Valery Shaykhlislamov is popular as the father of Russian supermodel Irina Shayk. Valery Shaykhlislamov’s daughter took the modeling world by surprise in 2007 as the face of the lingerie brand Intimissi and also when she appeared on the cover of the 2011 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. Since then, Shayk has appeared in advertising campaigns and runway shows for many major fashion brands. Aside from being a model, she is also a television model.
Valery Shaykhlislamov: Bio Summary
Full Name | Valery Shaykhlislamov |
famous as | Father of Irina Shayk |
Place of Birth | Russia |
Nationality | Russian |
Ethnicity | Volga Tatar |
Children | Irina Shayk, Tatiana Petenkova-Shaykhlislamova |
Spouse | Olga Shaykhlislamova |
Valery Shaykhlislamov was born to his mother Galina Shaykhlislamova in Russia. Valery’s mother Galina was a wartime heroine who served in military intelligence. According to the model, her grandmother Galina was ‘a photolab assistant at 2nd Belorussian front, and a junior sergeant of the secret air regiment in Trans-Baikal’, in Siberia. The supermodel was partly raised by her grandmother when her mother worked at two jobs, day and night, to support the family The Siberian Times.
ALSO, READ; Who is Tatiana Shaykhlislamova, Irina Shayk’s sister?
Irina Shayk’s father was a Volga Tatar
Supermodel Irina Shayk’s father Valery Shaykhlislamov was a Volga Tatar. The Volga Tatars are a Turkic ethnic group native to the Volga-Ural region of Russia. They are subdivided into various subgroups. Shaykhlislamov’s ethnic group members are Russia’s second-largest ethnicity after the Russians. Most of them live in Tatarstan and Bashkortostan.
Their native language is the Kipchak-Bolgar Tatar, and traditionally the majority are Sunni Muslims. Shaykhlislamov was married to Olga Shaykhlislamova who also belongs to the Russian ethnic group. Aside from Irina, the couple also had another daughter whose name is Tatiana Petenkova.
Valery Shaykhlislamov was a coal miner
The supermodel’s father was a coal miner while his wife Olga Shaykhlislamova was a kindergarten music teacher. Talking about her parents, the supermodel revealed what features she got from her parents. Irina revealed that she inherited her good looks from her father and that people often mistake her for being South American. She said- “My father was dark skinned, because he was Tatar, sometimes Tatars can look Brazilian. I get my light eyes from my mother.”
ALSO, READ; Olga Shaykhlislamova: Who is Irina Shayk’s mother?
How did Irina Shayk’s father Valery die?
The father of the supermodel died when she was just 14. According to Dailymail, Irina’s father Valery Shaykhlislamov died after an incident in a Urals gold mine in Yemanzhelinsk, where Irina was born on Orthodox Christmas Eve in 1986. According to the supermodel’s Wikipedia, her father died of complications of pneumonia when she was 14, leaving her family with little money which forced her mother Olga to work two jobs to provide for the family.
She told Vogue: “He was the healthiest man alive, and at 44, out of the blue, he was coughing for a while then got pneumonia and died. Whatever it may be, the father of the supermodel did not live long enough to see her remarkable fame and fortune.
Talking about how her father’s death affected her mother- She said-“My mom was married to my father for 14 years and dating for seven years before they got married. She was terrified. But I think what is very special about the Russian woman, and women in general, is they always shape up in the right moment.“
In the same interview, the model and actress also revealed how her father Valery Shaykhlislamov saved the day when they were getting robbed by three guy with one having a gun to her head. “But when I was six we got robbed. I opened the door and three guys wearing masks came in, and they were pointing a gun to my head”
She went on to say -“One was pointing a gun to my head, and the two others were fighting with my father. We lived on the first floor and my father jumped out of the window. He went to ask for help, and the guys got scared and ran away.” It seems Valery Shaykhlislamov is her daughter’s hero.
Irina Shayk’s grandmother died at the age of 89 in 2013
Valery Shaykhlislamov’s mother passed away at the age of 89 in 2013. The wartime spy who helped defeat the Nazis was an inspiration for the Russian beauty and fashion icon. The model and actress shared a message to give the loss of her grandmother who played a part in her life. She shared– ‘Rest in Peace my love. You will forever stay in our memory as cheerful, kind, caring – one who loved this life. We love you and we are proud of you. Only a strong woman like you could have volunteered to go aged 19 to defend our motherland. We will love and remember you forever. You are our example to follow, strong and brave.‘
The supermodel and actress Irina grew up in the small Russian town of Yemanzhelinsk – previously admitted: “I remember having no food at home.” “Sometimes there was no salary, or my mum and dad’s salary was delayed,” she told Elle. Her life couldn’t be further from that now, as Irina, is worth $25 million (£17.6m).
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