It’s the morning of the 2019 Fashion Awards, and I’m on my way to meet an old friend at the Bulgari Hotel in Knightsbridge. Outside, the December air is chilly. Inside, the hallways are moodily lit. But when Irina Shayk throws open the door to her suite, it’s as if spring has suddenly sprung.
She greets me with a theatrical “Hi!” and I immediately start to laugh – not only is the 34-year-old Russian dynamo in the middle of FaceTiming Burberry’s chief creative officer Riccardo Tisci, but her entire face is concealed behind a shimmering gold sheet mask, giving her the appearance of a very beautiful, very naughty Tutankhamun. (This is not unusual; when you’re with Irina, the mood is always, to borrow one of her favourite party descriptions, like a “kiki”.) Even in her mask, her blue jeans tucked into black socks, a simple grey tee and gold hoops, she looks incredible.
We first met a few years ago, when I styled her for W Magazine with photographers Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott. Thanks to her breakthrough with Sports Illustrated, she was already a social media star. It was love at first sight. When she arrived on set in Los Angeles, it was as if we’d known one another all our lives. I adored her humour, warmth and beauty, and most of all, her fierceness. (She was born in a harsh Soviet winter, so this fierceness is hardly a surprise.) Fashion fell in love with her, too, and before long she was walking for Givenchy and Miu Miu, and being photographed by the greats.
Soon, the world was enthralled by Irina, not least the Hollywood actor Bradley Cooper. The pair were together for four years, and three years ago had a daughter – Lea De Seine Shayk Cooper – who they now co-parent following their break-up. Irina is an extraordinary mother.
Irina ends her video call with Riccardo, peels off her mask and whisks me into her bedroom, where the signs of a supermodel’s glamorous life are littered about, from forgotten room service to scattered heels. She’s on the red carpet in a few hours but hasn’t decided on a final look. “I have nothing to wear tonight,” she worries – everything sent over so far won’t fit her famous curves. “You know me,” she says, her voice full of fun and wonderfully gravelly. “Momma loves to eat.” We settle down to talk…
Edward Enninful: Let’s start from the beginning. You lost your father when you were young, and financially it wasn’t easy for your family. How did this shape who you’ve become?
Irina Shayk: I was born and raised in a town called Yemanzhelinsk, in the middle of nowhere in Russia. My father was a coal miner and my mom was a pianist – she couldn’t find a job, so she played for kids in kindergarten.
It was a very simple life: one main street, no movie theatre, no restaurants. I lost my father when I was 14. He was the healthiest man alive, and at 44, out of the blue, he was coughing for a while then got pneumonia and died. Me, my mom and my sister were left. Three women.
How did you survive?
We learnt how to early in life, even when we had a father, because in Russia you have to. In summer you grow vegetables and bury them, so in wintertime you have potatoes, carrots, everything, so you can survive. When I moved to New York, I was shocked that people go to the supermarket and buy potatoes. I was like, “That’s crazy.”
How did you cope with the loss?
It was huge, he was the love of our lives. My mom was married to my father for 14 years and dating for seven years before they got married. She was terrified. But I think what is very special about the Russian woman, and women in general, is they always shape up in the right moment.
Were you popular at school?
No! I had my first boyfriend at 18. Boys didn’t like me.
Why?
I was really skinny and have darker skin, so boys and girls made fun of me. I never knew that I would be a model. I had bigger lips, so they called me Chunga-Changa, after this Russian cartoon about Black kids.
Oh, wow.
I always thought, “I want to be like everyone else,” so nobody would pick on me. I was really shy as a child. And I kind of hated being in pictures [laughs]. Look at me now!
It sounds like you were very different from the woman we know today.
Well, first of all, I always felt like I was born in the wrong body. I felt I was supposed to be a boy.
That’s so interesting.
I don’t know why. Maybe it’s because my father always wanted a boy.
How old were you when you had this feeling?
