The Most Famous

MODELS from United States

This page contains a list of the greatest American Models. The pantheon dataset contains 313 Models, 88 of which were born in United States. This makes United States the birth place of the most number of Models.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary American Models of all time. This list of famous American Models is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography's online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of American Models.

1. Kendall Jenner (b. 1995)

With an HPI of 66.76, Kendall Jenner is the most famous American Model. Her biography has been translated into 106 different languages on wikipedia.

Kendall Nicole Jenner (born November 3, 1995) is an American model, socialite and media personality. She rose to fame in the reality television show Keeping Up with the Kardashians, in which she starred for 20 seasons and nearly 15 years from 2007 to 2021. The success of the show led to the creation of multiple spin-off series including Kourtney and Khloe Take Miami (2009), Kourtney and Kim Take New York (2011), Khloé & Lamar (2011), Rob & Chyna (2016) and Life of Kylie (2017). Following the decision to end their reality show, in 2022 she and her family starred in the reality television series The Kardashians on Hulu. Jenner began modeling at the age of 14. After working in commercial print ad campaigns and photoshoots, she had breakout seasons in 2014 and 2015, walking the runways for high-fashion designers during the New York, Milan, and Paris fashion weeks. Jenner has appeared in campaigns, editorials, and cover shoots for LOVE and various international Vogue editions, and is a brand ambassador for Estée Lauder. Jenner made her debut at No. 16 on Forbes magazine's 2015 list of top-earning models, with an estimated annual income of US$4 million. In 2017, Jenner was named the world's highest-paid model by Forbes, ousting model Gisele Bündchen who had been leading the list since 2002. In 2021, she launched the tequila brand 818 Tequila.

2. Cindy Crawford (b. 1966)

With an HPI of 65.05, Cindy Crawford is the 2nd most famous American Model. Her biography has been translated into 58 different languages.

Cynthia Ann Crawford (born February 20, 1966) is an American model. During the 1980s and 1990s, she was among the most popular supermodels and a ubiquitous presence on magazine covers and runways, as well as fashion campaigns. She subsequently expanded into acting and business ventures.

3. Gia Carangi (1960 - 1986)

With an HPI of 64.58, Gia Carangi is the 3rd most famous American Model. Her biography has been translated into 42 different languages.

Gia Marie Carangi (January 29, 1960 – November 18, 1986) was an American supermodel, considered by some to be the first supermodel. In 2023, Harpers Bazaar ranked her 15th among the greatest supermodels in the 1980s. She was featured on the cover of numerous magazines, including multiple editions of Vogue and Cosmopolitan, and appeared in advertising campaigns for fashion houses including Armani, Dior, Versace and Yves Saint Laurent. After Carangi became addicted to heroin, her career rapidly declined, which ultimately led her to quit modeling in 1983. In 1986, at age 26, she died of AIDS-related complications. Believed to have contracted it from a contaminated needle, she became one of the early notable women to die of the virus. Her life was dramatized in the television film Gia (1998), directed by Michael Cristofer and starring Angelina Jolie as Carangi.

4. Bettie Page (1923 - 2008)

With an HPI of 64.11, Bettie Page is the 4th most famous American Model. Her biography has been translated into 39 different languages.

Bettie Mae Page (April 22, 1923 – December 11, 2008) was an American model who gained notoriety in the 1950s for her pin-up photos. She was often referred to as the "Queen of Pinups": her long jet-black hair, blue eyes, and trademark bangs have influenced artists for generations. After her death, Playboy founder Hugh Hefner called her "a remarkable lady, an iconic figure in pop culture who influenced sexuality, taste in fashion, someone who had a tremendous impact on our society". A native of Nashville, Tennessee, Page lived in California in her early adult years before moving to New York City to pursue work as an actress. There, she found work as a pin-up model, and she posed for several photographers throughout the 1950s. Page was "Miss January 1955", one of the earliest Playmates of the Month for Playboy magazine. After years in obscurity, she experienced a resurgence of popularity in the 1980s. In 1959, Page converted to evangelical Christianity and worked for Billy Graham, studying at Bible colleges in Los Angeles and Portland, Oregon, with the intent of becoming a missionary. The latter part of Page's life was marked by depression, violent mood swings, and several years in a state psychiatric hospital with paranoid schizophrenia.

5. Gigi Hadid (b. 1995)

With an HPI of 63.16, Gigi Hadid is the 5th most famous American Model. Her biography has been translated into 55 different languages.

Jelena Noura "Gigi" Hadid ( JEE-jee hə-DEED; born April 23, 1995) is an American fashion model and television personality. In 2016, she was named International Model of the Year by the British Fashion Council. Throughout her career, Hadid has made at least 50 appearances in international Vogue. Models.com ranks her as one of the "New Supers". Since 2017, Hadid has been one of the highest-paid models in the world, earning $20 million. Born in Los Angeles, she began her career as a child model for Baby Guess. She signed to IMG Models in 2013 and made her New York Fashion Week debut the next year. Hadid has appeared in numerous high fashion campaigns and editorials, and is a spokesmodel for Maybelline.

