The Stunning Transformation Of Irina Shayk From Childhood To Age 37
There's no question that Russian model Irina Shayk's life has been an incredible journey. Growing up impoverished during the collapse of the Soviet Union, Shayk wasn't celebrated for her beauty, but after being plucked from obscurity by a keen-eyed modeling scout, she was on her way to stardom. But her relatively late start in the modeling game and her total embrace of her curvaceous figure meant Shayk had to tenaciously forge her own path, transitioning her career from Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue cover star to high fashion muse to great success.
Of course, being undeniably gorgeous and world-famous has impacted Shayk's personal life, helping her land a few high-profile celebrity beaus. However, just because she's had A-list private relationships doesn't mean she's sharing details about her romances on social media. Both extremely quiet and candidly honest, Irina Shayk has crafted a celebrity persona that works for her, no matter what others may think. And counter to the careers of many models, Shayk's notoriety and popularity have only grown over time. So let's take a look back at the stunning transformation of Irina Shayk from childhood to age 37 and learn how Shayk became one of the best in the modeling game.
As a young girl, she was made fun of for her looks
Today, Irina Shayk is a world-renowned beauty, but as a child she was hardly celebrated for her looks. Shayk grew up poor in the small Russian town of Yemanzhelinsk and she was teased by other children for her appearance. Shayk recalled to V Magazine, "As a child, I was bullied in school because I was super skinny, I had bigger lips, and darker skin, and I loved high heels." Life was hard for young Shayk, and she wanted nothing more than to fit in with her peers. She told British Vogue, "I always thought, 'I want to be like everyone else,' so nobody would pick on me. I was really shy as a child."
As fearful as she was of looking different than the other kids, Shayk's childhood provided her valuable lessons in self-acceptance and perseverance. Reflecting on her teenage years to W Magazine she said, "I think we all go through stages in life, and it's a great thing because it's a learning process. You learn about your character, yourself, how to be confident, and how to stick with your decisions." Certainly, the tenacity she cultivated as a youth helped Shayk's ascension to superstardom.
Before fame, it was beauty school and beauty pageants
Young Irina Shayk didn't have modeling ambitions and her illustrious fashion career actually unfolded by happenstance. Shayk attended music school for a number of years and she studied marketing in college, but her older sister convinced Shayk to join her at beauty school for fun. Enrolling in beauty school might have been an afterthought for Shayk, but it changed the course of her life. Next door to the beauty school was a modeling school, and Shayk was discovered by a modeling scout. Around the same time she entered and won the Miss Chelyabinsk 2004 beauty pageant.
Shortly after winning her pageant title, she was off to Paris to start her modeling career. For Shayk, modeling was all about the money. She told The Sunday Times, "All I was thinking about was that I could maybe get some catalogue work and help my family." At one time, Shayk felt modeling would never be her calling, but the reluctant beauty was well on her way to becoming world famous.
The struggles of her early modeling years
Irina Shayk's modeling career didn't take off right away and she has spoken candidly about the struggles she faced as a newbie model. She moved to Paris at age 20 and when she arrived in City of Light, she was hardly living the glamorous life. Shayk, who spoke very little English or French, lived in a model apartment and she survived on pocket change and bowls of rice. She also faced stigmas around her age and size. She told The Telegraph "I was older than other girls – some started modeling aged 13. I wasn't a size zero, I was bigger and I was sexy," adding, "There are so many people who tell you to lose weight, to color your hair or cut it or do this or that ... You have to be strong and stubborn to be a model. It's very important not to lose who you really are."
Not finding success in the French capital, Shayk made the move to Spain where she found work that embraced her curves. She also worked in Germany as a catalog model making €1000 per gig, a life-changing sum for the up-and-coming talent. In 2006, Shayk landed a breakthrough campaign, becoming the face of Italian lingerie brand Intimissimi.
