30 Little Known Facts About Natalia Vodianova – Supernova You Might Have Missed Before

Natalia Vodianova, famously known by her nickname, “Supernova,” has walked the runways for top-notch fashion designers, and has been the faces of several legendary Fashion Houses for years. Born in a rather modest and poor family, her journey to becoming one of the greatest models in the world is more like a fairy tale. She has been an inspiration for millions of youngsters, not just for her modeling career, but also for her philanthropic activities. Here are some really interesting facts about Natalia Vodianova, that will inspire you for sure:

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1.  She was one of the “World’s Most Inspiring Women,” selected and photographed for the 43rd Pirelli Calendar, in the year 2016, which also was her fifth appearance in Pirelli.
2.  In the year 2007, she became an ambassador for Hear the World, a global campaign that seeks to raise awareness of the topic of hearing and hearing loss.
3.  Natalia was one of 50 models to be featured on the cover of the September 2014 issue of Italian Vogue, which was the magazine's 50th anniversary issue.
4.  In the year 2015, she was ranked at #5, on the annual list of highest earning models of the world, with an estimated income of $7 million, by Forbes Magazine.
5.  She is the founder of the Naked Heart Foundation, an organization that focuses on providing a safe and inspiring environment for children living in urban Russia, to play, while also supporting families raising children with disabilities.
6.  Natalia Mikhailovna Vodianova, was born February 28, 1982, to Mikhail Vodianov and Larisa Vodianova, in Gorky, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union (Nizhny Novgorod, Russia).
7.  She grew up in a district of the city (Avtozavod, GAZ car factory), where she was raised by her mother, Larisa Viktorovna Gromova with two sisters. Her sister Oksana was born with severe form of autism and cerebral palsy.
8.  Although, during her childhood days, she used to envy her sister for getting all the car and attention, once she understood her condition, started taking care of her sick sister, which she claims encouraged her to appreciate life to the fullest.
9.  She doesn’t remember much about her father, as it was reported that he abandoned the family when she was just a baby. Her mother worked multiple jobs to make ends meet.
10.  In fact, in her teenage years, she used to sell fruits in the market in her native, carrying 30-kilograms boxes with goods in it, in an effort to help her mother in making money.

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11.  She enrolled at the teacher training college of Nizhny Novgorod, at the age of 15. However, within a year, she signed with a modeling agency “Evgenia.”
12.  She was noted by a scout of the Viva Model Management agency, during one of her auditions and was immediately invited to the audition of the French agency.
13.  She shifted to Paris, France, and also signed a contract with Viva Models, while also being associated with DNA Model Management in New York, and Why Not Model Management in Milan.
14.  Talking about the struggles and financial troubles she and her family faced in her childhood days, Natalia once claimed in an interview that she began to smile sincerely only at the age of 17, only after signing with Viva Models.
15.  Her very first appearance on the cover of American Vogue was in the September 2004 edition alongside Gisele Bündchen and Daria Werbowy, photographed by Steven Meisel as one of the “Models of the Moment.”
16.  She was again featured as one of the “Model Faces of the Moment,” on the cover of American Vogue, in the May 2009 issue of the magazine.
17.  Her first major modeling assignment came with a photo shoot by Juergen Teller for a Marc Jacobs fashion campaign. She was just 18 years old, and was also 8 months pregnant at that time.
18.  She signed a collaboration deal – three year contract with the French lingerie company Etam, in Spring 2009, becoming the brand ambassador of the company.
19.  The collaboration also had Vodianova designing a special lingerie collection, each season, during the term of three years, which will be marketed under the brand name “Natalia pour Etam.”
20.  She first signed an exclusive contract with Calvin Klein in the year 2005. Ten years later, she returned as the face of Calvin Klein’s Euphoria fragrance.

"File:Natalia-Vodianova.jpg" by Gilzetbase is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

21.  Natalia fronted Riccardo Tisci's Givenchy 2016 Spring/Summer campaign along with Tisci's longtime muse Mariacarla Boscono. This marks her fourth appearance for Tisci’s Givenchy campaigns.
22.  She is a spokesperson for the Tiger Trade Campaign, an alliance of 38 organizations that focuses on bringing back “wild tigers by stopping trade in tiger parts and products from all sources."
23.  She met Justin Portman, a professional artist, who is also a real estate heir, at a Paris dinner in the year 2001. The couple got married in November 2001, when she was 8 months pregnant.
24.  They had wedding ceremony in St. Petersburg, in which she wore a dress designed by Tom Ford. The duo have three children - son Lucas Alexander, daughter Neva, and son Viktor. Their relationship ended in June 2011.
25.  She became the campaign model for Prada's spring/summer 2016 collection along with their comeback muse Sasha Pivovarova and Dutch newcomer Yasmin Wijnaldum.
26.  Vodianova was ranked at #14 in British television channel Five's television program “World's Greatest Supermodel,” in the year 2005.
27.  She had been in a relationship with Antoine Arnault, son of LVMH founder Bernard Arnault, since late 2011. The couple announced their engagement on December 31, 2019.
28.  They have two sons together – Maxim and Roman. The duo were forced to cancel their wedding at Saint-Pierre d’Hautvillers Abbey, scheduled on June 27, 2020, due to COVID-19 pandemic, and got married on June 21, 2020 at a Paris registry office.
29.  Collaborating with Timon Afinsky, she co-founded the digital app Elbi, in an effort to help people in donating money with a "Love Button", while also allowing them to create content, send messages, and vote for charitable purposes.
30.  In February 2021, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) appointed Vodianova as a goodwill ambassador.
31.  Natalia Vodianova Net Worth: $50 Million