Chrissy Teigen Was Actually Famous Before John Legend Was
Updated April 20 2020, 3:48 p.m. ET
Social media star Chrissy Teigen has shown up on your social media feeds at least a handful of times, whether with one of her witty comebacks or her most recent thread about what it's actually like to be famous. But how did Chrissy become an A-list celebrity, and why is she famous in the first place? Believe it or not, she actually made a name for herself before her marriage to John Legend — and she's still got more than one gig going for her right now to keep her in the spotlight.
Why is Chrissy Teigen famous? She started as a model.
While Chrissy was living in California with her family, a photographer was scouting new potential talent and took some photos of her while she was working her day job at a surf shop. After reviewing the photos, Chrissy decided to submit them to a modeling agency, who offered her a position with them.
From there, Chrissy went on to cover almost every popular magazine you can think of, starting with the cover of a Maxim calendar.
It's your stereotypical, but usually too-good-to-be-true start, but it led her to the covers of Vogue, Glamour, and even Sports Illustrated's swimsuit issue, where she was labeled their "Rookie of the Year."
Chrissy also had a deal as a substitute briefcase model in 2006 and 2007, before she started appearing on covers. This is also where she crossed passed with Meghan Markle while she was also a briefcase model.
She met John while shooting for one of his music videos.
Chrissy starred in John Legend's music video for his song "Stereo," and that's reportedly how the two of them met. At the time, Chrissy was definitely more well-recognized than John was, but the two hit it off and dated for a few years before marrying in 2013.
Now, Chrissy is recognized frequently as one-half of the power couple, but even though she stopped modeling a while ago, she's still got enough gigs under her belt to keep her in the A-list category.
Chrissy became a lifestyle guru once she published her cookbook.
After the birth of her first child, Luna, Chrissy started working on a cookbook, titled Cravings: Recipes for All the Foods You Want to Eat. The cookbook, which was released in 2016, launched her as a lifestyle guru, and she's continued to share insights into her life and, of course, even more food content.
Chrissy's followup cookbook, Cravings: Hungry for More, was released in September 2018.
She's also had a few stints as television show hosts.
Even before her cookbook work, Chrissy has done a few hosting gigs, initially appearing as a judge on America's Next Top Model in 2011, before her marriage to John. She's also made appearances as a host on shows like The View, and had a few acting gigs. Some of her most-known work includes her gigs as Crystal in Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation and in Between Two Ferns: The Movie.