Shayk's Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue cover brings stardom
While Irina Shayk was forging a path as a successful European catalog and lingerie model, it was her appearances in an iconic American magazine that thrust her into the global spotlight. Shayk's modeling career got a serious boost when she debuted in the Sport Illustrated Swimsuit Issue in 2007. She told Sport Illustrated about her first appearance in the magazine, "Looking back to 2007, which was my first year and was like, I was becoming more recognizable all over the world and becoming more myself." She made several more appearances in the magazine in sultry pictorials, but when she landed on the cover in 2011, it changed everything.
Posing in a string bikini on the shores of Hawaii, Shayk became the first Russian model to grace a Sport Illustrated Swimsuit Issue cover. Getting a Sport Illustrated Swimsuit Issue cover is a coveted opportunity for models to build their brand and showcase their personalities, and Shayk was game to prove she was more than just a pretty face. She embraced the publicity and even made an appearance on "The Late Show with David Letterman." She told Highsnobiety of the experience, "I barely spoke English. Before I went on, they said to me, 'You know, Dave can be very tricky.' I didn't even know who David Letterman was!" adding, "I thought, 'Okay, I'm going to go on and take over. I'm not going to let him get me.'"
How she and Cristiano Ronaldo made a very fashionable couple
In the early 2010s, Irina Shayk dated Cristiano Ronaldo, one of the world's most famous and highly paid professional athletes. The Russian beauty and the self-assured Portuguese footballer first sparked romance rumors in 2010 while shooting an Armani Exchange campaign and talk of their budding romance continued when Shayk was photographed enjoying time on Ronaldo's yacht. They kept their love fairly low-profile, walking the occasional red carpet and keeping mum about their partnership in the press, but they expressed their love in a very public, and very fashionable way, by posing together on the cover of Vogue España in 2014.
Even at the height of their power-couple status, Shayk played coy when British Vogue asked her about posing with Ronaldo. In fact, she didn't even call him by name. She said, "You know, the Vogue cover was so much fun, it was a great team," adding, "You can never go wrong with Mario Testino [the shoot's photographer.]" Alas, the truth about their relationship is that it wasn't meant to be and the couple broke up in 2015. Shayk seemingly addressed the split in Hola Magazine (via The Daily Mail) when she said, "My ideal man is faithful, honest and a gentleman who knows how to treat women. I don't believe in men who make us feel unhappy, because they're boys not men," adding "I thought I had once found the ideal man but it didn't turn out that way."
How she fought for a career in high fashion
Although she scored global fame as a lingerie and swimsuit model, Irina Shayk had high-fashion ambitions. However, transitioning her career didn't happen overnight and she fought against stereotyping in the industry. Shayk told Elle,"They put a label on you: 'She's Sports Illustrated, she's too sexy.' I heard so many times in my life, 'She's never going to work with Steven Meisel. She's not a Burberry girl.'" She admitted, "I won't lie — it was hard to climb the hill and show people that you can be both." It took measured perseverance to make her dreams a reality. As Shayk pointed out to Highsnobiety, "It was hard to break through to the fashion side, but I just went picture by picture by picture," adding, "It's like building a house. You need a little base."
Fortunately for Shayk, she received support from influential tastemakers, including famed French fashion editor Carine Roitfeld. She told CR Fashion Book that she took pride in her career transition. She said, "My favorite moment was transforming from a swimsuit model to a high-fashion model. I owe so much to Carine for helping make that happen. She was one of the first to believe in me, and it's amazing to have such support from someone in her position." Not only has Shayk starred in multiple Burberry campaigns, but she has been photographed by Meisel, too.
She brought her beauty to the big screen in Hercules
Like many successful models before her, Irina Shayk tried her hand at acting. She went Hollywood in 2014 with a role in action-fantasy movie "Hercules." Based on the mythological hero, the film stars Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson in the titular role and Shayk in the minor-yet-important role of Hercules' wife, Megara. In an interview with Metro, Shayk shared that she was cast in the movie after director Brett Ratner sent word to her modeling agency that he was looking for an actor to play Megara. Shayk sent in a video audition, and she got the part.
