Triple Threat!

With beauty, brains and so much more, Kira Dikhtyar has it all

As an international class supermodel, her photographs adorn the covers of Vogue, Glamor, In Style, GQ, Elle, Vanity Fair, Cosmopolitan, Noise, Marie Claire, FHM, Maxim magazines. She has appeared on The Face on the Oxygen Network, Ann Vee, and Lydia Hirst. In addition to working in the modeling business, Kira has acted in movies, produced clips, and is active on the social scene in New York, London and Moscow. Naturally, we sat down to explore what the superstar model has been up to lately in an exclusive interview.

Can you tell us a little about yourself? I was born in Moscow but now I divide my time between New York City and Russia. I am also a frequent visitor to London, which is one of my favorite cities in the world. When I was a child, I never thought I would end up in modeling. From a young age, my passion was gymnastics. I was actually pretty good at it and won quite a few competitions. But the career of a gymnast is usually not a long one. As my career as a sports person ended, another door opened for me: I was approached about becoming a model and signed by a well-known agency. One of my first assignments was a photo shoot in Italy, for Italian Vogue. I found I liked my new profession of being a model – a lot! I met the top fashion photographers on the planet: Bruce Weber, Ellen Von Unwerth, Patrick Demarchelier, Rankin, Tony Duran, Francesco Carrosinni, and others. So, I decided to pursue a modeling career seriously.

What was your initial reaction when you were chosen to shoot for FHM? Reaction? “Oops I Did it again!!!” It has been my honour to have been on the cover of FHM several times before, and each time it has been a great experience. Each cover has its own story. My first FHM was Spain, an amazing shoot by Victoria Janashvili – it was very cute. I was so happy when that one came out! It was a big moment for my career. My second FHM cover was also very dear to me because it was FHM Russia. We shot it in studio in LA and it got published in Russia and of course I went home! I remembered my mother when she first saw the cover she didn’t let me open the magazine because she was scared that pictures might be too provocative. But then she actually liked it, and even my grandmother approved! I will let you into a secret that I will be back in Russia in December. And now, I had the opportunity to do British FHM. We shot this one in New York in October: it was already pretty cold to pose in underwear, not to mention the whole swimming pool experience! So let’s hope this is not my last FHM cover . After all, this magazine is the official list of “100 Sexiest Women in the World”. That’s why I think that any representative of the fair sex, including me, is definitely pleased to be on the cover of this publication.

How do you prepare for filming? I party until 4am the night before and then hope for the best. No, I’m joking! When I have a shoot, I am the girl that is in bed early the night before with a cup of warm milk. My most important preparation is a good night’s sleep. In the morning, you better believe I am going to be fresh, and on time – or, better still, early!

Describe your ideal man. The more I experience the world I believe that nothing ideal exists. That being said, I like it when a man takes care of a woman. I really appreciate the trust and good communication in a relationship with a man. But to be honest with you I am definitely not an expert on the topic of how to choose a perfect man. So at the moment I enjoy being single and having the freedom to hang out with whoever I want, be it guys or girls. I would also say that many “ideal” men are married)) I guess there is a reason for that! Of course, I would love to find a life partner but it’s hard to do that in this business. What is more, I think I am a long way away from being the ideal woman but hopefully there will be guys out there who disagree! I have a number of very close male friends, people I’ve known for years, and that, to me, is worth much more than a short romance.

What’s your ideal date? To be honest, I have been working flat out these past few months on my age of consent campaign, and in my day job as a model. That hasn’t left me much time for dating. When I do go out, I do like to see friends and hang out in fabulous venues like Zero Bond or Cipriani in New York. But when it comes to dating, I’m a realist. So my perfect [first] date is going to have my lawyer tagging along to make sure the guy I am meeting is the right fit. And I also definitely want the lawyer to help that guy to know what he is getting himself into!

What do you do for fun? Oh, it’s simple… I like to go out to fancy restaurants with my friends. It’s always fun. I don’t like being alone, so there are usually a lot of people around me. When I’m not out on the town, I love sitting with my girlfriends at home, sipping champagne and watching classic Hollywood movies. They always inspire me and sometimes give me ideas for my next look! What else? Believe it or not, I still really enjoy watching my old sport, gymnastics. I think a lot about life is like gymnastics. Unlike in football or basketball you are not competing against the other team – you are, first and foremost, competing against yourself. That’s why you don’t focus on other competitors, it’s just about you, and how well you have done. Well, enough of gymnastics. Next question?

Tell us a little about your most embarrassing moment. I prefer to keep that one to myself. You will read about it one day when I write my memoirs! What I will say is that modeling is not all peaches and cream. There are difficult moments but I believe that we can do a lot to improve the situation for young models, and young girls in general. That is why I launched my age of consent campaign. More on this to come.

What do you think is the hardest part about being a model? Probably discipline. You have to be a very disciplined person. I was lucky because I was an athlete – I had discipline in my DNA from a very young age. Therefore, even when it seems that you have no strength or you don’t want to, you get up and go to work. Of course, I am not a robot, and I sometimes get lazy or wake up on the wrong side of the bed. But I know how to force myself into action when I have to.

What do you most want to do this year? Right now, I am 100% focused on a major social initiative. Together with a US organization that provides assistance to the victims of violence, I am developing a campaign to change the legal age of consent in all countries to 17-18 years.Right now, in some countries, the age of consent is as low as 11-14 years old, which allows people to commit sexual crimes. Our goal is to end some of these barbaric and, frankly, archaic practices. In October, I appeared on Russian TV on the biggest talk show there to discuss the campaign. After the programme aired I received over 50,000 letters of support and so many personal stories from girls who had been in a similar situations, including even with some of the same people mentioned on the show. So, with such a wave of support behind us, we can’t stop now. We have to move forward and make some changes that could help millions of people around the world.I am now working with people at the United Nations on the campaign because it is a change that needs to be made at a global level.

Finally, what is your life motto? Or a quote that means a lot to you? My favorite coach, who raised generations and generations of superstar Russian gymnasts, Irina Viner-Usmanova, told us: “If God gave you talent, it is a great sin not to work with it.” I think this applies not only to sports but also to the modeling business or any other activities in life.