She has a private fashion brand and a sparkling partner, many commercial partners and she stars in five series simultaneously • Kim Or Azulai, who celebrated 18, dreams of being the next wave of banks
This week, Kim Or Azulai celebrated 18 autumns, an event that was supposed to be celebrated in all its splendor, citrus and stories, but in view of the general closure and aggravation, she celebrated modestly alongside her partner, Hapoel Gilboa / Galil basketball player Yiftach Ziv, and family members.
The highlight of the home event was a meeting between a huge cake, which read "Congratulations Wonder Girl", and Kim's face - which snatched her to the laughter of the few present.
Even before the trash cake, Azoulay had surprises.
When she arrived a few days before her birthday at the offices of the sports company FILA, for which she serves as a fresh brand ambassador, Azoulay was surprised at a pre-party party, plus a pair of new shoes as a gift. At another party, including flowers and balloons, all of which you could see later on the social network near your place of residence, the other partners in the Azoulay Golden Egg, such as Samsung and Nickelodeon, were content to send baskets with wine, cheese, chocolates and bouquets.
The phenomenon named Kim Or Azoulay has grown up on social media, and to be precise - on Instagram, where it has 500,000 followers (Bat Tik has 495,000, and YouTube 76,000).
The Insta account that made her an influencer, an oasis, a fashion designer, a presenter and an emerging actress, she opened as a fifth-grade student, eight years ago, when most of humanity has not yet internalized what the young woman has already identified in advance: no matter who you are, but how many followers you have and how many. Content you produce.
Introductory lesson: Fashion in Paris
"My plan was to fly on my birthday to where the sky would take me," Azoulay admits in disappointment at the beginning of the Zoom interview, "Every year it's a tradition that my mother and I fly abroad, and when I return there is a big celebration.
This time it was snooped on, but all from above.
Apparently from heaven they planned that I should celebrate like this, sit alone and give thanks for what I have. "
Already in the first closure, planned work trips were canceled.
"If it was up to me, I would fly to Paris now, closing a circle there with Chanel's first case," she says.
Why Chanel?
"It's a kind of dream I have, but okay, it's going to happen at 19. I've always loved fashion, and buying Chanel's first bag at 18's a statement of 'growing up, you can already buy one like that.' Assuming you work and can afford it.
"Every year in Paris I treat myself to a luxury item. My most expensive bag is the Louis Vuitton, which I bought for myself the previous birthday. Chanel has something that is very young and equestrian, but also very old. When a girl grows up and already understands, a Chanel bag can symbolize it. ".
Azoulay can certainly afford super-brands, because (take a breath): for the past four years she has played in two seasons of "That's How It Is" (yes);
Starred in a lead role in the international spy series "Spiders" (Nickelodeon), which has been sold to dozens of countries including the United Arab Emirates;
She played a major role in "Double 5" and a graceful comedic role in "Father's Camp" (both of KIDZ), and will soon also star in "Milan High School" (here educational).
In between, she hosts "The Last Floor" (Nickelodeon), and how can one forget the social networks she operates herself 24/7, where she picks up campaigns at the rate of corona spread around the world.
And there are two more short episodes: participation in a side-by-side commercial, Gal Gadot, and an upcoming guest appearance as a presenter on the TV banker "Ninja Israel" (Keshet 12).
And to think it all started on an Instagram account at age 11.
"Yes. At the beginning of fifth grade, two friends from Miami came and told me about the app, and I downloaded it when no one knew it here.
"Today I 'work' there. My fingers automatically go in all the time. When I launch something new or promote things - I'm there more. When I have a quiet period, I only update in the morning when I get up, and can not be there for four hours straight.
"Some days I'm working on it Paul Power. For example, when I launched KimOr. I'm investing in it, uploading content. But lately it's been getting hard for me. I'm tired, and I want a little break. I'm considering taking a few days off, not touching the phone, To clean up. "
Your Wikipedia entry indicates that you are an "Israeli actress, TV presenter, fashion blogger, model and fashion designer."
Which definition do you most connect to?
"To the actress and fashion designer. This is what I do the most. Already at the age of 14 I took out my own line of hats. I designed a collection with the T&T chain, and today I have the fashion brand, which offers trendy clothes I design. There is a summer collection and suits, for my birthday, and more "A winter collection, which will be released at the end of November. This is the work of a fashion designer for everything."
