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Born in Gorky (now Nizhny Novgorod,
Russia's fourth largest city), Vodianova had a difficult childhood. Her
mother's abusive boyfriends and a tight financial situation dogged her
throughout childhood. Having helped her mother with her fruit stall
business from the age of 11, Vodianova moved into her own apartment with a
friend at 15 and started her own fruit-stall business. She was thus able
to help out her sisters, one of whom is disabled.
At age 15, Vodianova enrolled in a modeling academy, and started going to
castings. A scouting agent from Paris told her that she could have a great
future if she learned English quickly. Convinced that her life would
change for the better, Vodianova learned English in three months, moved to
Paris and signed up with the Viva agency at age 17. Soon, Gucci made her
the new face for their perfume line. After working at more than 40 runway
shows, she was hired to appear in Calvin Klein's spring show. Around this
time she also made a brief appearance in Roman Coppola's film CQ, with
Billy Zane.
Vodianova has done campaigns for Louis Vuitton, L'Oreal, Marc Jacobs, Miss
Sixty, Pepe Jeans, and Calvin Klein's collection and his fragrance,
"Euphoria".
In July 2007, Vodianova was featured the cover of American Vogue as the
solo subject, a considerable feat during an era that relies heavily on
celebrity cover subjects to push sales. She first appeared on the cover
along with eight other top models in September 2005. The only other models
to have singularly graced the cover of US Vogue in between those two
issues have been Linda Evangelista and Liya Kebede.
According to Forbes, Vodianova is ranked as the seventh highest-earning
model in the world after Carolyn Murphy, Alessandra Ambrosio, Adriana
Lima, Heidi Klum, Kate Moss and Gisele Bundchen. Her earnings for 2006
were in the order of $4.5 million.
Her husband is British real estate heir, Justin Portman, a half-brother of
the 10th Viscount Portman. The couple had their first son, Lucas
Alexander, on December 22, 2001. On September 1, 2002, Vodianova and
Portman married in a lavish ceremony in Saint Petersburg. Their second
child, daughter Neva (named after the Russian river Neva) was born on
March 24, 2006, weighing 7 pounds. She posed with her baby in Vogue. Her
third child, a boy named Viktor, was born on September 13, 2007; Viktor is
named after Natalia's grandfather.
Vodianova is also a dedicated philanthropist, an achievement that was
honored in the March 2007 issue of US Vogue. |
