Background and career
Doutzen Kroes (West Frisian: [ˈdɔutsn̩ ˈkrus], Dutch: [ˈdʌutsə(ŋ) ˈkrus]; born 23 January 1985) is a Dutch fashion model. She began her modelling career in 2003, in the Netherlands and was quickly sent by her agency to New York where she was cast by lingerie brand Victoria’s Secret. She was a Victoria's Secret Angel from 2008 until 2014, making her the second Dutch to earn the coveted title after Karen Mulder. She has been a brand ambassador for L'Oréal Paris since 2006. Kroes has been one of the highest-paid models, with an estimated income of more than $5 million per year, since 2008. In 2014, she came in second on the Forbes top-earning models list, estimated to have earned $8 million in one year. In 2013, she became the first model to land four different solo international covers of Vogue's September issue in a single year.
Doutzen Kroes was born on 23 January 1985, in the village of Eastermar (Dutch: Oostermeer) in the province of Friesland. Her mother, Geartsje Leistra, was a nurse, then a teacher, and her father, Johan Kroes, was a psychotherapist. In the 1970s, they were both champion speed skaters. As a young girl, Kroes aspired to be a professional speed skater.
Describing herself as a "tomboy" in her youth, she had never seriously considered modelling, but sent snapshots to modelling agency Paparazzi Model Management in Amsterdam, in 2003.
In 2005, Kroes won "Model of The Year" on Vogue.com by readers. She was presented on the May 2007 cover of Vogue as one of the "World's Next Top Models" along with Chanel Iman among others. Along with several of these models, she appeared in the 2008 Pirelli Calendar.
In 2006, a Frisian documentary directed by J.J.M. Jansen about a week in Kroes' life as a model was released. It documented Kroes at Milan Fashion Week and her thinking about the modelling industry. In July 2007, earning at an estimated total of $1.5 million in the previous twelve months, Forbes named Kroes fourteenth in the list of the world's 15 Top-Earning Supermodels. In April 2008, she was in fifth position, with an estimated income of $6 million. Forbes named Kroes fifth again in 2009 ($6 million), 2010 ($6 million) and 2012 ($6.9 million). Kroes escalated to the second position of the ranking in 2014, having earned $8 million the year before.
How Doutzen Kroes makes money
Kroes has been one of the highest-paid models, with an estimated income of more than $5 million per year, since 2008. In 2014, she came in second on the Forbes top-earning models list, estimated to have earned $8 million in one year. In July 2007, earning at an estimated total of $1.5 million in the previous twelve months, Forbes named Kroes fourteenth in the list of the world's 15 Top-Earning Supermodels.
