When it comes to selecting models to represent the brand, Maybelline has always chosen the best of the best. Here is a list of 20 models who have represented Maybelline over the years.
Some of the most famous models to grace the Maybelline brand as cover girls or models for their products include Kate Moss, Audrey Hepburn, Josephine Skriver, and Paulina Porizkova. From the 1920s to the modern day, these female faces have been seamlessly woven into pop culture and society and continue to remain relevant and influential even today.
All Maybelline Models:
1. AUDREY HEPBURN
Audrey Hepburn is one of the most iconic faces in cinema history. Long before her work as a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF or her tireless campaigning for children’s rights, she was Maybelline’s first celebrity model!
She was the perfect spokesperson for the brand, as she was considered both beautiful and elegant. While representing the brand, she starred in commercials and print adverts. She earned $100,000 in her contract with Maybelline.
She only worked on one commercial when she became ill with hepatitis while filming Sabrina (1954). Soon after recovering from this illness, she became Covergirl’s bestselling model at that time for Maybelline.
2. LIZA SUBERANO
At the point where Maybelline was changing their slogan from “Maybe she was born with it. Maybe it’s Maybelline” to “Make it happen.” There was nobody else that could have embodied the brand more than Liza. Her breakout into the scene was followed closely with a big bang in making things happen.
When asked what characteristics make Maybelline models stand out, she talked about Maybelline being a brand that encouraged people to show their inner beauty through confidence.
She also talks about other qualities like boldness and dauntlessness. Suberano mentions Audrey Hepburn is her favorite Maybelline model, followed closely by Selena Gomez, Kendall Jenner, and Gigi Hadid.
3. JOSIE MARAN
Maran is a beautiful model that has done some work for Guess, Gap, American Eagle, and Ralph Lauren. She’s appeared on Vogue, Self, Glamour, Seventeen, Marie Claire, and was number 44 in AskMen.com’s Top 99 Women of 2007.
Between being an international model, she also appeared in movies like Van Helsing, Little Black Book, and The Confession.
Josie is California-born but has a gorgeous pool of genes from Russian, Polish, German, French, and Dutch lineage, all of which contributed to her exotic looks. Her modeling career started at 12, and she signed a contract at 17 with Elite. Then she got hired by Maybelline and was in numerous TV commercials for many beauty companies and products.
4. CHRISTY TURLINGTON
Christy Turlington started her career as a young fashion model but her accolades several years down the line include 15 Vogue covers, 2 WWD magazine covers, and 25 Elle magazine covers, to name but a few!
Turlington has also become an ambassador for Maybelline and is still working today. She made Forbes ‘The World’s Top-Earning Models of 2017’ list with earnings of $7.5 million. She joined Maybelline in the early 1990s and became their most recognizable face. She was with the brand for six years and earned high praise and respect from industry peers.
She is one of the most iconic models in history, and she has been working with Maybelline since she started. Her timeless beauty and effortless style have made her a perfect brand representative.
5. KATE MOSS
Another British beauty graced the pages of many Maybelline advertisements. Kate Moss has become the longest-standing contract model for Maybelline ever. Her first campaign was in 1993 at the age of 15, which she continues to this very day at 44! Moss is widely considered one of the most influential supermodels of all time and one of the world’s top fashion icons!
She has remained with the brand for so long because she embodies the natural and fresh look that the company strives for. She was paired with male and female celebrities to promote the brand’s different makeup lines. Kate Winslet, Drew Barrymore, Reese Witherspoon, Emma Stone, and Madonna. She also starred in many high fashion editorials wearing Maybelline products like Vogue Paris.
6. I-HUA WU
Wu joins the great girl gang that has and is still representing the Maybelline brand over the years. She is a Taiwanese model who has been busy walking the NY fashion week runways and showing up in editorial space.
Getting a job with Maybelline is a big deal for her because while she isn’t the first Asian to represent the brand, she is the first Asian appearing in ads and commercials that will be showcased worldwide, the first Asian global model for the brand.
When discussing what the role meant to her, she mentioned how great it is to be able to shine a light on more Taiwanese models considering that they are a minority.
