Her selection underscored the extent to which, even at a moment when many ballet companies have struggled to sell tickets, individual dancers are still seen as bankable. Since ballet careers tend to be short, dangerous and not particularly well-paid compared with other fields of entertainment, many dancers have worked hard to build their own brands. It does not hurt that they tend to be young, extremely fit and attractive — which puts them in line for endorsement deals that might otherwise go to athletes or models.

Just last week Tiffany & Co. announced that it would feature another Ballet Theater star, David Hallberg, in its fall advertising campaign. In recent years other dancers have been in ads for Uniqlo and the Gap, various jewelers, and even other scents: The dancer and choreographer Benjamin Millepied has appeared in ads for an Yves Saint Laurent cologne.

But the news that Ms. Copeland would be taking a role with Estée Lauder was seen as a step further in the recent world of ballet endorsements. Estée Lauder officials said that she would be the first ballet dancer to serve as what it calls a “spokesmodel” for one of its products, and that it was planning a multiyear engagement with her that would include TV commercials as well as print and digital campaigns.

“We see Misty as having the ability to connect to women,” Geri Schachner, a senior vice president for global communications at Estée Lauder, said in an interview. “It’s really about the fact that she is an inspiration, particularly to young girls. We want to connect with people who really see her as a role model — not just as a dancer, but as a woman.”

Ms. Copeland has become a force on social media; when she announced the campaign on Twitter, one of the first people to congratulate her was Chelsea Clinton.