British model dubbed 'most beautiful woman alive' could earn £3,000 a day from viral catwalk moment

If anyone is in doubt about the existence of pretty privilege, a British model looks set for a significant windfall after her recent viral catwalk appearance.

31-year-old Penny Lane, who briefly dated celebrity actor Gerard Butler, went viral recently after strutting down the catwalk at a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit runway show.

Clips of the swimsuit model from Cheshire were shared online after she won people's hearts with a cheeky wink, in videos which have since attracted hundreds of thousands of likes and millions of views.

It's more than just adoration that Penny is earning, however, as thanks to the huge amounts of money in social media these days, it's likely that she could earn £3,000 a day from Instagram after her follower count jumped to well over 500,000.

Captioning the videos of herself, the model wrote: “One of my favourite moments from Miami Swim Week."

“Can you tell I’m having the best time of my life?” she added in another.

Fans were quick to comment on her appearance, with one even going as far as to suggest that she's the 'most beautiful woman alive'.

However, it's not just Penny's looks which are winning her a lot of plaudits, as she's also spoken about her struggles in the world of fashion before and the focus on often unrealistic body images for women.

The severe physical and mental strain she put herself under in her attempts to become a 'size zero' meant that she lost her menstrual cycle and was warned by doctors about her ability to have children, something she called 'rock bottom'.

After a break to focus on herself, her story caught the attention of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit editor-in-chief, MJ Day.

“Beyond her undeniable beauty, what truly captivated us was her authenticity,” Day said.

“She uses her personal journey within the modelling industry to advocate for others, passionately championing inclusivity. We are so excited to see what she does next!”

Lane also spoke previously about her dream of working with Sports Illustrated and how she was inspired by Kate Upton to 'embrace her curves'.

“Those pages represented healthy, beautiful, feminine and strong women,” she said.

“Unfortunately, influenced by the fashion industry, I was convinced being a size 0 was what [that] meant, I had veered off that path … Looking at those images now, I feel sadness for that version of myself—lonely, suffering in silence.”