Irina Shayk Quotes

1. I think I look even better than I do in real life.


2. Modeling is a highly unpredictable and unstable business, I want to be sure of my future.

3. People think I'm Brazilian, or they think I'm Italian, or Spanish. So I say I'm an undercover Russian. I grew up in Emanjelinsk, which is a small village in the middle of nowhere. It is very simple and quiet. I had a garden, and after school I would plant potatoes and tomatoes.

4. I am thinking about acting, maybe I will become an actress one day, you never know. When I studied in a music school I was singing in a choir, but I do not sing anymore. I am doing the designs of my own swim suits for Beach Bunny swimwear, and I really like it! So maybe I will become a designer!

5. Russia is a very big country populated with people of many origins, so you can find many different types of beauties - not only of the so-called Slavic type, but also Brazilian-looking, Asian-looking…And in my country, women spend a lot of time on beauty rituals and take very good care of themselves. Natural beauty is carefully cherished and is brought to perfection by make-up, clothes and the unique combination of little things that are called "personal charm".

6. I think success is very hard work so, you know, if you work hard and you have some success you have to give up something, so sometimes you give up your privacy.

7. Being in "Need For Speed" is like being in a blockbuster movie.

8. I was lucky to work with great photographers for those shoots - Santiago Esteban and Rafa Gallar. When a photographer is great, the shooting feels like an adventure and a lot of fun. Mainly the difference between the shootings for swimsuit and fashion is in the location: For swimsuit, it's often (at a) beach in some exotic place, but for fashion it can be anywhere. I like both!

9. (on appearing on the cover of Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition) We Russians know all the secrets but I didn't know I would land the cover! It was a total surprise for me and I was in shock. I was crying! It's a dream come true.

10. People don't come up to me because I'm always busy… and maybe because they are scared. I'm a real person, just a normal girl who is walking down the street.  I love a man who is smart, educated and interested in having a good conversation. If you have that there is no need for a pick up line.

11. As I live in New York, I usually go shopping in New York. My favorite stores are Scoop, Intermix, Jill Stuart, Blue and Cream. When I come to Milan, I always check (the) Intimissimi store to make sure that I have all the new collection, and I love to discover small shops in new towns.

12. My mother is a musician, so as a child I played the piano. But when I was older I got bored, and my sister, Tatiana, was always in love with beauty products. She would test her hair and makeup products on me all the time, dye my hair, pluck my eyebrows. One day she took me to her beauty school, and Guia Jikidze was there. He was the scout who found Natalia Vodianova and Eugenia Volodina. He got me started.

13. I'm completely a village girl. Sometimes I miss that. Well, I don't miss planting the potatoes.

14. I thought a lot about my garden. My cucumbers. My father was a coal miner. I did not grow up with an American childhood. In Russia, we planted that garden because we had to eat. I didn't know this world existed. I never thought I would live in Paris or New York. I couldn't even have dreamed it.

15. I'm not a fan of soccer, for sure not.

16. Don't take me shopping. I love to go shopping alone. It takes time and I make sure nobody rushes me. In New York I try to go to vintage stores and I love Selfridges in London. Don't try and play me at video games, either. Girls are very competitive!

17. Wearing a suit is sexy. English men are very elegant, they wear suits very well. But don't be afraid to show your personality.


18. I was going to be a journalist. So you should be happy this worked for me or else I'd steal your job! Although when I was little I knew I wasn't going to be a village girl forever. I didn't think I'd be a model who lived in New York, but I knew I was going to leave the village.

19. I studied music for seven years before modeling. My mother was a music teacher, so I played the piano from a young age - it's so relaxing. I think it's a beautiful thing for a girl to be able to do. I really love to play Moonlight Sonata by Beethoven. I can still read music, but I need to practice more. The way your fingers move - it's something that comes from memory. I love music. I used to sing in a choir.

20. The Lamborghini Aventador that is in the game is beautiful.

21. Kids made fun of me because I was so skinny and I always had these free haircuts from my sister. I remember when I was 14 I wanted high heel boots and they cost $25, but we couldn't afford them. So I worked in a hospital for 20 days painting the walls to make the $25. I remember the other kids making fun of me for that: Who is this weird, skinny girl in those high heel boots? But I didn't care.

