JANUARY - NATALIA VODIANOVA
Natalia
Vodianova founded an ambitious philanthropic organization when she was
relatively young, only twenty-two. She had begun working as a model when
she was eighteen and she was soon on countless runways and magazine
covers and billboards. She signed a multi-year, multi-million-dollar
contract with Calvin Klein, got married, and had her first child, all
before she was twenty. She now has four children, design and endorsement
contracts, more magazine covers, and many awards.
There
is a grim background to her success, however. Natalia was born into
poverty in an industrial city in the Soviet Union. Both her father and
then her stepfather abandoned the family. Her mother was left alone to
raise Natalia and her younger half sister, who has cerebral palsy. From
the time she was seven, Natalia took care of her sister and helped her
mother sell fruit on the black market. A scout visiting Russia for a
French modeling agency changed the course of her life. The Naked Heart
Foundation, which Natalia set up in 2004, is a product of her early
experiences.
The
foundation builds playgrounds in poor neighborhoods in Russia and
provides access to them for children with disabilities. It also helps
children with special needs stay with their families, lobbies the
Russian government for legislation that will protect disabled children,
and supports other projects that provide care for them. Natalia is
involved in the foundation in a hands-on way that includes day-to-day
decisions as well as attending openings of playgrounds, speaking at
foundation-sponsored forums, and hosting fund-raising events that
reflect her formidable talents and connections.
Kathleen Kennedy is the president of
Lucasfilm, which was founded by George Lucas in 1971. She is a member of
the board of governors and the board of trustees of the Academy of
Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences
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