year in runway money. The model makes income from VS runway gigs and also has her own signature swim line.
Ambrosio is a 34 year old Brazilian model who’s been a VS angel since 1996. She has modeled for Armani, Christian Dior and Ralph Lauren, among many others. When she was just 11 years old, the model had plastic surgery to pin her ears back. She has since said she deeply regrets the decision.
Ambrosio is one of several models featured in the lip synch video below of Taylor Swift’s hit single, Shake it Off. The video has over 8 million YouTube views and originally aired on the Victoria’s Secret fashion show in 2014.
5.Candice Swanepoel:$5,000,000
Candice Swanepoel is #5 on our list of Victoria’s Secret money makers. The South African model earned $5 million in 2015. Turns out that’s the middle of the road dollar figure for a VS angel. Swanepoel has had big money deals with Versace, Nike and Tommy Hilfiger. Not all about the almighty dollar, the supermodel is active in the charity Mother2Mother, which works to promote ageneration of children free of HIVin Africa.
Swanepoel was chosen to wear the Victoria’s Secret $10 million dollarFantasy Bra in 2013. The video below shows her posing in and reacting to the bra. It also hilariously shows the model playfully mocking her over-serious security detail.
Also see:Selena Gomez Net Worth
6.Karlie Kloss: (Former Victoria’s Secret Model)$5,000,000
Karlie Kloss is tied with model Candice Swanepoel with $5 million in annual earnings. The American model left Victoria’s Secret in 2015 to pursue more lucrative contracts. She has big money deals with L’Oreal and other big name companies.
Kloss is reportedly one of Taylor Swift’s best friends, and appears in the music video for Swift’s hit song,Bad Blood. Her YouTube channel,Klossy features weekly blog segments and has amassed nearly 9 million views. According to industry experts, that places Kloss’ earnings from the channel at just $70,000 so far. There’s room to grow. The channel only went live in April of 2015. You can watch the trailer for the model’s channel below.
7. Kendall Jenner:$4,000,000
Kendall Jenner earned $4 million in 2015, putting her 7th on our list of Victoria’s Secret money makers. Jenner’s first brush with fame came from TV’s Keeping Up with the Kardashians. She is the former Olympian Caitlyn Jenner and is known for posting celebrity selfies.
Jenner bought a two bedroom condo in LA for $1.4 million in 2014. She has raised money for the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles andShare Our Strength: No Kid Hungry.
Also see: Lydia Ko Net Worth
8.Gigi Hadid:$2,500,000
Gigi Hadid is one of the newest faces of Victoria’s Secret. Her $2.5 million in earnings puts her in 8th place for the biggest Angel money makers. The 20 year old American hashigh dollar deals with CoverGirl and Guess.
Hadid started modeling at just two years old after being discovered by Guess’ Paul Marciano. She has appeared in two short films and several music videos, including Taylor Swift’sBad Blood.
9.Lily Aldridge:$2,000,000
Lily Aldridge comes in tied for#9 in our list of highest earning Victoria’s Secret models. Aldridge has outside deals with Michael Kors, J Crew and Levis, among many others. She was chosen by Victoria’s Secret to wear the 2015Fireworks Fantasy Bra, valued at $2 million.
Aldridge is the daughter of Playboy Playmate Laura Lyons. The 30 year old American began appearing in magazines at just age 17. She is married to Kings of Leon singer Caleb Followill.
10.Martha Hunt:$2,000,000
Martha Hunt rounds out our list ofhighest earning Victoria’s Secret models. With earnings of $2 million, she’s actually tied for 9th place with Lily Aldridge. The 26 year old American has worked for Ralph Lauren and Chanel. She is the spokesmodel for theFree People brand.
Another of Taylor Swift’s posse of supermodel friends, she was reportedly discovered at a casting call at age 18. She also appeared in Swift’s hit video,Bad Blood.
Also see:Miley Cyrus Net Worth
Victoria’s Secret Models: Bad Blood
So many of the top earning VS models appeared in Taylor Swift’s Bad Blood video that we thought we’d better include it here. The video is a fun action filmhomage featuring Swift and her high earning supermodel friends in a mock up sci fi thriller trailer. The video includes nods to The Fifth Element, The Matrix, Blade, Kill Bill and other famous movies. The video cost an estimated $3 million to produce. Whether Swift’s supermodel friends worked for free or not is open to debate.
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