22. In my work and in my business, you should be very strong in mind. You know, I don't care what people think about me, I really don't. You have to be sure about yourself and about your work and your career and you have to be strong inside because so many people come around and try to say bad things about you. But that is how the world is. It has bad people and good people and there's nothing you can do about that. You just have to stick with your mind and stick with your ideas and just do what you wanna do.

23. I always look at men's shoes. The biggest mistake I think is wearing trousers too high.

24. I started modeling late. I was almost 20. I went to Paris and had bad English. I didn't know how to pose. I did my first picture for my first portfolio and didn't feel pretty at all. I guess I felt special because, of all the other girls in the world, I was chosen to go to Paris, but I never thought I was beautiful. I lived in the models' apartment, and the other girls would laugh at me because I was different than them. They were very pale, very skinny editorial girls, and I had curves and a tan.

25. On the square in the middle of the town there is a statue of swan - the symbol of the town. One can visit the coal mines, and that's it, nothing else to see!

26. I love Japanese food. My favorite restaurant is Nobu and I like Cipriani, too. I'm not the kind of person who is out drinking. Everybody thinks that because I'm Russian I have to love vodka but I don't drink it at all.

27. (on appearing on the cover of Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition) There were 10 models there to do the Top 10 List, and nobody knows until the last minute who the cover will be, And then I saw it, and I couldn't believe it.

28. It was by pure chance. My mother saw an ad on a bus stop and I came to a local beauty school accompanying my older sister. I was noticed by a person from a local model agency and he proposed that I participate in a beauty contest Miss Chelyabinsk. I never thought of a career of as a model and it was a total surprise for me when I won the contest and became Miss Chelyabinsk. Then I started modeling in Paris.

29. Some fans send me money. I had some guy bringing me flowers for six months. I was thinking: "Hello, who are you?"

30. I started very commercial and doing sexy stuff, like Victoria's Secret and Guess Jeans. Then last year, when I was 27, I did a Givenchy show, and then Mario Testino and Carine Roitfeld, and Carlyne Cerf de Dudzeele booked me. It is nice to see how my career has changed and progressed. Maybe it's an example for other girls: If you're stuck in one genre, you can cross the lines today. It doesn't matter if you're 17 or 27, sexy models are back!

31. I believe in destiny - I always knew that I'd leave that village. But, replacing someone as big as Ana - that was incredible and so nerve-wracking. I never thought I'd have a career like this. But, I've got good genes - so the underwear posing was OK. I couldn't speak any English when I first left Russia and Intimissimi taught me everything. The team was like a family to me - they showed me how to model and how to stay in shape. They really believed in me.

32. (on New York) It's the best city in the world. You can wake up in the morning, walk out of your apartment and feel like everyone is so alive. I just spent three years renovating my apartment, so now I'm happy to spend time at home too. I have five TVs and a theater. I love watching movies. It's a good place to relax.

33. I'm up for anything, you know! It's better to do something than not to do it.




34. I really do love to workout! My favorites are pilates and running along (the) West Side Highway when I'm in New York. It's hard though when I travel because I get lazy and I love to eat so I just try to find a good balance.

35. Russians love money, and we can never have enough. Even if you have a lot it's not enough. But mine? It's a secret.

36. The day I made the decision I was going to be a successful model, I knew I would deal with people wanting to know about my personal life. So it didn't come as a shock. And if you love someone and you are in a great relationship, you don't feel the pressure. People can try and disturb that, but if you're happy you build a wall around you. What’s important to me stays behind that wall.

37. I like the movies of Woody Allen and I like the movie "Match Point". Another movie that I love is "The Game" with Michael Douglas. I like when the plot is complicated and has an unpredictable ending. I read a lot; my favorite writers are (Haruki) Murakami and (Fyodor) Dostoevsky. I like history books a lot and books about animals. I studied for 7 years in a music school and I love classical music. But I also like hip hop and R&B. 

38. (on what she likes to do in her spare time) I like to have some rest. Either to go to the sea, or spend time with my friends, my dog, to read a good book.

39. You don't achieve anything without working hard. My father died when I was 14 and my mother juggled two jobs so she could make sure my sister and I were OK. You can't just dream about what you want and leave things to chance. You have to get it yourself.

40. This year I'm designing my own swimwear collection. A very small line of one-piece and two-piece swimwear in beautiful colors with lots of detailing.


41. Before I dreamt to visit Madagascar, and last year I got to go there. Now I dream to visit New Zealand, I have seen the pictures of this beautiful country and I want to see it for real.


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