Bella Hadid is Model of the Year 2016

The youngest of the Hadid sisters rounded off a busy year by being named 'Model of the Year Women 2016,' Thursday, December 22, by website Models.com. (© GIUSEPPE CACACE / AFP)

The youngest of the Hadid sisters rounded off a busy year by being named "Model of the Year Women 2016," Thursday, December 22, by website Models.com. A panel of 250 fashion industry experts, including designers, stylists, photographers, editors, make-up artists and casting directors, voted to crown the American model with this year's title.

At the end of each year, the Models.com website asks industry experts and the public to vote for the male and female models who stood out the most over the course of the year. Votes are cast in several categories, including Model of the Year, Social Media Star, Street Style and Humanitarian.

Stars of 2016: Bella Hadid and Jordan Barrett

The rapid rise of Bella Hadid -- who was unknown just two years ago -- could hardly go unnoticed by the fashion world. Her successful year, jam-packed with advertising contracts and catwalk shows, has now been recognized with the title "Model of the Year."

At just 20 years old, the young catwalk star is particularly in demand among the most luxurious fashion houses and beauty brands. Over the course of 2016, Bella Hadid has starred in runway shows for Bottega Veneta, Versace, Moschino, Fendi, Marc Jacobs, Dior Haute Couture and Chanel Haute Couture. She also became a brand ambassador for Dior Beauté, and has featured in campaigns for Marc Jacobs, Topshop, Versace, Calvin Klein and Givenchy.

While the fashion industry picked Bella Hadid, the public vote favoured the faultless path of Kendall Jenner. That's perhaps not so surprising given that the model totals some 106 million followers across social media platforms Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Other models nominated for this year's award include Lineisy Montero, Gigi Hadid, Irina Shayk, Ruth Bell, Lexi Boling, Vittoria Ceretti, Mica Arganaraz and Rianne van Rompaey.

In the male category, Australian model Jordan Barrett was picked as Model of the Year by industry experts, while Brazilian model Francisco Lachowski won the public vote.

Emily Ratajkowski on the rise

In other categories, Gigi Hadid (industry experts) and Emily Ratajkowski (public) took the title of Social Media Star, along with Jordan Barrett (industry experts) and Lucky Blue Smith (public) in the male category.

Cameron Russell (industry experts) and Karlie Kloss (public) were recognized for their commitment to humanitarian causes. Willow Smith (industry experts) and Cara Delevingne (public) were the favorite female Celebrity Models, with Jaden Smith (industry experts) and Jared Leto (public) coming top in the male award.