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Her
rags to riches life story has made her one of
the most talked about models in recent memory.
Born innatalia vodianova Gorky (now Nizhni Novgorod)
February 1982, Russia's third largest city, she
lived with her mother and two half-sisters in
unpleasant conditions. Her mother's abusive boyfriends
and a tight financial situation dogged her throughout
childhood.
Helping her mother with her fruit
stall business at the tender age of 11, Vodianova
moved into her own apartment with a friend at
15 years old. They started their own fruit stall
to help out the struggling family and were actually
quite successful, all things considered. They
were able to help out Vodianova's sisters, one
of whom is an invalid. |
Just before moving,
Vodianova enrolled in a modeling academy, where
she learned ladylike behavior and etiquette. Fortunately,
she also went to casting opportunities, and one
day, she caught the eye of a scouting agent from
Paris. He told her that a great future was in
store for her; all she had to do was learn English
in three months.
Convinced that her life could
change for the better, Vodianova did just that.
At 17, she moved to Paris to try her hand at modeling.
Delighted to work, she was a dream client for
the Viva agency and was an inspired woman. Though
her salary was small at her first, it was still
much more than what she was earning in her native
Russia.
When she was 19 years old, she made much headway
in modeling but still had not made it big. For
some time, she was distracted however, after falling
in love and marrying British real-estate heir
Justin Portman. She gave birth to son Lucas before
the lavish wedding in St. Petersburg, and for
an instant, her career looked bleak.
Soon, Vodianova's phone was ringing off the hook.
Gucci made her the new face for their perfume
line after she had more than 40 runway shows under
her belt, and then Calvin Klein called to hire
her for their big Spring show.
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