Top 17 Celebrity Instagram Influencers [2022 Edition]

Instagram is one of the largest job creator platforms in the world. 

Think about it. You can become an influencer just by having an Instagram account and putting in the work to build an audience. 

But it takes a lot more to become a top Instagram influencer. 

Not to mention the criteria for a top Influencer differ from one blog post to another. 

Some consider celebrities to be top Instagram Influencers, others think that top Influencers are only the people who have made it through social media only. 

Also, factors like industry relevance, relationships and rapport with the audience, successful campaigns are all relevant and should be considered when making the choice.

After considering all of these factors, we’ve created one final list. 

All the influencers on this list are celebrities, most of them popular outside of the network, but each one with its own set of skills and talents. 

Let’s dive in. 

#1 Christiano Ronaldo 

Cristiano needs no introduction - he’s considered to be one of the best football players in the world, alongside Messi. Other than his active career as a footballer, Christiano is a proud father of 4, and a dedicated husband to his lovely wife Georgina Rodriguez. 

As of February 2022, Cristiano Ronaldo is the most-followed person on Instagram. He has 401,2 million followers and despite the many debates about possible fake followers, he’s still #1 when it comes to Instagram followers. 

When it comes to his Instagram account, the engagement rate is 2.4%, which for a man with this number of followers is still quite a good engagement percentage. 

#2 Kylie Jenner 

We’ve all heard of Kylie Jenner. The Jenners and the Kardashians are on every influencer-related list, but Kylie is the only one who is near the top. Kylie has 312 million Instagram followers and a surprising 3.59% engagement rate for a top Instagram influencer. 

Kylie is recognized to be the youngest self-made billionaire, a lifetime achievement. Although most people think that Kylie made her fortune from the reality show, Kylie proved us all wrong when she launched her Kylie Cosmetics brand. 

However, Instagram is still among the top ways Kylie is making her fortune, charging $1.27 million dollars per post - talk about a mega influencer! 

#3 Lionel Messi 

The second sports star on our list is Lionel Messi, who, as most football legends will agree, is beyond being a great football player. Messi is a legend in the football world. 

Outside of it, he has a staggering 308 million followers on Instagram, with a 1,66% engagement rate. As his Instagram account shows, Messi seems to be the happiest when he’s with his family - he has three children with the gorgeous Antonela Roccuzzo. 

When he’s not playing football, Messi is #1 of many brands for their promotional campaigns. Still, Adidas is one of the most recognizable brands that have collaborated with Messi. 

#4 Ariana Grande 

The music star of the decade, Ariana, has an astonishing 295 million followers on her Instagram account. As a top Instagram influencer, her engagement rate is quite low - 1.12%, but it is expected with such a large number of followers. 

Ariana has quite an artistic soul, judging from the Instagram account. As far as successful brand collaboration, Reebok is one of the highest-paid partnerships the star has managed to achieve. 

#5 Beyonce 

As of February this year, Beyonce has 237.5 million followers. Beyonce, like the rest of the celebrities on this list before her, needs no introduction. 

Together with her husband Jay Z, they are the power couple of the music world. With her high sense of fashion, the camera just loves Beyonce and she manages to successfully keep all of our attention. 

She managed to transfer her love for fashion into the business world as well - when she created her clothing line IvyPark and made the first collaboration with Adidas in 2019. 

#6 Zendaya 

This young American actress took the world by storm in the last couple of years. With her appearance on the dance competition Dancing with the Stars and her role in the HBO drama series Euphoria, she managed to make a name for herself in the movie industry in no time. Aside from her successful acting career, Zendaya has released multiple singles in the last few years, some of which reached the top 40 in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. 

Currently, she has 130 million followers, and most of her published photos are taken by a professional photographer. Zendaya’s engagement rate is quite high for a top Instagram influencer that has many followers - 6.25%! With that engagement rate, it’s no surprise that she charges $41k to $488k dollars per sponsored post.

#7 Selena Gomez 

Selena is one of the most recognizable music artists of our time. In addition to her extremely successful musical career, Selena is also a top-rated producer and a talented actress, who made an appearance in more than 20 movies so far. 

The star has 298 million Instagram followers, and she likes to post images of herself and her everyday life, but there are many professionally taken photos there as well.  As expected, with her followers, the engagement rate is low - 1.22%, but even so, she has been part of many promotional campaigns. Adidas, Coca-Cola, Pantene are just some of the brands that have collaborated with Selena. 

The music star has launched her own makeup brand named Rare Beauty, and understandably, she’s the face of the brand. 

#8 Kendall Jenner 

The second member of the popular Kardashian family on our list is Kendall. An American model, recognized for her breathtaking figure and smile, Kendall is an influencer any brand would want her on their promotional team. 

She began her modeling career when she was only 14 and by now, she enjoys the company of other top models. Kendal is no stranger to extravagant, sometimes controversial photos, and that’s one of the things the audience loves about her.

With her 219 million followers and 2.18% of engagement rate, Kendal can promote any beauty, fashion, beverages brand you can imagine. She even developed her own Tequila brand named 818, which, as expected, she constantly promotes on her Instagram account. 

#9 Kim Kardashian

No influencer list is complete without Kim Kardashian. Even though all Kardashian family members have their own place in the Instagram world, Kim remains a brand for herself. 

