Anne V is probably best known for her appearing in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue for 10 consecutive years and for walking in three Victoria’s Secret Fashion Shows. She’s also appeared in countless editorials and covers, including Vogue, ELLE and Glamour. These days, the supermodel is focused on daughter Alaska, born in 2015 and, as is the trend with models these days, maintaining a rigorous workout regimen. Aside from regularly hiking, skiing, surfing, boarding and climbing, she’s also completed a marathon and is a regular at SoulCycle and various Pilates studios. To find out more about the Russian-American beauty, we asked her our quickfire questions.
- My morning routine… consists of a cup of coffee and then I’m off to work out. My day starts on the wrong foot if I don’t exercise.
- My go-to beauty products… I’m obsessed with all the products from the MŪN line, the youth serum and argan oil are my favorites. I’m also obsessed with Verabella sunscreen because it’s light and provides great coverage.
- I’m dying to splurge on… Vetements and Reebok sneakers.
- When it comes to motherhood, I wish someone had told me… that no matter how much I try to be a perfect mother, there’s no such thing as perfection, you mess them up anyway. And get all the sleep that you can before, you pretty much can say goodbye to that for the next 18 years.
- The career moment I still can’t get over… is shooting with Irving Penn and Jean-Paul Goude. I think they are just brilliant.
- My fitness routine… is a mix of SoulCycle, dance cardio, toning exercise, yoga, Pilates, ballet and pretty much anything fun and active.
- When I can’t motivate myself to work out… I put on a song that makes me motivated. It’s pretty much any old-school R&B.
- If you looked in my fridge you’d find… that it’s fully stocked. I love having food in my fridge so I don’t get hangry (hungry and angry) and I love to feed people who come to my house.
- Over the years, what has changed most about Sports Illustrated… is pretty much nothing. They still take you to the most gorgeous places and get the most wonderful and sweetest girls.
- One thing people don’t know about modeling… is that you need to be very centered and physically fit to handle long days, extensive travel and sometimes crazy conditions. At the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, I had 8-inch heels and 20-pound wings on my back, you need a strong core for that.
- My favorite beauty trick… a red lip, it always spices up your look.
- My secret for looking good in a picture… good posture and a smile. When you smile, people can see inside your soul.
- When it comes to dealing with insecurities… I meditate and try to connect with my inner self. That inner self always thinks that I’m enough and perfect just the way that I am.
- If my days had one extra hour… I’d take it to myself to be alone.
- The best place I’ve ever traveled… is Papua. I camped for a week with the Korowai tribe. It was the greatest trip of my life.
- My most memorable runway experiences… were the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show and any Prada show. They are incredibly different, but always have the best music and are full of surprises.
- As far as wedding planning… I’m so not there.
- If I wasn’t modeling… I’d be a chemist or an archaeologist. But my mom kind of killed that dream when she told me that I would be digging for stuff in some small Russian village before I get to Egypt.
- The best piece of advice I ever got… love yourself.
- My biggest pet peeve… I have a hard time with dirty kitchens.
- One thing I wish people knew about me… I think self-love is the hardest thing, so I do an appreciation practice. Start the morning with three things you love and appreciate about yourself. When you love yourself, you’re open to seeing all the beauty and loving more fully. It changes everything about your day.
