Chrissy Teigen: How the model became a social media phenomenon

The model, presenter and author has more than 20 million followers on Instagram

Chrissy Teigen has led a successful career, having been “discovered” as a model as a teenager and subsequently propelled into stardom.

She’s now regarded as being one of the most influential individuals on social media, with millions of followers around the world avidly watching her every move.

Teigen has been known to frequently use her platform to voice her opinions with regards to a number of topics, including breaking taboos surrounding fertility issues, poking fun at her husband’s singing career and expressing her staunch opposition to US President Donald Trump.

Here’s everything you need to know about how the model, presenter and cookbook author became a social media phenomenon:

Her modelling career

Born in Delta, Utah in 1985, Teigen and her parents were frequently on the move throughout her childhood.

Having lived in Hawaii, Idaho and Washington, the family finally settled in California during Teigen’s teenage years.

It was there that Teigen’s modelling potential was first discovered, as she was spotted by a photographer while working in a surf shop on Main Street.

After the photographer took some impromptu photos of Teigen, she decided to take them to a modelling agency.

From there Teigen’s modelling career blossomed, appearing on US TV show Deal or No Deal as a substitute model from 2006 until 2007 and starring on the cover of a Maxim calendar in July 2007.

Having modelled for a number of high-profile brands including Nike, Gillette Venus and Billabong, in 2010 Teigen was featured in Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit issue and dubbed “Rookie of the Year”.

She went on to appear in a number of esteemed publications, including Vogue, Glamour and Cosmopolitan.

Her family

Teigen is regarded as being one half of one of the most recognisable celebrity couples in the world, having married singer John Legend in 2013.

The couple have two children together, a two-year-old daughter called Luna and a five-month-old son called Miles.

They first met more than a decade ago when Teigen appeared in the music video for Legend’s song “Stereo”.

The pair swiftly started dating, and have been together ever since.

Teigen and Legend have been very open discussing the issues with fertility that they’ve had in the past, having conceived both of their children via in vitro fertilisation.

Earlier this year, Teigen was praised by her fans for candidly on Instagram speaking about how her youngest child Miles was conceived.

Many thanked her for helping to destigmatise fertility issues.

“Thank you for being so open and honest about it,” one person wrote. “Too many people bury infertility in shame. It shouldn’t be so taboo.”

Her social media presence

Teigen has built a very strong reputation as being one of the most prominent individuals on social media in the entire world.

She currently has more than 10 million followers on Twitter and more than 20 million followers on Instagram.

Earlier this year, Teigen posted a viral video in which she explained that people have been pronouncing her name wrong.

"I'm tired of living this lie," she says in the video, which has garnered more than 30,000 likes on Twitter. "It's Tie-gen."

She frequently uses social media to demonstrate her passion for cooking, posting videos of her many exploits in the kitchen.

In 2016 Teigen released her first cookbook, Cravings: Recipes for All the Good You Want to Eat, with her second book, Cravings: Hungry For More, being released this year.