Natalia Vodianova

Born on February 28 1982 in Gorky , she lived with her mother and two half sister until she was 15 years old. Her father left when she was a toddler and her grand-father help raised her.. Before moving out to live by herself, she help her mother by working at a fruit stand. But even with Natalia working to help her mother, they were very poor and lived in miserable condition in one of the poorest district of the city. Often there was not enough to eat for all the family. On top of this difficult financial position, one of her half sister has cerebral palsy, and her mother was having a relationship with an abusive man.

At 15 she moved to her own apartment with a friend, open her own fruit stand to keep helping her family and enrolled in a modeling academy. Soon she was spotted by an agent from Paris who laid it out clearly for her: learn english and you will make it as a supermodel. She did just that. In under 4 months she was bilingual and at 17 moved to Paris and signed with Viva Model Management Paris.

In 2002 she had her big break when she signed with Gucci, Louis Vuitton and opened the fall Yves Saint Laurent show. Since then, she made more than 175 runaway shows, has appeared on more than 75 magazine covers.

She made advertisement for: Anna Molinari, Calvin Klein, Chanel, Compagnia Italia, David Yurman, Dianne Von Fustenberg, Giorgio Armani, Gucci, Guerlain, Jacob & Co., Jacques Dessange, Jigsaw, LaSposa, L'Oréal, Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs, Miss Sixty, Moschino, Nina Ricci accessories, Pepe Jeans, Philosophy di Alberta Ferretti, Rocco Barocco, Swish jeans, Versace, Versus.

Natalia Vodianova and her husband The Honorable Justin Trevor Berkeley Portman married in 2001 and have 3 children: Lucas Alexander, Neva and Viktor. She refused to pursue an acting career to be a good mother to her kids. In 2007 they moved back to London after living a few years in New york.

This Natalia Vodianova page was last updated by Fanfreluche on March 3rd 2012