Against her parents’ wishes, 17-year-old Julia Lanski packed her suitcase and boarded a train to Moscow, a city of opportunity. With little money to her name, she worked odd jobs to pay the rent while studying journalism at night, eventually landing a job in public relations. Feeling shy and uneasy about her natural beauty in high school, viewing her looks as “a curse,” this highly successful PR agent started to promote herself, leading to modeling contracts and magazine covers throughout Russia.
Never satisfied with today and always focused on tomorrow, Lanski headed to Miami for fashion modeling and commercial work while attending acting classes. In 2013, the Russian beauty was voted “Most Beautiful Woman in the World” by Mode Lifestyle Magazine, adding to her public persona. Once again she packed her bags and bought a one-way ticket to Los Angeles, saying, “Hollywood called out to me.”
Julia Lanski joined Cliché’s Terry Check for a cup of coffee, good conversation, and a few candid photos along the iconic Rodeo Drive.
Cliché: Since being selected as Mode Lifestyle Magazine’s “2013 Most Beautiful Woman,” how has your life and career changed?
Julia Lanski: Well, my life has changed dramatically. I’m living in the City of Angels; what can be better? After Hollywood discovered that I was voted the “Most Beautiful Woman in the World” by Mode Lifestyle Magazine, they got in touch with me immediately, offering me airfare to LA, a prepaid apartment in the heart of Los Angeles, contracts with famous modeling agencies, and leading parts in the movies. [Laughs] I hope you got my sense of humor.
We all can dream, can’t we? Because all dreams come true, they really do. Now, being serious, I did move to LA to pursue an acting career that I started back in Miami. My life has not changed since I was voted Mode Lifestyle Magazine’s 2013 “Most Beautiful Woman in the World.” Maybe it changed my attitude. I definitely became more confident… There are hundreds of thousands of beautiful women out there, and I was really honored to be selected in the top 10 after the first week of voting, and then the editor asked me to write a short biography to see if I could qualify as one of the top 3 women.
At first I was thinking, “Ok, Julia, here is your chance to make up a great ‘Hollywood’ story, the sort of fairytale that we always read in the magazines.” But then, I said to myself, I never pretended to be anybody else but myself. I am going to share my true-life story with all the good and bad. I spent the next five hours writing my biography. And then I sent it out thinking that I just lost my chance [to be selected as the most beautiful woman] with my very open and honest writing. A few days later, the magazine editor called to congratulate me [for winning]. I was very happy to know that people were able to recognize not only my looks, but also my inner qualities, morals, and values.
So here is the lesson: always stay true to yourself! Like they say, “Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken.” People are often trying to be like somebody else, forgetting about their precious gift, their uniqueness. Being voted the “Most Beautiful Woman in the World” is not a real achievement. A real achievement is when you have done something significant, something dramatic that changed the world or helped somebody.
Are you working on any new projects?
I am writing a book titled Survivor, a memoir, to help people believe in themselves. Like they say, everyone’s got a story, but not everyone is willing to share it. Some people want to forget about their past, some people are ashamed of it, and some people don’t think their stories are important. I have this burning desire inside of me; it’s like a voice that is telling me to write it—not for myself, but for others.
Besides being a model and actress, I play piano and sing. My talent agent, Jerry Pace, is really interested in my talent, so I am recording a video playing piano and singing. I am so excited.
What are some of your dreams?
I would really love to have my own TV/Internet show about unique, real people who weren’t born with a silver spoon in their mouth—people who work hard to get where they are today by overcoming obstacles and becoming successful. I think it is very important if people could share their life experiences with others who are going through difficult moments in their life. We are not alone. Other people have been through the same issues, and maybe they have the best advice or solutions to share with others.
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During our photo shoot, Lanski shared another dream come true: her childhood idol, Sylvester Stallone, is the main character in her soon-to-be-finished movie script. With Lanski’s public relation skills and having brunch with Stallone’s mother to pitch the movie script, this amazing woman will continue to surprise all of us. Be sure to visit Julia Lanski’s website at julialanski.com, and always believe in yourself.
Read more articles by Terry Check on ClicheMag.com
Julia Lanski Interview: Photographed by Terry Check, Photo retouch by Alyssa DeLaura