Fourteen. When my father passed away, I thought, “Since I’m a guy, now it’s my time to take care of the family.” I said to myself I would never get married. Of course, later on in life I outgrew that, and I love being a woman. But I remember that feeling.
What was the moment that really changed your life?
Probably my changing point was when I was six years old. My father worked for 20 years and finally bought a car – to have a car in the village, it was really like you were the king. He decided to sell it, and was planning to put the money towards a new house and college, and maybe another car. But when I was six we got robbed. I opened the door and three guys wearing masks came in, and they were pointing a gun to my head [begins to tear up]. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to cry.
Oh my god, Irina!
They were like, “Where is your father? We know you have money in the house.” My first reaction was, don’t talk. I didn’t tell them my father was taking a shower. Then they broke the bathroom door and there was a huge fight.
And you were just six years old?
Yes. One was pointing a gun to my head, and the two others were fighting with my father. We lived on the first floor and my father jumped out of the window. He went to ask for help, and the guys got scared and ran away. I was so scared.
It must have had a lasting effect on you.
That’s probably why I still don’t have a lot of friends. I knew that my father’s best friend betrayed him, because he was the only one who knew that my father was going to sell the car. To this day I don’t open so many doors to people in my life. I don’t want to live without trusting people. I don’t talk about that story, because it puts me back to that time, back to losing my father. But I wanted to tell you that.
Thank you for trusting me. So modelling wasn’t something you ever chased?
Never.
As a kid, when you stepped out of your house with your mother, were people like, “Your daughter is so beautiful”?
No. I was always loved in my family, but I was never admired outside my house, because I looked different. When we moved to a bigger city, my sister went to university and I went to college to study marketing. There was a beauty school we went to in the afternoons, and there was a modelling school next door. Guia Jikidze, who became my manager and who unfortunately passed away, sent a scout to this beauty school. He saw me, took pictures and sent them to Guia, who said, “Oh, do you wanna be a model? Do you wanna go to Paris?”
What was it like arriving in Paris as a 19-year-old?
It was nothing like arriving today. There was no car service, no greeters at the airport. It was an apartment with eight models sharing two bathrooms. It was €50 a week, €25 you had to spend for a week’s Métro ticket. I remember, Friday, Saturday and Sunday we had nothing to eat. I didn’t speak any English, I just knew, “My name is Irina,” and, “How are you?” But, you know, it was the most beautiful time I’ve ever had. I’d known about the world existing out there, but it was my first stop from Russia.
What was your big break?
Going to my agency and saying, “Send me somewhere else, because I need to make money.” I went to Spain and booked a catalogue for Lacoste, went to the Caribbean to shoot it, and I made, I don’t know, €4,000? My mom cried for days. In America my first break was Sports Illustrated.
As a Russian-raised former Sports Illustrated model, how do you think your feminism developed?
Through my relationships and life experience I’ve learnt to stand my ground. I came into this business stamped as a commercial model, and I embraced it – I always had big boobs and shapes. When I was in Paris, I wished maybe I was skinny, because the clothes didn’t fit me and I couldn’t make money. But women are powerful, and we just have to embrace who we are.
How did it feel to be such a young woman in this industry?
I started modelling when I was 19, 20, so I’d had my childhood. I always believed in me. At 14 I felt like I was in the wrong body, then finally I felt OK to be a woman. I didn’t feel pressure to lose kilos and colour my hair, and I always, still now, stick to that. I think the industry’s changing for the better. Back then it was so different: it was a map; it was no Instagram, no Facebook, the clients couldn’t say, “She has that big following, and she’s popular on Facebook, let’s book her.” All you had were your pictures and what you had to say. And I could not say anything.
What do you think about the current situation with LGBTQIA+ rights in Russia?
You know, I love my country. In Moscow there are the most fun underground gay clubs, where people from all the world come. I have a lot of friends who are fluid genders. But I think as much as we say that Russia is a democratic country, it’s still on the way there in that aspect.
