"The last Miss of the USSR" - this is how Yulia Lemigova is called. Her life has developed in such a way that you can shoot a whole series with a happy ending.
1/10 "The Last Miss of the USSR" - this is what Yulia Lemigova is called.
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2/10 Finding herself in the right place at the right time, a chance meeting soon changed her life.
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3/10 "I did my best to get Yulia to wear the crown. But everything turned out differently."
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4/10 In 1991, the All-Union competition was canceled due to the collapse of the USSR and it was decided to send the winner of the last year to the Miss Universe.
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5/10 Julia moved to Paris so that the main casting agencies would find out about her. She took part in filming for the world's top brands.
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6/10 Rumors claimed that Yulia had an affair with one of Boris Yeltsin's close associates, Boris Fedorov.
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7/10 Until 2008, Julia carefully concealed her personal life, during which time she gave birth to two daughters - Victoria (18 years old) and Emma (13 years old).
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10/10 She was credited with romances with the most influential men in the world, but no one could have thought that she would connect her life with a woman.
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9/10 Already in 2009, Julia and Martina did not hide their romance, they went everywhere together and did not hesitate to show their feelings.
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10/10 With Florida banning same-sex marriage, women have decided to tie the knot in New York City.
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Like in a dream
Julia's life can be compared with the well-known fairy tale - "Cinderella". Her good fairy turned out to be Alexander Stefanovich (ex-husband of Alla Pugacheva). Julia came on a date with her boyfriend, but as it turned out, she confused the meeting place. Alexander, passing by, offered to give her a lift to the meeting place, but the guy was no longer there. To cheer up the upset girl, Alexander invited her to a restaurant.
“Yulia said that she was nineteen years old, although at that time she was in the tenth grade. As she herself said, she hides her age so that the suitors do not run away. It was then that I told her that the next meeting would be only when she was eighteen. She burst into tears and ran away. Gradually, our communication became closer and I decided that Yulia could try herself in the modeling business."
Finding herself in the right place at the right time, a chance meeting soon changed her life.
“I put her in the agency of our old friend, at whose dacha Alla and I played a wedding. Babek Sirush owned one of the first agencies in our country - "Idols". The first beauty contests, thanks to my connections, Yulia won the Miss Moscow contest, and then the most interesting thing began. Competition "Miss USSR" - I made every possible effort to put on the crown for Yulia. But everything turned out differently, the representative from Belarus won, and Yulia was awarded the title of the first Vice-Miss."
“I was furious, because I was sure that the victory would be ours. Then I went to Sarah and Merlin, the jury members from France and England. I called them traitors. To which they called me aside and explained their decision: "Alexander, the contract with the participants states that the winner will be obliged to advertise the Dutch company all her life. Is this necessary for the career of your protégé?" After a little thought, I was forced to admit that they were right."
In 1991, the all-Union competition was canceled due to the collapse of the USSR and it was decided to send the winner of the last year to Miss Universe. It was then that luck turned to face Yulia Lemigova. The winner of last year got married, and this was contrary to the rules of the show. Therefore, Vice-Miss - Julia went to Las Vegas. And even though she took only second place, the glory was not long in coming.
Julia moved to Paris so that the main casting agencies would find out about her. She took part in filming for the world's top brands.
The modeling business was not enough for Yulia and she opened her own SPA-salon Jolya and opened her own cosmetics company "Belaya Rossiya".
Everything seemed to be going well, but Julia's personal life did not go well.
Loss of the dearest person
Alexander talks about meeting Yulia in Paris.
“Another anniversary of our acquaintance has become a pleasant occasion for a meeting. We met at the Closerie des Lilas restaurant, which was visited by the most famous people: Lenin, Picasso, Modigliani, Hemingway and others. She took a postcard with an advertisement for the restaurant and signed it: "Sasha, you changed my destiny. First, you won my heart, and then brought up and taught everything. Whatever happens to me, you will always be in my heart, do not forget it. I love it. as before, Julia ", but we had different lives. I was looking for new protégés, and Julia was looking for true love."
