Chrissy Teigen Is John Legend's Wife, Author, Cook, and Mom, but Also Has Time to Be One of the Highest-Paid Models

Fashion design, — (Image credit: Steve Granitz)

Chrissy Teigen does it all. She's ambassador to a number of brands, has her own line of cookware along with a recently released new cookbook, and is the host of Lip Sync Battle, all while being hilarious and grounded on social media. With her husband John Legend, she's casually reinventing the holiday special in her spare time, and she's a super-devoted mom to kids Luna and Miles. Oh, and she was also the third-highest paid model in 2018.

According to Forbes, Kendall Jenner came in the top spot with $22.5 million, no surprises there. Karlie Kloss, in second, earned $13 million. Teigen was tied with Rosie Huntington-Whitely at $11.5 million, and Gisele Bundchen and Cara Delevingne tied for the fifth spot with $10 million each. Chrissy's in really good company: all of the top performers have branched out in their careers in various ways to include partnerships, acting, clothing lines, and other forms of branding. The total Forbes number includes contracts for fragrances, cosmetics, and so on, which would include Chrissy's lip gloss collaboration with BECCA Cosmetics, called BECCA x Chrissy, but not any of her cooking-related work.

Forbes notes that a strong social media presence is important for becoming a top model and building a brand, and Chrissy clearly has that in spades. She's not afraid to get real with her fans, including her cooking failures—that is one burnt pie.

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Katherine’s a contributing syndications editor at Marie Claire who covers fashion, culture, and lifestyle. In her role, she writes stories that are syndicated by MSN and other outlets. She’s been a full-time freelancer for over a decade and has had roles with Cosmopolitan (where she covered lifestyle, culture, and fashion SEO content) and Bustle (where she was their movies and culture writer). She has bylines in New York Times, Parents, InStyle, Refinery29, and elsewhere. Her work has also been syndicated by ELLE, Harper’s Bazaar, Seventeen, Good Housekeeping, and Women’s Health, among others. In addition to her stories reaching millions of readers, content she's written and edited has qualified for a Bell Ringer Award and received a Communicator Award.

Katherine has a BA in English and art history from the University of Notre Dame and an MA in art business from the Sotheby's Institute of Art (with a focus on marketing/communications). She covers a wide breadth of topics: she's written about how to find the very best petite jeans, how sustainable travel has found its footing on Instagram, and what it's like to be a professional advice-giver in the modern world. Her personal essays have run the gamut from learning to dress as a queer woman to navigating food allergies as a mom. She also has deep knowledge of SEO/EATT, affiliate revenue, commerce, and social media; she regularly edits the work of other writers. She speaks at writing-related events and podcasts about freelancing and journalism, mentors students and other new writers, and consults on coursework. Currently, Katherine lives in Boston with her husband and two kids, and you can follow her on Instagram. If you're wondering about her last name, it’s “I go to dinner,” not “Her huge ego,” but she responds to both.