Natasha Stefanenko

Natasha Stefanenko

Natasha Stefanenko in Rome, Italy, 2004
Born April 18, 1971
Sverdlovsk, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Nationality Russian, resident in Italy
Occupation Actress, model, television presenter
Height 5 ft 11.75 in (182 cm)[1]

Natalia "Natasha" Stefanenko (Russian: Наталья "Наташа" Стефаненко) (born 18 April 1971), is a Russian-born actress, model, and television presenter who lives and works in both Italy and Russia.

Early years

Natasha was born in Sverdlovsk, Soviet Union, the daughter of a nuclear engineer who worked in a secret unnamed city underground, close to the Ural Mountains and accessible only by a special train that travelled 30 kilometres an hour. She lived with her family in a closed city and they also owned a dacha beside a lake.[2]

Natasha was also a swimming champion who swam with Alexander Popov; when she was a young girl she swam 10 kilometres a day.[3] In 1984, she almost joined the Soviet Olympic swim team, but preferred to continue with her education. As it turned out, the Soviet Union decided to boycott the 1984 Summer Olympics which were held in Los Angeles.

At the age of 16, Natasha went to study in Moscow where she eventually earned a degree in Metal Engineering.[4]

Career

After winning the Look of the Year contest in Moscow in 1991, Natasha, who is roughly 6 feet tall, moved to Milan, Italy where she obtained work as a model. After being discovered in a restaurant by director Beppe Recchia, she made her first television appearance on the variety show, La grande sfida, alongside host Gerry Scotti, without being able, at the time, to speak the Italian language.[5]

She commenced her acting career with the cinematographic film La grande prugna in 1999. She played the character Angela Cornelio, one of the protagonists in the television series Nebbie e delitti (Fog and Crimes), which aired on Rai Due from 2005 to 2009. She has also hosted many programmes, including the 2001 edition of Festivalbar, which is an annual series of televised summer concerts performed by both Italian and international pop groups in town squares throughout Italy; and Italia's Next Top Model in 2009. In the same year 2009, she had a role in Mediaset Canale 5's police drama series, Distretto di Polizia 9 (Police District 9). Since 2007, she is also a host of Russia's TV show "Snimite eto nemedlenno" which is based on the British programme What Not to Wear (UK).[6]

Personal life

In December 1995, Natasha married Italian entrepreneur and ex-model Luca Sabbioni, and they have one daughter, Sasha, who was born in 2000.

Filmography

Television

(A partial list)

References

  1. ↑ Natasha Stefanenko at the Internet Movie Database
  2. ↑ Corriere della Sera, 21 April 2002, Interview with Claudio Sabelli Fioretti
  3. ↑ Corriere della Sera
  4. ↑ Corriere della Sera, 21 April 2002, Interview with Claudio Sabelli Fioretti.
  5. ↑ Corriere della Sera
  6. ↑