A biography for Irina Shaykhasn’t been written yet.
“I always had a short bob with bangs, and I hated it. My mum would always say, 'A short hair cut is always the way to go for you.' I had it for fourteen years!”
“I'm a woman who is very confident with the body, with my body.”
“I'm always sad to leave paradise, but I leave behind the hopes of coming again soon.”
“Boys never liked me at school. They made fun of me 'cos I had dark skin.”
“The only art I have is a Polaroid from Peter Beard from his book. I shot with him four years ago, and he did a special Polaroid for me, so I consider it a piece of art.”
“My personal memories of the brand go way back to the time when I was a teenager. L'Oreal make-up felt like a real luxury for me, and I remember dreaming of purchasing a L'Oreal lipstick.”
“Yes, I am a lingerie model, but I have class.”
“Even if you have some extra kilos, you don't need to kill yourself for that; you just have to look at yourself as a positive.”
“I couldn't speak any English when I first left Russia, and Intimissimi taught me everything. The team was like a family to me - they showed me how to model and how to stay in shape. They really believed in me.”
“I love traveling. I hate jet lag, but I love, love, love, love traveling, to meet new people, to try different foods because I'm a big foodie.”
“When it comes to lingerie, there are no rules. I feel the sexiest when I'm myself, no hair, no makeup.”
“I don't believe in men who make us feel unhappy, because they're boys, not men.”
“I think family is our reason for being. I was lucky to be born into a very close-knit family.”
“Actually, I wanted to become a journalist, but no matter who I imagined myself to be in the future, somehow I was sure: I would leave my hometown. I felt it was my destiny.”
“Sometimes when I'm on set, I keep eating, and people are like, 'You really eat that?' I'm like, 'Yes, I do.'”
“I don't spend a lot of money on clothes, which is weird because I am a fashion model, but when it comes to the new collections coming out, I am just praying designers send it to me for free.”
“The 'Hercules' role just kind of came to me, but I had a lot of fun trying something new.”
“Relationships are hard, so you have to know what type of man you want by your side and what their values are, what is important in his life.”
“Just for you to know, people, models, are very smart. We're investing money in the right way, and, you know, a modeling job I'm taking as a businesswoman. So it's not fun for me; it's work.”
“Of course I want to have a family, but there's a right time for everything. When my time comes, it will happen.”