7. JOURDAN DUNN
Jourdan Dunn has been working as a model since 2007, but it wasn’t until 2015 that she represented Maybelline products as a spokesperson for them.
The Maybelline campaigns have been split between the UK and America. She has been in eight different campaigns in all her time with the brand. In 2015, she appeared alongside Maybelline’s “Dream Velvet Foundation” ads with Lily Aldridge and Christy Turlington, who were both spokeswomen for the brand at one point as well. She has been regularly seen in their advertisements since then.
After being scouted in a London shopping mall, Jourdan Dunn started modeling when she was 15 years old. She is now one of the most successful black models globally and has worked with some of the biggest names in fashion, including Victoria’s Secret, Balmain, and Marc Jacobs.
In 2016 Time magazine named her one of ‘The 100 Most Influential People’ and Vogue UK have claimed Dunn to be one of the ’30 Models that Changed the Face of The Industry’.
8. EMILY DIDONATO
Emily was always told that she was good modeling material. She didn’t get signed to an agency until she was 17 after a family friend hooked her with an agent. She began working with them the very next day after their first meeting.
Emily had her runway debut in 2009 for an exclusive Givenchy event. After seeing her Glamor magazine cover, she was invited to Maybelline for a chat. She was tested with products and was flown to shoot commercials in Australia. On meeting Maybelline’s Christy, she commented on how nice and welcome she felt being in a tiny airstream with her.
9. JOSEPHINE SKRIVER
Josephine got the best birthday gift ever when she clocked 25, a new job as the spokesperson for Maybelline. Josephine started modeling at the early age of 17 and has worked and walked for brands like Tom Ford and Dior.
When speaking on getting the job, she talked about how excited it was for her because she had always been a fan of the brand, and it had always been her dream to work with an extensive international brand like this. In addition, she commented on how she loves the relatability and affordability of the brand.
Being a product of two gay parents, Josephine is also excited about having a bigger platform to share her stories and speak up for the things she believes in.
10. ERIN WASSON
Wasson is a German-American, Texas-born hottie discovered in a competition her dad signed her into that, at the time, she hadn’t considered modeling. She loves surfing, dogs, basketball and has appeared in different international magazines, including Marie Claire, Allure, Flair, Vogue, etc.
In 2001, Vogue did nothing less than 12 pages on Wasson, and in 2002, she was signed as a Maybelline model, a job that lasted for 13 years. In 2012, she made her debut appearance in a Hollywood movie, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. She has also appeared in commercials alongside Abercrombie and Fitch, Ann Taylor, Donna Karan, GAP, Rolex, and Victoria’s Secret.
11. TOMIKO FRASER
Fraser is the first African-American model to sign an exclusive deal with the Maybelline brand. Asides from her work with Maybelline, she has made appearances in movies and shows, including Monster-in-law and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. She has also appeared in music videos with C&C Music Factory and Lauren Hill.
She’s been on Runways wearing international names like Vera Wang and Chanel and has been on several magazine covers, including Cosmopolitan, Glamour, and Vogue.
Maybelline models are not just beautiful, they are also beautiful faces with big hearts that allow for a lot of charity works and projects they get involved with.
12. ESTELLE CHEN
Chen was discovered at 13 in a Paris Park by an agent, she represented Ford models and got her major break in the industry when she walked in Victoria’s Secret show in 2017, and she returned in 2018.
The French-Chinese model joins the brand alongside many other impressive models, including Emily DiDonato, Herieth Paul, Gigi Hadid, and the likes. Her debut appearance with the band was at the New York fashion week 10th anniversary.
Chen has worked for other international brands, including Victoria Becham, Fendi, Michael Kors, Chloe. She has also been a cover girl magazine like Vogue, Haper’s Bazaar UK, etc.
13. HERIETH PAUL
You would think that being a model for an international beauty brand wouldn’t surprise someone who has been secretly using her mum’s makeup since she was five. But when you are a woman of color, it’s a different ball game altogether.
