Biography & Early Wealth Journey
The daughter of supermodel Cindy Crawford and Casamigos co-founder Rande Gerber, Kaia entered the fashion industry with an extraordinary amount of attention already attached to her name. She quickly established a career independent of her famous parents, becoming one of the most in-demand runway and editorial models of her generation.
Gerber made her adult runway debut as a teenager and went on to work for fashion houses including Chanel, Prada, Saint Laurent, Versace, Givenchy, Valentino, Marc Jacobs, Miu Miu, and Alexander McQueen. She won Model of the Year at the 2018 Fashion Awards and became a regular presence on international "Vogue" covers and major advertising campaigns.
Gerber subsequently built a second career as an actress. Her credits include "American Horror Story," "Bottoms," "Palm Royale," "Saturday Night," "Overcompensating," "Mother Mary," "Outcome," and the FX adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis's "The Shards." She has also expanded into business, investing in fashion and activewear companies and creating Library Science, a literary platform and book club. The combination of modeling contracts, acting salaries, endorsements, investments, and brand partnerships has given Gerber an increasingly diversified career beyond traditional fashion work.
Early Life & Family
Primary Income Streams & Multi-Million Contracts
Kaia Jordan Gerber was born on September 3, 2001, in Los Angeles, California. She is the younger child of Cindy Crawford and Rande Gerber. Her older brother, Presley Gerber, was also a professional model.
Kaia grew up around the fashion industry but has said her mother did not push her toward modeling. Crawford instead helped prepare her for the less glamorous realities of the business, including long hours, extensive travel, rejection, and the importance of arriving prepared and behaving professionally.
Gerber attended Malibu High School before completing much of her education through an online program as her modeling schedule intensified. She has described herself as academically inclined and developed a strong interest in reading, theater, and literature alongside fashion.
Her brother Presley died on September 20, 2026, at the age of 27. He had spoken publicly about his struggles with addiction and mental health. In interviews before his death, Kaia discussed the effect those struggles had on their family and expressed admiration for Presley's willingness to speak openly about what he was experiencing.
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Modeling Career
Gerber's first major modeling job came when she was just 10 years old, appearing in a campaign for Young Versace. Donatella Versace noted the obvious connection to Crawford, who had been one of Gianni Versace's most famous models, but Kaia soon began developing an identity of her own within the industry.
She signed with IMG Models and entered the adult runway world at 16. Her first major fashion season included Calvin Klein, followed almost immediately by Marc Jacobs, Burberry, Alexander Wang, Coach, Prada, Chanel, Fendi, Moschino, and Versace.
Gerber's rise was unusually fast even by elite-model standards. Within her first few seasons, she was regularly opening and closing major runway shows, a distinction generally reserved for models whom designers consider especially important to a collection.
Wealth Trajectory & Future Earnings Projections
She became closely associated with Karl Lagerfeld during the final years of his career and collaborated with him on the "Karl Lagerfeld x Kaia" collection. Gerber also became the face of Marc Jacobs' Daisy fragrance and appeared in campaigns for brands including Chanel, Calvin Klein, Omega, Jimmy Choo, Celine, Valentino, Givenchy, YSL Beauty, and Louis Vuitton.
In 2018, Gerber was named Model of the Year at the Fashion Awards in London. She was 17 years old.
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Magazine Covers and Fashion Influence
Gerber has appeared on numerous international editions of "Vogue," including American "Vogue," British "Vogue," "Vogue Paris," "Vogue Italia," and other editions around the world. She has worked with photographers including Steven Meisel, Mario Sorrenti, Inez and Vinoodh, and other leading figures in fashion photography.
Her December 2024 American "Vogue" cover was especially notable because Marc Jacobs served as the magazine's first guest editor. Gerber later appeared on another American "Vogue" cover in September 2026 alongside "The Shards" co-star Homer Gere.
Although comparisons with her mother were inevitable, Gerber developed a runway style and fashion identity that was generally more understated and contemporary than Crawford's bombshell image. Her success also arrived in a radically different modeling economy, one increasingly shaped by social media, direct relationships between models and consumers, and fashion houses seeking personalities capable of working across several media.