6. Carmen Dell'Orefice (b. 1931)

With an HPI of 63.07, Carmen Dell'Orefice is the 6th most famous American Model. Her biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Carmen Dell'Orefice (, Italian: [delloˈreːfitʃe]; born June 3, 1931) is an American model and actress. She is known within the fashion industry for being the world's oldest working model as of the Spring/Summer 2012 season. She was on the cover of Vogue magazine at the age of 15 and has been modeling ever since, and has featured in films and television programs.

7. Hailey Baldwin (b. 1996)

With an HPI of 61.71, Hailey Baldwin is the 7th most famous American Model. Her biography has been translated into 40 different languages.

Hailey Rhode Bieber (née Baldwin; born November 22, 1996) is an American model, socialite, creative director and businesswoman. She is the founder and chief creative officer of skin care brand Rhode, and has featured in campaigns for Guess, Ralph Lauren, and Tommy Hilfiger.

8. Hunter Schafer (b. 1998)

With an HPI of 59.88, Hunter Schafer is the 8th most famous American Model. Her biography has been translated into 39 different languages.

Hunter Schafer (born December 31, 1998) is an American actress and model. Born in Trenton, New Jersey, and raised in Raleigh, North Carolina, Schafer first made headlines in 2016 with her activism against North Carolina's Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act. She also developed skills in visual arts like watercolor painting and clothing design, and in 2017 she started modeling for many worldwide fashion brands. Schafer made her acting debut as transgender high school student Jules Vaughn in the HBO teen drama television series Euphoria (2019–present), which garnered her critical praise. She has since starred in the films The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes (2023) and Cuckoo (2024).

9. Tyra Banks (b. 1973)

With an HPI of 59.58, Tyra Banks is the 9th most famous American Model. Her biography has been translated into 70 different languages.

Tyra Lynne Banks (born December 4, 1973), also known as BanX, is an American model, television personality, producer, writer, and actress. Born in Inglewood, California, she began her career as a model at the age of 15 and was the first Black American woman to be featured on the covers of GQ and the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, on which she appeared three times. Banks was one of only a few Black models to achieve Supermodel status. She was a Victoria's Secret Angel from 1997 to 2005. By the early 2000s, Banks was one of the world's top-earning models. Banks began acting on television in the sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1993) and made her film debut in the drama Higher Learning (1995). In 2000, she had major film roles, such as Eve in Disney Channel's Life-Size and Zoe in the box-office hit Coyote Ugly. Banks had small roles in the romantic sports film Love & Basketball (2000), the horror film Halloween: Resurrection (2002), and in the television series Gossip Girl (2009) and Glee (2013). In 2003, Banks created the long-running reality television series America's Next Top Model, which she executive produced and presented for the first twenty-two seasons, until the series' cancellation in October 2015. She remained executive producer for the revival of the series in 2016 and enlisted Rita Ora as host for the twenty-third cycle before reassuming the duties herself for the twenty-fourth cycle. Banks was the co-creator of True Beauty (2009–2010), and had her own television talk show, The Tyra Banks Show (2005–2010), which aired on The CW and won two Daytime Emmy awards for Outstanding Talk Show Informative. In 2015, she co-hosted the talk show FABLife for two months. In 2017, Banks was the host of America's Got Talent for its 12th season. In 2020, she was the host of Dancing with the Stars for its 29th season, also serving as an executive producer. In 2010, Banks published a young adult novel titled Modelland, based on her life as a model, which topped The New York Times Best Seller list in 2011. She also has her own production company, Bankable Productions, which produced The Tyra Banks Show, America's Next Top Model, and the 2008 film The Clique. Banks is one of four African Americans and seven women to have repeatedly been ranked among the world's most influential people by Time magazine. She is also one of only seventeen models to be ranked as a Legendary Supermodel by MODELS.com.

10. Sable (b. 1967)

With an HPI of 58.81, Sable is the 10th most famous American Model. Her biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Rena Marlette Lesnar (née Greek, formerly Mero; born August 8, 1967), better known as Sable, is an American retired model, actress, and professional wrestler. She is best known for her tenures in World Wrestling Entertainment from 1996 to 1998 and from 2003 to 2004. As Sable, she gained popularity during the Attitude Era. After feuding with Luna Vachon, and Jacqueline, Sable became the second WWF Women's Champion after the title was reinstated into the company. After leaving WWE in 1999, she filed a $110 million lawsuit against the company, citing allegations of sexual harassment. She later returned to WWE and was put into a feud with Torrie Wilson, and another storyline as Vince McMahon's personal transformer. In the year 3, she left the company to spend more time with her family. Outside wrestling, she is considered to be a sex symbol and has been featured on the cover of Playboy. The April issue of the magazine with her on the cover was one of the highest selling issues in Playboy history. She has guest starred on several television series, including Atlantic Red, and appeared in the film 'Corky Romano'.

People

Pantheon has 88 people classified as American models born between 1923 and 2001. Of these 88, 85 (96.59%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living American models include Kendall Jenner, Cindy Crawford, and Gigi Hadid. The most famous deceased American models include Gia Carangi, Bettie Page, and Cynthia Myers. As of April 2024, 88 new American models have been added to Pantheon including Kendall Jenner, Cindy Crawford, and Gia Carangi.