Azoulay closed its first business partnership with the Israeli fashion site Terminal X, valued at one million shekels, after the success in building a brand as a fashion anchor.
"I was a fashionista from a young age, in my photos you can see that I always liked to wear hats," she recalls.
"At the age of 13 I recognized a problem in the hat market. I went to my parents and said, 'Let's build my own hat line, to be high quality and not too expensive,' and that's how the idea of the line was born. Since then there have been two collections.
"I did everything 100 percent on my own, with my own logistics, and my mother helped me with budget and reservations. Of course, the parents gave the financing, but I also put my own money."
She worked for five years with Adidas ("I was the first girl to work with them in Israel, at the age of 13"), and has now, as mentioned, moved on to competitors ("FILA is fashionable and vintage, and also very correct and accurate").
According to reports by Azoulay's agents, half of the volume of her clothing collection was sold on the first day of launch, thanks to Azulai's strong marketing power, which is not afraid of overexposure.
vice versa.
She knows there are no "too many" pictures of you on the networks today.
I saw the collection.
There are devastating pieces there.
Did you design it yourself?
"Yeah, I did it all from scratch. I chose the fabrics, the patterns, the colors, everything. There are things I sculpted when I realized they wouldn't turn out the way I want, because I don't compromise on anything. I'm about the inch saying what I want."
And behold, you are now wearing a long buttoned cowboy shirt at home.
On the way to a fashion disaster?
"I'm pretty much in pajamas all day. I'm just wearing something," she laughs.
Friend Yiftach hurts in the background to give her a kiss, and also gives her a chocolate cake sent by a fan for her birthday.
Kim does not hold back and starts to snack, when she does not forget to shoot a fan video for the fan ("Shira, you are stunning, the cake is very tasty! You made me very happy!").
Lesson 1: Assertive Love
Azoulay was born in Rishon Lezion and grew up in Bat Yam to mother Revital (41) and father Haim (46), who run a family business for insulation and coatings.
She has an older sister, Coral (20), and two younger brothers, Koren (16) and Kyle (11).
When she was 12, the family returned to live in Rishon LeZion. In family mythology, Kim is described as "a girl who was always at the center of things."
The name Or was given to Merav who was present in her alliance.
"The rabbi told my mother that Shekim is not a Jewish name, so my mother told him, 'Choose another name for yourself and add a blessing.' The rabbi added the light to me, and they do not just say that the name you choose also reflects on your personality. My light and joy of life are inseparable from me. ".
At the age of 13 everyone started calling it Curve, Connected, a name that would become her brand.
She was an outstanding student at the 11th Comprehensive High School in Rishon LeZion ("I studied first, I now graduated from Roi Karib's private high school with an average of 85"), and was known as very sociable ("I do not know if I was the queen of the class, but on annual trips I was Nail tonight ").
Already as a child, long before the invention of the first filter, she asked her parents to photograph her at every opportunity.
"I always had a camera with me," she admits to the device that brought her this far.
Today she works with her mother, her personal manager.
"My mother is the Wonder Woman of the family, living me and leading my life with a high hand. I am the closest to her in the world. She is just like me. This morning she called me and we just started crying (tears from excitement). My feeling for her is something I can not explain "In words (choking on tears). I only hear her name - and I melt. We are really one person."
Mother Revital, a former dancer in the Halfon Nissim band in Bat Yam, is her daughter's number one consultant.
"Everything goes through my mom. She really enjoys seeing me succeed, but I don't think she's fulfilling herself through me. She's just having a fun dream with me."
She is a very young mother.
"True, and I also want to be a young mother. I see myself in a few years married with a child. I grew up in a young and amazing family, and if with the help of the name I reach a happy 22-21 age, when I am with someone I can build a life with, I will want to get married and have four Children - two boys and two girls. "
Will open updated?
"Sure. He's 25 now, and if God willing, and we'll have a good time, why not get married in a few years?"
Azufai was introduced to Yiftach Ziv four months ago, and she moved the current quarantine with his family in the north.
There is a gap of seven years between you.
At your age it is significant.
