Her real surname is Shaykhislamova, and she is of Tatar descent.
Recently, one of the most famous and successful Russian supermodels, Irina Shayk, turned 40.
She was born in Yemanzhelinsk, a small town in the Chelyabinsk region.
"We had a garden where we all worked a little. If you wanted to eat potatoes, you first had to know how to grow them. Only when I grew up did I learn that there are people who buy them in the supermarket. I learned a lot then, especially how to survive," she said in an interview.
After school, Irina enrolled in an economic college to study marketing, where she was noticed by representatives of the modeling agency "Svetlana."
Winning a local beauty contest opened the door for her into the international industry: by the age of 18, she began working with foreign agents who had previously collaborated with Natalia Vodianova and Eugenia Volodina.
In 2007, Shayk appeared in an advertisement for Intimissimi lingerie and later became the face of the brand. The model worked with renowned photographers and in 2011 became the first Russian woman to appear on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition.
Riccardo Tisci, the creative director of Burberry, said of Irina Shayk: "She is not only extraordinarily beautiful — she will always be an iconic supermodel to me: extremely hardworking, incredibly loyal, and a wonderful role model for her daughter."
Over a decade and a half, Shayk became a global star, gracing the covers of Vogue in various countries and leading glossy magazines. She collaborated with L'Oreal Paris, Armani, Givenchy, Guess, and other fashion houses.
The model dated Cristiano Ronaldo and then actor Bradley Cooper, with whom she had a daughter in 2017. The couple separated in 2019.
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