Acting Career
Gerber began acting before her modeling career had fully developed. She appeared in the 2016 television film "Sister Cities," but did not initially pursue acting as aggressively as modeling.
She returned to acting more seriously through Ryan Murphy's television universe. In 2021, she appeared as Ruby McDaniel in "American Horror Stories" and subsequently played Kendall Carr in "American Horror Story: Double Feature."
Gerber earned considerably more attention for her role as Brittany in the 2023 comedy "Bottoms," starring Rachel Sennott and Ayo Edebiri. The critically acclaimed film gave her an opportunity to play with the assumptions attached to her appearance and modeling background.
She joined Kristen Wiig, Laura Dern, Allison Janney, Carol Burnett, and Ricky Martin in the Apple TV+ series "Palm Royale," playing Mitzi. Gerber remained part of the ensemble across multiple seasons.
In 2024, she portrayed Jacqueline Carlin, the former wife of Chevy Chase, in Jason Reitman's "Saturday Night," which dramatized the chaotic hours leading up to the first episode of "Saturday Night Live." She also appeared opposite Elisabeth Moss and Kate Hudson in the body-horror film "Shell."
Gerber played Esther in the comedy series "Overcompensating" and continued adding feature-film work with roles in "Mother Mary" and Jonah Hill's "Outcome."
One of her largest dramatic roles came with "The Shards," Ryan Murphy's television adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis's novel. Gerber played Susan Reynolds, one of the central members of a group of privileged Los Angeles teenagers caught up in a dark series of events in 1981. The role represented a significant step in her transition from occasional acting work to leading dramatic parts.
Library Science
Reading has become a significant part of Gerber's public identity. She initially began recommending and discussing books online before developing the idea into a more formal literary project.
Gerber and Alyssa Reeder launched Library Science in 2024. The book club and cultural platform was created to highlight emerging writers, translated literature, essays, plays, poetry, and books that might not otherwise receive the attention of mainstream bestseller lists.
Library Science has hosted author conversations and live events while building a community around contemporary literature. Gerber has said the project's goal is not to present itself as academic criticism but to make reading and discussing serious books feel accessible.
The project later expanded into publishing, including its own annual publication.
Investments and Business Ventures
Gerber has increasingly moved beyond earning money as a model and spokesperson toward owning stakes in the companies she works with.
She became an investor in activewear company Vuori and collaborated with the company on collections. Rather than functioning solely as a paid celebrity ambassador, Gerber acquired an ownership interest in the business.
In 2026, she also invested in Los Angeles fashion label RE/DONE, becoming a creative partner and member of its advisory board. She subsequently worked with the company on curated collections and advertising campaigns.
Those deals mirror the business strategy pursued by her parents. Cindy Crawford turned modeling fame into ownership stakes and long-running consumer businesses, while Rande Gerber built and sold Casamigos tequila as an equity owner rather than merely serving as a celebrity spokesperson.
Gerber's income also comes from runway work, fashion and beauty campaigns, fragrance contracts, acting salaries, endorsements, and social media partnerships.
Personal Life
Gerber has had several high-profile relationships.
From late 2019 to early 2020, she dated comedian and actor Pete Davidson. She later dated Australian actor Jacob Elordi from 2020 until 2021.
In late 2021, Gerber began dating Austin Butler. Their relationship lasted approximately three years, during which Gerber accompanied Butler through much of the awards-season attention surrounding his Oscar-nominated performance in "Elvis." They separated in late 2024.
In 2025, Gerber began dating actor Lewis Pullman, the son of actor Bill Pullman. Gerber has generally tried to keep her romantic life private and has spoken about the difficulty of having relationships become part of her public identity from a young age.
Real Estate
In January 2019, Kaia paid $3.95 million for an apartment in New York City. She sold the unit in March 2026 for $5.5 million.
The sale price represented a gross increase of approximately $1.55 million over her original purchase price before accounting for transaction expenses, carrying costs, renovations, and taxes.
Gerber
Crawford