"We do not feel a gap. I really like having a man who has been through something in life and that I can trust. Yiftach is established and has a career, so he is not a child looking for himself. He is bigger than me in the good sense.
"I'm still exploring the world, but I know where I'm going. It's a shock at how sharp I am, always telling me I'm eating it without salt. I know how mature I am."
They first met two years ago, in a showcase match between the Israeli basketball team and the foreigners who play in Israel (Allstar), sacks at the Menora Mivtachim Hall.
She then had a relationship with model Almog Riff, and originally thought of marrying Yiftach to her older sister.
But the corona led to a breakup between her and Riff, and after several Instagram conversations, she and Yiftach decided to meet at the beach - an event that Azoulay decided to leverage, as usual.
"I sat with him and his friends, I looked at him and fell in love. He was so smiling, good and charming. From that moment I started with him inside. When we came back together from the sea, I said to him: 'Your hat is now mine, you are welcome to come and pick it up.' I sent him messages myself. At first he was reluctant at my age, but I did not give up. I was super assertive until we met him again, and from there it just happened. I moved the wires.
"If I want something - I get it. I did not give up. I went with it to the end. And yes, I love that a girl starts with a man. It did not take away from me. I also let Yiftach woo and show that he wants me, do not worry."
Lesson 2: A 21st Century Career
"Playing has been my dream since I was zero," Azoulay is urged to explain how it exploded this year in several major projects, which are going on the world air almost at once.
"It's something I knew from the moment I was born. I'm a walking drama drama. Live and breathe acting, and today I'm learning to understand it much better."
She is studying acting with actor Ofer Hayun ("Being with Her"), plotting in the future for acting workshops abroad, and admitting that she is currently fighting hard for any role.
"I worked very hard to be recognized not only as another teen star with a lot of followers on Instagram. Today I say wholeheartedly that I am an actress. I have series on my resume, lead roles in youth series, children and adults.
"Now I live in a sense of self-fulfillment. Suddenly everything I dreamed of drained for a moment. I never stood in front before. I did a lot of things, but did not know who I was. Suddenly my name goes before me, and for me I have not yet reached the peak. It is definitely the best year. I had a good time, and it happened because I came to the conclusion that what is happening is happening for the better. "
Explain.
"I stopped comparing myself to others, and it's something that took me a long time to do. It took me a long time to 'why does she do and I don't?', Until I learned that everyone has their place in the world. When I realized that, it all started happening by itself. I get roles. "It's happiness that gives Drive to do everything even better."
Among other things, you played Gal Gadot's babysitter in the commercial.
"It was amazing, crazy euphoria. I did not believe that of all the girls they would choose me. I arrived at an armored and meticulous photo day in Petah Tikva, with corona tests we went through 48 hours ago and four types of bracelets that determined who was allowed to stand in which compound. Everything was super international.
"On the set itself, everything was very simple and popular. Gal knew the Israeli team and made fun of everyone. I realized that her form of work is the biggest tip you can take. I learned from her that no matter how high you get, in the end she is Gal Gadot from Rosh HaAyin, and she "She always will. She does not raise her nose in front of people."
It did not make you want to taste yourself from Hollywood?
"I had a craving for it even before I met her. Gal was given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be the biggest thing in the world, and she took it to business. She knows how to make money from it, she's not a sucker."
Until the conquest of Hollywood, Azoulay is content with the international fragrances of the action drama for teenagers "Spiders" (Nicoledeon), which is broadcast in Israel on the Tin Nick channel for HOT viewers, and in which she plays Nicki Fischer, a fearless and brilliant athletic spy.
At the end of a series of screenings, Nickelodeon chose to lead the Israeli flagship series, which is expected to reach 170 countries around the world in the coming year (meanwhile it is also broadcast in Poland, Russia, Italy, Greece, France and South America - translated or dubbed).
"I still do not know what it means and how it will be expressed, but it will be a crazy exposure. When I heard that the series will also reach the United Arab Emirates on October 11, on Nickelodeon Arabia channel, it really moved me. I'm waiting to see who the Arab actress will voice me ".
In "Double 5 - The Beginning" you bring an excellent comedic character, in the role of a strawberry, a student of the "Glory" arts school and half of the rising duo "strawberry and string".