A new experience for Shayk, after filming "Hercules," she told British Vogue that she was open to future acting gigs. She said, "I love fashion, and I love to be a model, but definitely I enjoyed making this movie and I would like to act again. If something different or something great comes along I'll give it a try." Since "Hercules," Shayk's acting resume hasn't grown much. She's credited with appearing in a few short films and an episode of "Inside Amy Schumer." However, it seems like Shayk's thespian ambitions have slowed down. In 2019, she told The Telegraph about her "Hercules" experience, "I did something super-small but it was more for the challenge. To be a good actor, you have to be a natural or study for years. And I'm not good at learning lines!"
She might strut the runway, but don't call her a supermodel
Even though Irina Shayk has walked the runway and posed for pictures for some of the world's most admired fashion houses, she doesn't see herself as a supermodel. During the early 2010s, Shayk worked hard to transition her career from swimsuit pictorials to Fashion Week catwalks, and she made her runway debut at that time modeling for Givenchy, a break given to her by designer, and soon to be BFF, Riccardo Tisci. Since walking for Givenchy, Shayk's runway career has taken off. She's strutted her stuff for designers like Marc Jacobs, Valentino, Versace, and Chanel. Over the years, she's proven her fashion versatility as a runway talent, sporting everything from slinky party dresses to avante-garde haute couture.
Even though she's appeared in the same shows as OG supermodels like Naomi Campbell and Stephanie Seymour, and new-guard names like Gigi Hadid and Kendall Jenner, she doesn't think the supermodel label relates to her. She told People about rejecting the moniker, "It means nothing. I'm just a human being. I don't wake up in hair and makeup and high heels. I literally love to wear the most comfortable clothes ever and sometimes when my agent sees me, he's like, 'Irina, this is not okay.' And I'm like, 'This is me.'" Even if Shayk rejects her super-status, she's definitely a star to us.
Her red carpet-ready era with Bradley Cooper
Although Irina Shayk's acting career never really got off the ground, her Hollywood celebrity notoriety rocketed to the A-list with her relationship to Tinseltown star Bradley Cooper. Shayk and Cooper began dating in 2015, with the couple first sparking romance rumors when Page Six reported the two were kissing at Rihanna's Met Gala afterparty. Days later, The Daily Mail published pictures of the pair making out while on a New York City date. They made their love public the following year at a L'Oreal Paris party, with Cooper playing the part of supportive boyfriend.
Although subsequent years saw Shayk and Cooper possibly getting engaged and definitely having a child together, the private couple didn't make their official red carpet debut until 2018 at that year's Met Gala. The glamorous couple looked the part, with Shayk wearing a gold, bedazzled Atelier Versace gown and Cooper sporting a Tom Ford tux. Shayk and Cooper became more public during the 2019 awards season it support of Cooper's celebrated film "A Star Is Born." They wowed at the Golden Globes and even held hands on the Oscars red carpet. Despite their newfound red carpet PDA, Shayk and Cooper's relationship ended later that year after four years together.
Her very fashionable pregnancy announcement
Irina Shayk publicly debuted her pregnancy in 2016 in a way only a top model could: by walking down the runway at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. In the mid-2010s, the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show was a televised spectacle featuring world-famous models wearing next-to-nothing, strutting their stuff to the music of the moment's hottest musicians. So what better place than to make a big life announcement without having to say a word? Surprisingly, it was Shayk's debut at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. She told Vogue about finally working on the show, "It's all very exciting. Beautiful girls, sexy costumes, amazing performers—a dream come true!"
Shayk wore several sexy looks that year, including a fiery red beaded jacket and a sexy trench coat, somewhat concealing her pregnancy. But shortly after the show, an insider quickly confirmed to E! News that yes, Shayk was expecting her first child with her partner, Bradley Cooper. She wasn't the first model to strut the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show runway while pregnant – Alessandra Ambrosio and Lily Aldridge had previously done the same, but Shayk definitely did it with style. The couple quietly welcomed daughter Lea in March 2017, letting the tabloids do the announcing for them.
