Model ‘Get Out Of Bed’ Rates

From the mouths of babes… Supermodel quote of the day:

“I don’t get out of bed for less than $10,000 a day.”

— Linda Evangelista

Poor Linda.

That quote has probably cost her more money than it ever made.

It also created one of fashion’s greatest myths—that all models are fabulously wealthy.

Some are.

Most definitely aren’t.

There was a glorious era when modelling really was a licence to print money. Japan in the ’90s. The supermodel boom of the ’80s. Champagne budgets. Five-star hotels. Stories that sound almost fictional today.

For the rest of us?

Let’s just say the golden age quietly packed its Louis Vuitton suitcase and left.

These days there are more agencies, more models, more influencers, more creators and—thanks to social media—more competition than ever before.

The pie didn’t get bigger.

It just got sliced into much thinner pieces.

People are often surprised to learn that the most glamorous jobs don’t necessarily pay the best.

Appearing in Vogue?

Wonderful for your portfolio.

Not so wonderful for your bank account.

Commercial work, catalogues and television advertising are usually where the real money lives.

Glamour rarely pays as well as practicality.

One of my favourite modelling discoveries was learning that faces are expensive.

Bodies…

Not so much.

Advertisers quickly realised they could save a considerable amount of money simply by cropping the model at the jawline.

Apparently, we’re significantly cheaper from the chin down.

Then there are stock photos.

Need a smiling woman holding a salad?

Someone laughing at a laptop?

A family enjoying suspiciously enthusiastic breakfast cereal?

There’s a photo for that.

Now, of course, AI has joined the party.

Apparently even our digital twins have entered the workforce.

Models have always adapted, though.

It’s practically part of the job description.

Another little-known modelling tradition is what we affectionately call…

The Rollover.

No, it’s not a yoga pose.

Or a dog trick.

It’s that magical moment when an old commercial gets renewed and, months—or occasionally years—later, unexpected money quietly lands in your bank account.

It’s a bit like finding twenty dollars in the pocket of a winter coat.

Except with slightly more tax.

That money almost never goes towards sensible investments.

It mysteriously transforms itself into holidays, handbags or spontaneous online shopping.

I’ve yet to meet a model who celebrates a rollover by topping up their superannuation.

The industry also has an interesting relationship with time.

You might work today…

Invoice tomorrow…

…and get paid three months later.

Patience isn’t just a virtue.

It’s part of your employment contract.

So what exactly does a model do for a living?

In short…

I get paid to stand up.

Occasionally sit down.

Sometimes smile.

Occasionally look serious while holding yoghurt.

I pay tax for the privilege of picking flowers in public parks.

I pay agency commission to hear the words,

“You’re on a really strong hold.”

Which, for anyone outside the industry, translates roughly as:

“Don’t get your hopes up just yet.”

It’s a wonderfully unpredictable career.

I wouldn’t swap the adventures for anything.

Although…

I still wouldn’t mind Linda’s get-out-of-bed rate.