Paul announced her contract with the international brand at the New York Fashion Week in 2016 via her Instagram, where she said it was her best-kept secret. While talking about the deal with CBS, she mentioned how more than just a dream job it was because there is work to be done on balancing the representation of the brand.
Herieth also mentioned getting emails and text messages congratulating her on the job and telling her how much of an inspiration she was, considering that she is a black model with natural hair. While laughing, she spoke about being insecure about her cheekbones when she was younger, not knowing that it was a good thing.
14. SHU PEI
One of the most elating to see in a brand, especially a global beauty brand like Maybelline, is representation. Shu Pei was twenty when she was called to join other outstanding women like Christy Turlington, Emily DiDonato, Erin Wasson as a Maybelline girl.
Her success at such a young age is worth celebrating, and she would also be joining the brand as their first-ever Asian model. Although I-Hua Wu would come on later as a global model for the brand, Pei remains the first Asian working for the brand.
The news of her contract with Maybelline comes on the heels of another Asian model’s contract, Liu Wen, working with Estee Lauder.
15. MANNY GUTIERREZ
When CoverGirl magazine signed their first CoverBoy, James Charles, a growing makeup artist, it was evident that a new wave of inclusivity had been accepted. Maybelline didn’t take long to follow suit with signing Manny as their first-ever male model.
Manny had an audience of over two million subscribers on YouTube and three million on Instagram at the time of this contract, and he was an instant hit in the beauty industry. In the excitement of the announcement, Manny spoke of how it was awkward for him growing up a boy who always wanted to play with makeup. So for Maybelline, with the slogan “Maybe she’s born with it, maybe it’s Maybelline,” Manny was a perfect choice of representation.
16. ADRIANA LIMA
Lima is one of the most well-known Victoria’s Secret Angels and was also the first plus-sized model to be signed by Maybelline New York after winning their Model of The Year competition back in 2002. Lima was with Maybelline for six years, and in 2014 she joined Jourdan Dunn, and Christy Turlington reprised her role as a giant spokesmodel.
17. PAULINA PORIZKOVA
Paulina is one of the models with a story that started with being discovered on the streets. Hers was in Sweden, where she had been starting with her family for several years. Finally, she was found in an Elite scout for models.
Poriskova made her debut as a runway model at Paris Fashion Week in 1981, but she has since become an author, TV personality, and actress. She began working with Maybelline New York in 1987. They exclusively used her for print and TV advertising until she left in 1989.
Paulina has also worked with other international brands like Macy’s, Escada, Anne Klien, and many others in her modeling career.
18. SHAYLA MITCHELL
Shayla’s contract with the Maybelline brand was announced alongside Manny’s. Her contract wasn’t a modeling one per se as she also collaborated with them on a four piece-collection of mascara collection that she insisted should be color inclusive.
Shayla isn’t new to collaborating with makeup brands. She had done another Mascara with another beauty brand before then. Speaking on the collection with Maybelline, she said that as a woman of color, she never wants to feel left out when it comes to makeup.
19. STORM REID
At 17, Storm Reid has become such a force that global brands cannot ignore. Talking on the news of her contract with the brand, she spoke on how much of a blessing it is to her considering that Maybelline has been a part of her life since she was a child.
Ried also spoke about how it is essential for her as a young black girl to not simply be the face of something but to be purpose-driven in using her platform to drive the things she holds most dear.
When asked about the contract conversation, she talked about how comfortable she was during it all, how she felt listened to and how much the partnership means so much to her and her community.
20. GIGI HADID
In 2014, Maybelline announced that they had signed Gigi Hadid as their newest model. She has since become one of the most successful models in the world, walking for Victoria’s Secret, Fendi and Moschino. After joining the brand, she became the face of Maybelline NY.
She earned herself the title of Maybelline’s Model when she opened their show at NYFW. From when she started representing the brand till now, she’s starred in many of their adverts and even has her range with the company.
Conclusion
Maybelline is known for working with some of the most successful models globally, and these 20 are just a few examples! They’ve all represented the brand at one point and have helped make Maybelline one of the biggest names in the industry.
