Natalia Mikhailovna Vodianova (; born 28 February 1982), nicknamed Supernova, is a Russian model, actress and United Nations Goodwill Ambassador.
In 2012, she came in third on Forbes top-earning models list, estimated to have earned $8.6 million in one year. Vodianova was ranked in 2015 by models.com as one of the New Supers in the fashion industry.
In 2010, Vodianova was awarded Inspiration of the Year by Harper's Bazaar. In 2014, Glamour recognized her as Woman of the Year and awarded her its The Voice for Children award.
Vodianova is a mother of 5. She is also a member of the Special Olympics International Board of Directors. In 2021, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) appointed her as a Goodwill Ambassador for the sexual and reproductive health agency.
Early life
Vodianova was born in Gorky, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union (now Nizhny Novgorod, Russia). She grew up in a district of the city (Avtozavod, GAZ car factory) with her mother, Larisa, and two younger half-sisters, Oksana and Kristina Kusakina. Oksana has autism. Vodianova has another younger half-sister, Jennifer "Jenna" Burns (born Maria Mashinka in 1999), who was placed for adoption as a baby and raised in North Carolina, United States. One of Vodianova's grandmothers is Mordovian (Erzya).
Career
Modelling
At the age of 15, Vodianova enrolled in a modelling agency. By the age of 17, she had moved to Paris, and signed with Viva Models. Vodianova has achieved success as a runway, editorial, and advertising campaign model. She has walked in more than 200 runway shows for American and European-based designers' ready-to-wear and haute couture collections, and has completed advertising campaigns for various fashion houses.
She has worked with fashion photographers such as Mario Testino, Annie Leibovitz.
Vodianova has also appeared on the covers of major international magazines including Vanity Fair; Vogue, and Interview.
Photographed by Steven Meisel, Vodianova made her first appearance on the cover of American Vogue in the September 2004 edition alongside Gisele Bündchen and Daria Werbowy as one of the "Models of the Moment". She then appeared as the solo cover subject of the July 2007 edition of the magazine. During this time period, other covers of American Vogue have all featured non-model celebrities with only three other exceptions—Linda Evangelista, Liya Kebede, and Bündchen. In May 2009, Vodianova was again featured on the cover of American Vogue as one of the "Model Faces of the Moment". As of 2014, Vodianova has appeared on the cover of British Vogue ten times; the first was the September 2003 issue.
In Spring 2009, Vodianova entered a three-year agreement to be a brand ambassador for the French lingerie company Etam and will design a lingerie collection each season during the term of the agreement. The collections will be marketed under the brand Natalia pour Etam. Vodianova has a contract with Guerlain, a French perfume house and cosmetics line, which was acquired in 1994 by the LVMH group, a multinational investment corporation specializing in luxury brands. She is also a regular campaign and poster model for Stella McCartney. She also featured as a 'Face of the Moment' in May 2009's US Vogue.
In 2014, Vodianova appeared on the cover of the September issue of Vanity Fair shot by photographer Mario Testino. She was one of fifty models on the September 2014 cover of Italian Vogue, the magazine's fiftieth-anniversary issue. She has also appeared on a solo cover for French Vogue in the September issue, her sixth cover for the magazine. In the November issue, Vodianova graced the cover of American Vogue shot by Annie Leibovitz; this was her fourth American Vogue cover and second solo American Vogue cover since her appearance in July 2007.
In 2015, Vodianova was photographed by Steven Meisel for the 2015 Pirelli Calendar; this was her fourth appearance in Pirelli since 2003. She returned as the face of Calvin Klein's Euphoria fragrance shot by Inez and Vinoodh, ten years since her first exclusive contract with Calvin Klein. Vice President of Calvin Klein Fragrances, Coty, Friedemann Schmid, commenting on her return to the brand, said "Natalia Vodianova truly embodies the sensual glamour and sophistication of the Euphoria woman". Vodianova returned for the Stella McCartney campaign for the spring/summer 2015 and fall/winter 2015 collections. She ranked No. 5 on the 2015 Forbes list of highest earning models, earning an estimated $7 million.