英语文摘:Modern Cinderella story: Russian super model Natalia Vodianova

BEIJING, March 27(Xinhuanet) -- Russian model Natalia Vodianova was born in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. She grew up in a poor district of the city with her mother and two half sisters, one of whom has cerebral palsy. To make the pot boil, Natalia had to sell fruit with her mother on the street.

At the age of 15, Vodianova chose to study in a local modelling academy and was told she would need to learn English to succeed, and mastered the language in just three months.

Natalia Vodianova

By the age of 17, Vodianova had moved to Paris to seek for a bright future. And soon, she has achieved considerable success as a runway, editorial and advertising campaign model.

In November 2001, 19-year-old Vodianova married Justin Trevor Berkeley Portman, a British property heir and half-brother of the 10th Viscount Portman. Now the couple has three children.

Vodianova also devotes herself to philanthropy. She is the founder and the president of the Naked Heart Foundation, a philanthropic organization that strives to provide a safe and inspiring environment in which to play for every child living in urban Russia.