Olga Kurylenko, a Ukrainian-born actress and model who grew up in poverty sharing a Soviet communal flat, is now starring as Bond girl opposite Daniel Craig.
She was born Olga Konstantinovna Kurylenko on November 14, 1979, in Berdyansk, Ukraine, Soviet Union. Her father, Konstantin Kurylenko, left the family soon after her birth. After a bitter divorce, her mother, Marina Alyabysheva, struggled to survive as an art teacher. Young Olga Kurylenko was brought up by her grandmother, Raisa. During her youth, Olga had a humbling experience of living in poverty in four rooms shared by six adults and several children; she had no choice but to wear rags and had to darn the holes on her sweater.
At age 13, Olga and her mother made a trip to Moscow. There she was scouted by an agent who approached her at a subway station and offered a job as a model. Initially, Olga's mother was suspicious, but eventually Olga made a good career choice and took training as a model in Moscow. She also studied art, languages and took piano and dance lessons. By age 16, she was ready for the next step. She moved to Paris, learned French in six months, and was signed by the Madison agency. At age 18, Olga appeared on the cover of Glamour, then she graced magazine covers of Elle, Madame Figaro, Marie Claire, and Vogue, and also became the face of Lejaby lingerie.
In 1999, Olga married her friend, French photographer Cedric van Mol, albeit they divorced two years later. Her newly obtained freedom and a French passport allowed her to travel and work in the West. Olga presented herself to an acting agency. Eventually, she swapped the catwalk for celluloid, and her acting career took off. In 2005 she made her film debut as Iris, a sensual beauty in Annulaire, L' (2005) by director Diane Bertrand.
Olga's cinematic roles have been notably steamy, and her natural beauty and explicit nudity attracted the attention of the male audiences. She appeared opposite Elijah Wood in Paris, je t'aime (2006) and as Sofia in Serpent, Le (2006), then co-starred as Russian beauty Nika Boronina opposite Timothy Olyphant in Hitman (2007). Olga is billed as Camille, the Bond girl in Quantum of Solace (2008), a sequel to Casino Royale (2006).
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