"I was very afraid of 'double'. At first Tuti did not wink at me, but the director insisted on me, and today Tuti is one of my favorite characters."
In the cast of "Double", she met familiar names for all the children of Israel: Agam Bohbot, Noa Kirl, Noroz and Yon Refaeli.
"Before the filming I was apprehensive, but as soon as we started filming we all became good friends. Me, Noa and Agam practice, talk and go to the sea together. We have our own jokes, and I feel it comes from heaven. You can also see the chemistry between us on screen."
And as if all this is not enough, we will meet you soon in "Ninja Israel".
"I appear in an episode or two at the end of a 17-year-old, as a broadcaster with the families and the flying ninjas. When I joined Assi and Rotem I was excited about the levels. I was confused by the words, and it never happened to me. I am professional and unexcited, I have mileage guidance, "I'm doing it amazing. But here's the franchise Keshet is behind, and this is the league of the greats."
Before the big break you also often heard "no".
"There was a time when I felt that my title, 'the influencer', could also be an obstacle, as it was a bonus. But I never gave up and did not give up. Today I know that if I overcame someone - it's because I worked on self-construction of my name. I'm not sorry for a moment "On my followers, and I do not regret the name I built for myself before the game. Today my name is a powerful tool. It is an advantage."
And yet there is one thing that obscures the joy.
A low point from the recent period, which Azoulay herself admits has left a mark on.
"This is a film for children and youth that has not yet been released, because of the Corona. The main role there was already almost mine, and in the end they took a girl who is very well known, but not as an actress. Someone who has more followers than me.
"I got mad at levels. It hurt me to want to bring someone to a lead role because of followers and some news in the paper. I went crazy over it. I got into a storm of emotions, I was nervous, it took me two weeks to calm down. But at the end I said to myself, 'Not bad, what's mine, "I will go and watch her and praise her madly." This disappointment is something I had to experience and go through. "
Lesson 3: The Futuristic Army
On October 18, Azoulay will march to the IDF and begin her first steps as a soldier in the Education Corps. She will serve in the production department at the IDF Theater.
"It was clear to me that I would enlist, because this is a duty in the State of Israel, and how am I different from everyone else? I also think that service in the IDF is an experience that everyone has to go through."
Malshavim in your position dream of a talent track.
"I do not understand much about the army, but because I am not an ordinary soldier, but someone more familiar, I believe that my services will be used for IDF promotions, to encourage recruitment and such.
"Talent track? I think the IDF today is very understanding and inclusive, and as long as I serve wholeheartedly - it will give you back.
The IDF is open to listening, and if I need a special permit for work, they will give it to me. If I have to give something to the army in return - I will give. A hand washes a hand with the IDF.
Back to business.
Do you have an independent bank account?
"I have, and my mother runs it with an accountant. I have two credit cards, one for my account, and another youth card limited to 2,000 shekels a month, with which I live. This is the money I have every month, and when I run out, I ask my father. "As he gives to my brothers, he also gives to me. The difference is that I do not ask as often as they do, because I make a living."
Do you have any idea how much money you have made so far in your career?
"I have no idea how much I have in the bank right now. I do not understand income tax and Social Security, I do not understand these resolutions. But I want to know, and my mother is starting to explain to me now, because it is my money. If I do not know, who will know?"
I noticed that in your social media pages you do not delete negative comments against you.
"What does it matter if I delete? I choose to ignore, and let everyone do what they want. I bring up what is good for me. I will not lie: I read the responses, and in the face of offensive responses I say to myself, 'Wait, they will still see your true value.' .
"A week ago, at the" Israel Entertainment "nomination ceremony of the year, I won the title of actress of the year. On the site's Instagram page, they posted a post about my winning, and received a lot of comments such as 'What did she do in her life?', 'Who is she anyway?' I do not deserve God. I was hurt by that.
"When I calmed down, I said to myself, 'Kim, this is just the beginning.' Many people did not believe it. Noa Kirl, too, when she won the awards two years ago, said 'just a gimmick,' 'not a singer,' 'a passing thing.' Which is the biggest star in Israel.
"So I'm waiting for everyone who wrote 'Who are you anyway' to say in the future that I am the best actress in Israel and in the world. I believe that will happen."
shirz@israelhayom.co.il