As a single working mother, she's stayed true to herself
As a single working mother, Irina Shayk struggles with work-life balance, but she hasn't let it stop her from staying true to herself. She told British Vogue, "It's hard to find a balance between being a single mom and being a working woman and provider." She also said, "I always try not to stay away from my daughter for more than a week, but I also don't want to be this woman who's not truthful to herself, because I love my work and I was raised in a woman-run household."
The Russian beauty has embraced both being maternal and being sexy, believing that you can be both simultaneously. For Shayk, fellow model Emily Ratajakowski is a role model in how she carries herself. About Ratajakowski, Shayk told Harper's Bazaar, "She's always sexy and feminine and all about loving your body. Maybe I'm not so vocal about it, but I'm totally on the same wavelength: You're a mother, but it doesn't mean you cannot go outside in a tiny little skirt or put a sexy picture up." And Shayk has no time for haters who question whether it's appropriate to share sexy photos or dress provocatively just because she's a mom. She said, "I'm so busy. We don't have a nanny, so between trying to run my career, cook, clean, dress my daughter, bring her to school, and do all the mom stuff, I have no time for people's opinions."
Her relationship with Kanye West wasn't just a fling
Irina Shayk and Kanye West had known each other for years, but in 2021 the fashionable pair sparked rumors that they were more than just friends. West first acknowledged Shayk back in 2010 when he name-checked her in his song "Christian Dior Denim Flow" and she appeared in the music video for the West track "Power" as a dream-like angelic figure. A few years later, Shayk strutted her stuff in West's 2012 Fall Ready-To-Wear collection wearing knee-high moto boots, a black trench coat, and dramatic black eye makeup. Also around this time, Shayk was forming a close friendship with designer Riccardo Tisci, who was also cultivating a creative relationship with West's then-girlfriend Kim Kardashian. It's safe to say Shayk and West remained in each others' orbits by having a high-profile mutual friend.
However, by 2021 West and Kardashian's relationship was over and soon after Kim filed for divorce, rumors of a romance between Shayk and West began to swirl. The model and musician were photographed by The Daily Mail enjoying a seemingly romantic trip to France at a luxury hotel. According to sources at Us Weekly, Shayk and West had already been dating for months before the photos were snapped, but by the end of the summer, the love between the pair had fizzled and they went their separate-but-friendly ways.
Shayk's edgy personal style turns heads
As Irina Shayk's career has moved into high fashion, so has her personal style. During her early modeling days, Shayk's style skewed '00s conventionally sexy. Like many female stars of the time, Shayk wore body-con bandage dresses and sky-high Christian Louboutin heels. But it was during the COVID-19 pandemic that Shayk truly embraced having fun with her off-duty looks. She shared with Vogue, "Before, we used to go to big events and parties with makeup and get dressed up. Now, I think I miss those fun moments, so I decided that I can have fun with a street style." In 2023, Shayk has embraced trends like the no-pants look, with Shayk's take on the aesthetic being an oversized shirt-as-dress rather than Fruit of the Loom-forward. She has also taken to wearing mesh and lingerie as formal attire, sporting a Gucci naked dress and bikini at a dinner event.
And while never having walked down the aisle herself, Shayk has worn several bridal-inspired looks with eccentric footwear choice. At the 2023 Met Gala, she paired her cream Yohji Yamamoto gown with flat slippers and at good friend Riccard Tisci's birthday party, she wore a white Vivienne Westwood corseted gown with cowboy-esque booties. No word if she completed the look with spurs that jingle jangle jingle. On the street, Shayk's personal style has veered toward edgy, trend-forward looks. She has an affinity for combat boots, sweats with heels, and skirted Canadian tuxedos.