Where Are They Now? Irina Shayk

The 10-time SI Swimsuit model and mom of one has been dominating runways for decades.

Irina Shayk / Derek Kettela/Sports Illustrated, Raphael Mazzucco/Sports Illustrated, Yu Tsai/Sports Illustrated, Daniele Venturelli/Getty Images, Angela Weiss/Getty Images, Marc Piasecki/Getty Images

Irina Shayk is the definition of an icon. The supermodel, who posed for the SI Swimsuit Issue for 10 consecutive years, had the opportunity to travel to some of the most exotic locations over her decade with the brand.

Shayk was born on Jan. 6, 1986 in Yemanzhelinsk, Russia, a small town about three hours away from Moscow. She has one sister, Tatiana Petenkova-Shaykhlislamova. She celebrated her 38th birthday earlier this year with a fancy New York City dinner and ice skating outing alongside fellow SI Swimsuit model Emily Ratajkowski, model Stella Maxwell and Italian designer Riccardo Tisci.

Irina Shayk and SI Swimsuit

Shayk made her brand debut in 2007, during a beautiful and unique Western-themed photo shoot in Arizona. She’s been to Russia, Italy, Chile, Zambia, the Philippines, Spain, Madagascar and Tahiti with the brand, in addition to posing for a number of in-studio features. In 2011, she landed the cover of the magazine following her photo shoot with Raphael Mazzucco in Maui, Hawai’i, and became the first Russian model to appear on the front of an SI Swimsuit Issue.

Irina Shayk was photographed by Derek Kettela in Livingstone, Zambia. / Derek Kettela/Sports Illustrated

“To be honest, the time flew by. Today I woke up and I was like, ‘Wow this is my 10th year!’ It’s kind of amazing. It changes every year—they take you to different locations every year. I feel like I grew up with them—they hired me back in 2007 and I didn’t really speak English back then,” she reflected in 2016 of her decade with the franchise. “... This year, they brought me to Bora Bora and it was my first time in French Polynesia. I shot with a shark, I shot with a stingray—it was a lot of cool and extreme pictures.”

Irina Shayk’s modeling and acting career

The model’s first major gig was as the face of Italian lingerie brand Intimissimi in 2007—the same year as her first SI Swimsuit feature. In 2010, she was named at the top of Complex’s “50 Hottest Russian Women” list.

In 2014, Shayk was Russia’s placard bearer during the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics. That same year, she briefly branched out to an acting career, making her big-screen debut playing Megara in the 2014 film Hercules alongside Dwayne Johnson.

Irina Shayk / Angela Weiss/Getty Images

Shayk has walked the runway for several high-fashion labels, including Miu Miu, Bottega Veneta, Marc Jacobs, Chanel, Ralph Lauren, Schiaparelli, Mugler, Moschino and Versace. She has appeared in campaigns for the likes of Burberry, Jean Paul Gaultier, Givenchy and Giorgio Armani. In 2022, she was named the global face of Anine Bing.

Today, the 38-year-old is a model and social media fashionista. She regularly wows with her viral fashion moments, from dripping in crystals at the Met Gala for Swarovski and sporting bleached brows on the Paris Fashion Week runway to back-to-back Vogue Italia and Vogue Netherlands covers and being the face of Aritzia’s latest sweat fleece line.

Irina Shayk’s family life

Shayk and actor-filmmaker Bradley Cooper welcomed their daughter, Lea de Seine, in March 2017. The year prior, she announced the news of her pregnancy in the most iconic way when she debuted her baby bump while walking the runway for the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. The duo dated from 2015 to 2019, but continue to happily coparent and even go on vacations together.

Irina Shayk and Bradley Cooper / Daniele Venturelli/Getty Images

“We’re teaching our daughter that the most important thing is to be kind to people. Every time we send her to school, we’re like, ‘Just remember kindness and love.’ So I think that’s what true beauty is,” she told Harper’s Bazaar. “It’s not about putting on masks, putting on makeup, brushing your hair, putting on nice clothes. With TikTok and Instagram and social media, my daughter is growing up in a different environment than I grew up in, so sometimes it kind of scares me. But most important is teaching our daughter bigger values than being pretty on the outside.”