Twiggy, Verushka, Jean Shrimpton, Peggy Moffitt are just a few of the names of famous foreign models who conquered the catwalks of the world and graced the covers of glossy magazines of the 1960s. In the Soviet Union, on the contrary, the profession of a fashion model was not so prestigious, and few now can remember the famous beauties of that time - the era in which the famous fashion models of the USSR were born. Mila Romanovskaya shines especially brightly among them.
Early years
Despite the fact that the future star of the Soviet podium was born in Leningrad, her first conscious memories are connected with another city - Samara. It was there that little Lyudochka and her mother were evacuated during the blockade. The father did not follow the family - the rank of captain of the first rank did not allow. Four years of separation did not pass without a trace. The charismatic, cheerful father of the girl met another woman and left his legal wife.
Officially, the divorce will be issued fourteen years later, but upon returning to Leningrad, the girl and her mother begin to live separately.
Restless childhood
Skinny, long,cocky Mila Romanovskaya is a notorious hooligan. It is difficult to describe the teenage portrait of a girl with greater accuracy. While mom was at work, she spent all her time either at school or in the yard.
By nature, Mila Romanovskaya was not deprived of various talents: from an early age she was fond of singing and dancing, went in for sports - speed skating. The more surprising is the fact that the girl entered the electromechanical school. Who would have thought that Mila Romanovskaya is a fashion model in the near future? But time put everything in its place.
Innate Model
Mila Romanovskaya never thought seriously about the career of a fashion model. Admission to the conservatory, the study of art history - that's what interested her at that time. And what genuine interest could the fashion world have aroused in a young girl when blouses were cut from parachute fabric in post-war Leningrad?
Mila Romanovskaya is a fashion model whose biography should have been completely different. But an all-powerful chance played its role. Suddenly, at the upcoming show, it was necessary to replace a sick friend. The girls had similar parameters, and Mila was invited to audition at the Leningrad House of Models. There it was discovered that Mila Romanovskaya is a fashion model by nature. The defile of the young beauty caused such delight that a contract was immediately signed with her, and just a couple of months later she was sent on a business trip to Finland. The girl's career immediately began to gain momentum.
Marriage, birth of a daughter
Not less thana wedding quickly followed with Volodya, a student at VGIK, whom Mila had met since the age of 18. Next was the move to the capital. Mila was not immediately taken to the Moscow House of Models: they said that the models had already been recruited, but asked to leave a phone number. A difficult period began: the expulsion of her husband from VGIK, isolation from the outside world, friends. And only some time later, a call comes up with a job offer at the Model House.
Mila Romanovskaya, whose biography is described in the article, was forced to interrupt her career for some time due to the birth of her daughter Nastya. Relations with her husband began to deteriorate.
The ubiquitous KGB
The work of a fashion model, associated with frequent trips abroad, could not but arouse interest in the personality of Romanovskaya from the Soviet special services. A few years after moving to Moscow, incomprehensible calls began, parcels from "relatives", futile attempts at recruitment. The young beauty had to visit the KGB building four times, but the result remained the same - Mila refused to cooperate. Strange as it may seem, my husband's advice to pretend to be such an ignorant fool saved me.
Competition and Miss Russia 1967
In those years, two girls fought for the title of the best fashion model of the USSR: Regina Zbarskaya and Mila Romanovskaya. They were complete opposites. Regina is a burning brunette, quick-tempered, demanding, capricious. Mila is a blonde, soft, compliant, patient. The intensity of passions reached its climax when Mila Romanovskaya in the "Russia" dress, which was originally prepared forZbarskaya, left for an international fashion show.
She won this show in 1967! The blond beauty captivated the hearts of the members of the commission, who called her the Snow Maiden, and received the well-deserved title of Miss Russia 1967.
Inspired by unexpected success, with a huge bouquet of flowers in her hands, the girl returned home. Following her came an American photographer who asked Mila Romanovskaya to pose for him for Look magazine. The fashion model made the dress "Russia" her calling card. In it, the girl appeared on the cover of a foreign magazine. It was unprecedented for the time.