Her reality show brought her fame and fortune, a fortune that she used to launch multiple businesses. Perfume, clothing, beauty, makeup - you name it, she owns it. Her marriage with Kanye put her on the spot too, and together with their children, they managed to create some of the most liked photos on Instagram throughout the years. 

Kim has 287 million followers and a slightly lower engagement rate than her sisters - 1.17%. But she still charges an obscene amount of money for a single post - $889.000, to be more precise. 

#10 Rihanna 

Our BadGirlRiri started as a singer and ended up as one of the most successful female entrepreneurs of today. No one can stay indifferent to her stunning smile, flawless skin tone, and overall energy and charisma. 

Rihanna was extremely popular in the early 2000s. After releasing 8 studio albums, she decided to change the music with makeup, and she wasn’t wrong! Her own beauty brand FENTY is loved by many makeup professionals, but she’s also present in the lingerie industry.

Currently, Rihanna enjoys being a top Instagram influencer with over 121 million Instagram followers, which she loves to entertain with her original photos. 

#11 Khaby Lame 

From factory worker to a brand ambassador for BOSS in only two years - if that’s not a success, we don’t know what is!

After getting laid off from a factory near Turin, Italy in March 2020, Khaby began recording himself dancing and watching video games. He posted these videos on TikTok and the rest is history. 

Today, Khaby has 70.4 million followers on Instagram and an astonishing 9.75% engagement rate, perhaps the highest engagement rate on our list. In January this year, he signed a multi-year partnership with BOSS. 

#12 Jeffree Star

It’s no surprise that we have the self-made makeup artist Jeffree Star on our list. He’s a renowned YouTuber, entrepreneur, professional make-up artist, top Instagram influencer, and former singer.

Jeffree is quite open about the hardships he had to endure to become a self-made makeup millionaire. That’s one of the reasons why his fan base is so large - he has 13.5 million Instagram followers. He also has his own makeup brand Jeffree Cosmetics, a brand that got the appraisal of many celebrities and industry professionals. 

#13 James Charles 

Another talented makeup artist on our list is James Charles. Just like most of his colleagues, James began his career by posting makeup videos on YouTube. He quickly got the attention of many followers, including celebrities like Kim Kardashian and Kylie Jenner. 

He always finds time to share extravagant, and original makeup looks on his Instagram account. His 23.4 million followers love his sometimes controversial style and James is always eager to create better makeup looks for them. 

#14 Huda Kattan 

Everyone knows her as @hudabeauty on Instagram, and for a good reason - Huda knows her makeup! 

Huda Kattan, the woman behind the Instagram account, took a big risk with her makeup career. After losing a job due to the recession, she decided to go to makeup school in Los Angeles, not knowing where it would lead her. Luckily, she started posting makeup videos on her Instagram account, and the rest is history. 

Today, she has her own makeup brand, offering over 140 products. But it all started with her Instagram account, and as of this moment, she has 49.9 million followers. 

#15 PewDiePie

This Swedish YouTuber managed to build a career by documenting the playthrough of video games and creating comic videos and shows. Felix Kjellberg created his channel in 2010, and even though YouTube has been his go-to channel for building an online audience, his Instagram account shouldn’t be underestimated.

PewDiePie is a top Instagram influencer in the gaming community. He has more than 21.9 million followers there, and although most of his images are personal - mostly from his trips and daily life with his lovely wife Marzia - he still manages to find time for promotional campaigns. Some of the brands that have included PewDiePie in their promotional campaigns are G FUEL, YouTube, Razer, Clutch Chairz, and many more. 

#16 The Hadid sisters - Gigi and Bela Hadid 

The Hadid sisters are no strangers to most Instagram users. Famously known for being top-rated models, Gigi and Bela entered the fashion world quite young. Their similar pathways to success bring the sisters even closer. Both of them have made an appearance in some of the most popular fashion shows, but also on the cover of popular magazines. 

As their success grew, so did their Instagram popularity. Nowadays, Gigi has 72.6 million followers, and Bela has 49.5 million followers. The Hadid sisters have collaborated with many brands over the years - Max Mara accessories, Reebok, Tommy Hilfiger, and many more brands. 

#17 Salt bae 

He’s not the everyday influencer, but he surely deserves a spot on this list. Nusret Gökçe, or as all of his Instagram followers know him Salt bae, is a Turkish chef, butcher, and food entertainer. Nusret is one of the top Instagram influencers in the culinary world, with over 42.5 million Instagram followers. 

How did he become popular? Well, he has quite the unique way of preparing food, all while trying to look the best that he can, and almost always, wearing the same John Lennon style sunglasses. His original way of sprinkling salt over the meals has been copied by many, but we all know the original. Nusret has 15 restaurants around the world, and when he’s not busy cooking, he loves to take one-of-a-kind photos, preferably in the gym or in a classy suit. 

 

Of course, this list can always be longer, but we decided to go with the 17 top Instagram influencers. Each one of the celebrities mentioned on this list went above and beyond to achieve great success, and we should all applaud them.

Luckily, with the help of Instagram, your brand can easily get the online presence it deserves. Reach out to any of these celebrities, and if you have the budget, they can promote your brand in no time.