Valeria Lukyanova

Valeria Valeryevna Lukyanova (Ukrainian: Валерія Валеріївна Лук'янова; born 23 August 1985) is a Ukrainian model,^[6] best known for her resemblance to a Barbie doll, with several sources describing her as, among other handles, a "real-life Barbie doll" and "human Barbie". To enhance the effect Valeria Lukyanova uses makeup and contact lenses over her naturally green eyes.^[3] She has stated that she has had breast implants, but that the rest of her body is completely natural and slender due to daily gym workouts and a special diet.^[3]

Early life and career

Valeria Lukyanova was born on 23 August 1985 in Tiraspol, in what was then part of Moldavian SSR in the Soviet Union.^[7][8] Her mother, Irina, worked for the military sector and her father was a builder who also worked part-time as a disk jockey.^[9] As a child Lukyanova had a huge doll collection, and she was intrigued by spirituality.^[9][10] She has a bachelor's degree in architecture from Odessa State Academy of Constructions and Architecture.^[1][11]

In 2007 she won the Ukrainian national beauty contest "Miss Diamond Crown of Ukraine".^[7][12][13] There were about 300 contestants in the beauty pageant, any Ukrainian girl could participate, and there was nothing in the rules forbidding plastic surgery.^[14][15] After her victory, she had multiple photo sessions and interviews in the Russian media, some even including erotic photos.^{[16][17][18][19]} Valeria developed a worldwide following for her Barbie doll-like appearance after she posted numerous photos and videos of herself on the web.^[6] Her first famous interview and photos outside Russia were posted by Jezebel website, followed by a professional photosession in V by Sebastian Faena.^[6]

Lukyanova is an educator at the School of Out-of-Body Travel, described by herself as "an international school in which our instructors show students how to leave their physical body and travel in their spiritual body." She rose to prominence after reports of her "almost inhuman beauty" surfaced online. This led the media to describe her as a "human Barbie",^[10] "real-life Barbie doll",^[20] and "living Barbie".^[1] She was the subject of the 2013 documentary film Space Barbie by Vice (magazine), which depicted her life.^[20][21]

Media outlets have raised skepticism over Lukyanova's case. ABC News suggested that Lukyanova was no more than a hoax aided by the likes of Photoshop.^[10] A Boston-based educator regarded Lukyanova as an example of the negative effects of media objectification.^[22][23] To remove the Photoshop accusations, Valeria posted numerous videos on YouTube and appeared several times on the primary federal Russian TV channels.^[11][24] For example, in June 2012 she gave a 40-minute interview on the TV-show "Pryamoi Efir" on "Rossiya 1" TV.^[11] She also appeared in March 2013 on "Channel One Russia" in a program about the Chelyabinsk meteor.^[25] Lukyanova has stated in magazines and on TV that she has never undergone plastic surgery, apart from an operation on her breasts.^[11][26][27] She also denies that she removed any ribs to make her waist smaller.^[28][29] Valeria blamed her enemies for altering her old photos in Photoshop.^[23] As of July 2013, Valeria had 876,000 Facebook fans, 7,484 Twitter followers, over 30 millions views on YouTube, and also, as of August 2013, there are 336,565 followers in the Russian social network VK.^[30][31][32] She has over 100 songs in her repertoire, some of which she posted online.^[23]

In 2013 Valeria Lukyanova participated in documentary movie "The Phase" posted on YouTube in 7 languages^[33]

Personal life

Lukyanova resides in Odessa, Ukraine. She is married to Ukrainian businessman Dmitry Shkrabov, her childhood friend.^[26][34] She is a strict vegetarian, living on a liquid diet.^[7][11]

She is an avid mountain-climber. It has been reported her "spiritual name" is Amatue.^[10][20]

See also

• Sarah Burge

References