Supermodel Natalia Vodianova knows what it’s like to be poor, so she donates millions of dollars to charities

The story of supermodel Natalia Vodianova makes even the most skeptical people start to believe in fairy tales. Born in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, this woman sold bananas at the local market and became one of the most famous models as she conquered the world with her breathtaking beauty. She has also become one of the 5 highest paid models in history and at the same time has found time to take care of 5 children.

Stories like this make the awesome.club believe in miracles. Today, we bring you details of the life of a model who enchanted and continues to enchant the world. Natalia is a great example because she helps a lot of people who weren’t as lucky as her.

“The girl in this photo is waiting for her visa to Paris. The photo was taken many years ago by Alexey Vasilyev, who discovered me. Who would have thought that this chubby girl would have a chance in the modeling world.”

Natalia was born in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, to a humble family. Her mother had 3 daughters, one of them with special needs. Little Natalia needed to mature quickly, as at the age of 6 she had to take care of a baby alone. She didn’t study much, mainly because she didn’t have much time: the future supermodel spent most of her day at the market helping her mother. Her classmates always laughed a lot at how thin she was.

At age 16, she was accepted into a local modeling agency called “Yevguéniya”. And that’s when the big opportunity appeared. An agency looking for models went to her town to find new faces.

First casting, spring 1999

Natalia was one of the 100 girls who wanted to be famous. The talent scouts were looking for a diamond in the rough and found it in the form of a blonde girl with blue eyes and a short skirt. After a few months, she packed her bags for Paris.

Natalia moved to the fashion capital and her name began to be known around the world. But of course that didn’t happen right away. The path to her becoming a star was complicated. She needed to learn to smile, to behave on a catwalk and, on the agency’s recommendation, she needed to see a psychologist. However, the most important thing was the need to learn a foreign language. For, communicating only through facial expressions was not at all satisfying.

At that time, competition was very high: she needed to do 12 to 15 castings per day🇧🇷 That was the only way she could get a job. All the money she earned was used to buy food and pay her rent. Natalia still thought that she was experiencing a run of luck that would soon end, when she would have to return to her hometown.

In late 1999, Jean-Paul Gaultier was enchanted by Natalia’s beauty in an annual contest held by the Madison agency. The famous stylist insisted that she take second place and offered her a job as a rookie model. Shortly thereafter, Natalia began to receive invitations from major brands, and after participating in New York Fashion Week she began to believe in herself. After this event, many new offers began to appear and she worked with the most famous brands, among them: Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent and Calvin Klein. And of course: the model appeared in major fashion magazines, such as Vogue🇧🇷 Harper’s Bazaar🇧🇷 Marie Claire and she🇧🇷

In 2001, Natalia first appeared in cinema, but the catwalks brought her more fame than the movies. In 2002, Natalia became the most requested model at New York Fashion Week, where she walked the runway for 19 designers.

It was at this moment that Natalia became the face of Calvin Klein, opening and closing the brand’s shows. But the big victory came with the Pirelli calendar in 2004. Few women have had that opportunity. In 2007, she became the official face of one of the most important fashion houses in the world, Chanel.

However, for this fairy tale to be completed, a prince was missing. At a private party in Paris, Natalia met English lord Justin Portman. In early 2001, the model accompanied him on a photo shoot in Africa. Their first child, Lucas, was born 9 months later, and 6 weeks after giving birth Natalia was back on the catwalks.

The marriage of Natalia Vodianova and Justin Portman was celebrated after the birth of Lucas, on September 1, 2002 in the city of Saint Petersburg. Her husband was a nobleman and so Natalia was also treated as a noblewoman. In 2006, the couple had their second daughter, Neva. In 2007 came Viktor. But of course every fairy tale has its end and they split in 2011.

The model had known the millionaire Antoine Arnault for a long time, but the romance only started in 2011. In August 2013, Natalia’s life changed: she accepted Antoine’s proposal to move from London to Paris, where she currently lives with all her family. your big family.

Now Natalia works as a volunteer and takes care of her 5 children. The first 3 are from the first marriage and the other 2 are from the second. In 2014, Natalia and Antoine had their first child, Maxim; In June 2016, the family welcomed Roman, the model’s fifth. At home, they speak 3 languages: Russian, English and French.

Natalia follows a good diet and does her best for her children to do the same. She is 1.76 tall and weighs between 45 and 50 kg. The model has always lost weight quickly after pregnancy. The food rules are as follows: no fatty and sweet products in small quantities. It is important to take care of the weight and quality of food from an early age because eating habits stay with us throughout our lives.

In addition to a balanced diet, it is important to maintain an active life. Natalia organizes 42.2 km philanthropic marathons and takes part in many of them herself. She also often appears at major sporting events as a celebrity guest, for example at the opening ceremony of the Sochi Olympic Games and the draw for the 2018 World Cup groups.

When fame and wealth gave Natalia more freedom, she decided she wanted to do something for other people. In 2004, the model created the foundation Naked Heart Foundation, whose main areas of activity are supporting children with developmental problems and building playgrounds in Russia and abroad. In Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States, more than 100 playgrounds have been built where previously there were only abandoned land.

As part of the foundation’s work, Natalia organizes the “Corações Corredores” marathon and other charity events. The amount collected is sent to people and organizations in need. In 4 years she managed to raise 2.2 million dollars.

Another successful project by the model is the Elbi app, which works as follows: you press the “Love Button” to transfer one dollar to the chosen fund. With the help of Elbi, users can support small organizations. Among the program’s partners are Louis Vuitton, Stella McCartney, H&M and other fashion giants.

Natalia at the support center for children with developmental problems in Qatar

The supermodel has also started to work in a new area of ​​activism: she has become the face of H&M’s eco-friendly collection. And she appeared in a light dress made with a special material: waste found in oceans and on the coast. Check out the promotional video for the collection.

What did you think of Natalia’s life? Do you think she knew how to handle the fame? Share your opinion in the comments.