Divorce and new romance
But her success caused a family breakup. A drunken husband gave Mila a scandal on the basis of jealousy. In fact, this scene put an end to the relationship between the spouses.
Shortly after that, Mila meets Andrei Mironov. Between the famous actor and fashion model, a stormy, but rather short romance is tied up. The breakup was initiated by Mila herself.
Another man. Wedding
Yuri Cooper burst into her life like a whirlwind. The acquaintance happened quite by accident - at a banquet in the House of Artists. But Mila almost immediately lost her head. The lovers quickly began to live together in Cooper's studio. The artist was not distinguished by fidelity - fans periodically visited him. But Yuri decided to make Mila an offer, which she gladly accepted.
Practicallyimmediately after the wedding, the young couple thinks about emigration. The exit permit was issued within a few months. But any emigrant automatically became an enemy of the people, so it is not surprising that Mila Romanovskaya left her career as a fashion model. The fashion history of the USSR forever remembered its Snow Maiden in the “Russia” dress.
Years of emigration
April 22, finally, the long-awaited day of departure has come. First there was Austria, then Israel. Cooper and Romanovskaya were among the first to break through the Iron Curtain. The unknown lay ahead, but all Soviet fashion models envied her.
Mila Romanovskaya quickly adapted to the new realities of life. At first she worked as a model for the Beged-Or company, a month later she was lured away by the Koteks company. But this state of affairs did not suit Yura, he kept trying to leave Israel in search of a better life. As it turned out, it was easier to get to Israel than to leave thereafter. Young specialists were reluctantly released from the country, putting all sorts of bureaucratic obstacles in their way. With incredible efforts, five months later, Mila managed to obtain "Nansen" passports, allowing her to travel freely around the world, but without the right to reside in another country. True, there was one catch: only one of the spouses could leave Israel, the second had to remain a kind of “hostage”.
Moving to the UK
Mila flies to London for a month, where Yura arrives just a couple of weeks later. Only by a miraclemanages to pick up her daughter from Israel, because in the event of the slightest check, the absence of the second “hostage” would be immediately discovered. Reunited, the couple begin to settle in England.
At first, Cooper did not earn anything. Funds from two or three paintings sold by him to his acquaintances could hardly ensure the prosperous existence of the family. Almost all financial worries fell on Mila's fragile shoulders. She literally climbed out of her skin - she took on almost any job. She managed to simultaneously work as a model in the London branch of Beged-Or, a typist at the BBC and a fashion model at fashion shows for Pierre Cardin, Christian Dior, Givenchy.
Divorce again
Yura's business began to go uphill: the publication of the first book, an exhibition in one of the galleries in Paris. The latter circumstance became fatal for the family life of Cooper and Romanovskaya: Mila and her daughter remain in England, and Yura moves to France. Long separations, rare meetings, frequent phone calls - and so on for several years. The logical result was the appearance in the life of the "master" of a new passion. Mila couldn't take it anymore - the couple broke up.
Late love
At that moment, my favorite work helped me to gather my thoughts, in which, having received a certificate of a translator, Mila goes headlong. Interviews, translations, writing various programs - there was no time even to rest, not to mention personal life. And only after five years Mila ceases to avoid close contact with men,begins to start new novels - more and more frivolous and short.
The final point in the relationship between Cooper and Romanovskaya was set in Paris - lunch, a couple of bottles of champagne, a calm conversation and a joint decision to live separately. In a light, heady euphoria from the newfound freedom, Mila goes to the airport, where a surprise awaited - her ticket was mistakenly sold. A fateful moment - Mila receives a ticket not only for first class, but also for a new life. It is on board the business class that Mila meets her third husband, Douglas. They got married just three months later. Today they have a common business, and they travel the world on their own plane.
The biography of Mila Romanovskaya is reminiscent of the story of Cinderella. Despite all the vicissitudes of life, fate treated her very favorably: a brilliant career, a loving husband and beloved daughter. The Snow Maiden, as she was called in the West, has become a real symbol of unsurpassed Slavic beauty both at home and abroad.
