Valentina Zelyaeva

Valentina Zelyaeva (born 11 October 1982) is a Russian-American supermodel. Zelyaeva is best known for being the face of Ralph Lauren for 7 years. In 2008, Zelyaeva was the 13th highest-paid model in the world, earning $2.3 million.

Early life Valentina Zelyaeva was born in Ulan-Ude, a city in Siberia. Her father was a soldier and her mother wanted to become a teacher. The family later moved to Saint Petersburg and then settled down in Moscow when she was 7.

Career

Zelyaeva got her start as a fashion model when she was 15. A friend of hers handed her modelling card, but she was too shy to call at first. Her mother then took her to the agency where she was immediately signed. Zelyaeva entered the Elite Model Look contest, but she didn't win. Afterwards, Zelyaeva started working in Japan for 2 years, where she learned English and started to support her family back in Russia.

Zelyaeva's breakthrough came in 2003, Ralph Lauren was very impressed by her and let her open his show and booked her for the upcoming campaign. She served as the "face of Ralph Lauren" beginning in 2005. In 2008, Forbes estimated that Zelyaeva was the world's 13th-highest-earning model.