How have your priorities changed since becoming a mother?
Well, it’s hard to find a balance between being a single mom and being a working woman and provider. Trust me, there are days I wake up and I’m like, “Oh my god, I don’t know what to do, I’m falling apart.” 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. I want my daughter to know that momma has a job in her life because I want to raise a strong, powerful woman. Presents and food do not come out of the blue.
Did your priorities change overnight?
No, I was working until I was seven and a half months pregnant. I remember giving birth, waking up, and that moment when they handed my daughter to me, thinking, “What am I supposed to do?” The next thing I know she’s in the crib, waking up every two and a half hours to be breastfed. It’s definitely a learning process. But one thing I can tell you, my relationship with my mom changed.
Yes, I was going to ask you about that.
I was born in the Soviet Union in ’86 – we had no washer, no dryer, no diapers. My mom had to stand in line for two or three hours with my sister, who’s 18 months older than me, to get a bottle of milk. When my daughter was one and a half, I called my mother and I said to her, “I cannot believe you had a second baby raising us in that time.” She told me, “What are you talking about? The second baby was you! You wanted to tell me not to have you?” I really respect who she is, you know, after my father died… [starts crying].
I’ve met your mum. She’s amazing.
Sorry. Five-minute cry break!
Always. OK, let’s change the subject. Between work and family, how do you find time to date? Are you ready yet?
Well, I’m still adjusting. It’s a new chapter in my life, and I really believe in fate. If the universe sends me the right person, I will think about it.
Do you think people are a little shy to approach you?
I’m going to tell you something I’ve never told anyone. I’ve had several boyfriends and men in my life who have said they are scared of Irina.
Why?
Well, first of all, there is a stereotype about Russian women – you know, she loves diamonds and vodka. I mean, hell, I do like that [laughs].
Who doesn’t?
Who doesn’t! I’m a tough person. I have a strong personality and I definitely know what I want, and I think some men are scared of that. If somebody’s out of my life, they’re out of my life and I really cut all the ties, you know? I think some people are really scared of this coldness. I also think not many people know that underneath this there’s a nice, sweet person who cries in interviews.
Can you talk a bit about life with, and now after, Bradley.
Life after Bradley is definitely reflective, and I think in all good relationships you bring your best and your worst – it’s just the nature of a human being. Two great people don’t have to make a good couple. I think we’ve been very lucky to experience what we had with each other. Life without B is new ground.
How have you been doing?
I’ve been doing OK. I have a new love in my life, and it’s Lea.
How is co-parenting after a break-up? What have you learnt, and what advice can you give to other single mothers?
I always say, “What is co-parenting?” Co-parenting people say, “Oh, you know, it’s 50/50.” But I’m not 50 per cent of a mom, I’m 100 per cent. And he’s 100 per cent of a dad. So I don’t see that as co-parenting. Sometimes, when I say to myself, “Wow, I’m a single mom,” it can sound a little scary. But it’s doable, and I think women can really handle a lot of things. I’ve never had a male figure who came into my life and took care of me. Never.
How do you switch off? Do you have time for yourself?
Every time I take time for myself I feel guilty – I’m sure so many single moms can relate to this. But I am queen of the spa [laughs].
As one of the world’s sexiest women, when do you feel your most sexy?
Sexy is not just a push-up bra, red lips, high heels and big hair. It’s an oversized man’s suit. It’s sweatpants. I’ve never met a woman who isn’t sexy.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
I just try to enjoy this moment, because life moves so fast, you really don’t know what’s going to happen. I just hope in 10 years I’m healthy and my daughter is healthy and my family is happy.
Well said. Lastly, I think it’s very important to say that you also happen to be one of the funniest people I know.
[Laughs] Thank you. I love people who don’t take themselves seriously. I don’t have a lot of friends; I don’t open doors to many people in my life because I’m very protective of my space. But one thing I never lost is a sense of humour.
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