Rumors claimed that Yulia had an affair with one of Boris Yeltsin's close associates, Boris Fedorov. The man was involved in two of the biggest crime scandals of the 90s. And in 1996, an attempt was made on his life, during which the girl was injured. Yulia's acquaintances thought it was her, but fortunately everything quickly fell into place.
And even though her life was filled with mystery, everyone knew about her affair with the banker Edward Stern. In 1998, for the sake of Julia, Edward divorced, and soon the lovers found out that they would have a child. And everything is fine in personal life, but right before the birth of the child, the couple had a falling out and Edward left. Julia was left alone, and soon her son was born, whom she named Maximilian.
Find a photo of Edward Stern
“I saw her son when he was three months old. Then Julia told me that she had a bad feeling. It seemed to her that she was being watched."
Unfortunately intuition did not disappoint Julia, just a few weeks later she found Maximilian dead, and the nanny who remained with the baby disappeared without a trace.
“It was obvious that the murder was about money. After all, Maximilian could claim part of the huge inheritance of Edward Stern. The investigation diligently did not notice this fact and went the other way. Julia was heartbroken, and she was taken into custody. According to French law, investigators do not have the right to detain without trial for more than 90 days, so after 89 days Yulia was released after receiving only an apology."
Yulia received severe psychological trauma, and the perpetrators of the murder of her son could not be found. And five years later, Stern was found in his own mansion, killed by a prostitute with whom he had a relationship for four years. When found, he was wearing a pink latex suit. As the investigation found out, during a BDSM game, his girlfriend killed him because he refused to pay her a million dollars.
Under the veil of secrecy
Until 2008, Julia carefully concealed her personal life, during which time she gave birth to two daughters - Victoria (18 years old) and Emma (13 years old). She refuses to name the names of her fathers, and perhaps this is due to the unexpected confession she made in 2009.
She was credited with novels with the most influential men in the world, but no one could have thought that she would connect her life with a woman.
“In 2001, I met Martina Navratilova, when she was the first racket, the legend of world tennis. I'm certainly not a tennis fan, but we quickly hit it off. Our second meeting took place in a restaurant, I was with a full tray of food. She met my daughters. And during lunch, I realized that I would like to meet with her again."
“I grew up in the USSR, then no one knew about the existence of same-sex love, only in London I learned that this could be. But Martina has been openly demonstrating her relationships with women since the 1980s."
“Martina quickly became friends with Victoria and Emma, we often saw each other and my feelings for her grew. The daughters saw that I was happy and did not ask any questions. They appeared only when information appeared in the media about our romance. One day the girls came home upset and started asking me questions. Then I told them the whole truth and asked if Martina and I could move in and if she could become their second mother. The conversation turned out to be difficult, but Victoria finally said that she did not mind and wanted Martina to live with us."
Happy end
Already in 2009, Julia and Martina did not hide their romance, they walked everywhere together and did not hesitate to show their feelings. Everyone around knew Navratilova as a lover of short novels and thought that soon the women would break off the relationship. However, something happened that no one expected. Navratilova fell seriously ill and Julia supported her beloved in everything. The disease brought the two women closer together and soon Martina not only recovered, but also returned to sports.
During the semifinals, the U. S. Open (September 6, 2014) Martina proposed to her sweetheart in front of a crowded stadium. She got down on one knee and put a ring on Julia with the words: “We were together for six years. There is no point in my life without you. Marry me.
After Julia answered “yes”, Martina shared her impressions.
“Words cannot convey. how nervous I was, but she said yes to me. I had seen people making an offer at such events before, but I had no idea how cool it was."
Due to the fact that same-sex marriage is prohibited in Florida, women made the decision to tie the knot in New York on December 15, 2014. This year they will celebrate the fifth anniversary of their life together. Now women live with their daughters in Miami.
Julia Lemigova went a long and difficult path to her happiness and in the end met the love of her life.
