The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

In video, the incredible reunion of Natalia Vodianova and her half-sister, adopted at birth in the United States

2022-11-18T15:35:26.966Z


The model, wife of Antoine Arnault, revealed to the American version of Vogue magazine the incredible story of her younger sister, placed for adoption in Russia and adopted by an American couple. The two found each other thanks to a site that offers DNA tests.


It is a strong and touching story that Antoine Arnault's wife, Natalia Vodianova, shared with the American version of Vogue magazine, Thursday, November 17.

The Russian model, daughter-in-law of the CEO of the French luxury group LVMH Bernard Arnault, told in an interview how she found her younger sister, adopted 23 years ago by an American couple.

Read alsoNatalia Vodianova: "On a desert island, I would take my husband, Antoine Arnault, and my five children"

The story begins in 1999 when Natalia Vodianova's mother, Larisa Kusakina, gives birth to a daughter named Maria Mashinka, aka Masha, in Nizhny Novgorod, a dark industrial city in Russia.

"My mother had several unhappy relationships, including my father," Natalia Vodianova told the magazine.

Because in addition to the top, Larisa has already had two daughters, Kristina and Oksana, with another man.

The latter was born with serious developmental problems, suffering from autism and cerebral palsy.

In video, Natalia Vodianova: “Becoming a model allowed me to give back”

A destitute childhood

When 36-year-old Larisa gives birth to Masha, she is financially ruined.

In debt, she must turn to the local mafia to borrow money on exorbitant terms.

Now a single mother, she houses her family in a very poor 20 square meter room.

Sixteen-year-old Natalia persuades her mother to give up her fourth child.

Little Masha is then placed for adoption.

"I remember saying to my mother: 'There's a queue of parents who want this child. She's going to be loved, she's going to have a much better life than with us,'" she confides. at Vogue.

Later, Natalia will start looking for her missing sister.

Having become rich, she hires detectives, but these searches are unsuccessful.

It turns out that Masha was adopted by an American family from North Carolina.

And that her name is now Jennifer Burns, known as Jenna.

DNA tests

All the while, Jenna, who knows she's adopted, is curious to learn more about her Russian origins.

Enough so that as a teenager, she signed up for an online genealogy site, which collected DNA data from its users.

In 2019, she is informed of a correspondence, a "match", and after some research on the Internet, discovers that she has a half-sister with a very public profile: the famous supermodel Natalia Vodianova.

She sends him a message, mentioning her place of birth and her name: “I'm fine.

I hope you are well too”.

Message that does not reach its recipient.

It's one evening in July 2021 that Jennifer receives a flurry of email notifications.

It was her half-sister Kristina, who registered on this same DNA site, who found her.

Natalia and Kristina immediately write to the American.

reunion

A correspondence begins timidly, continued by a video call.

The sisters talk for nearly three hours;

Natalia asks many questions about Jenna's childhood and shares some details about the complicated circumstances that led to her adoption.

Eventually, Natalia suggests that Jenna visit her in Paris.

The two women kiss for a long time at the airport.

The video, published by Vogue, also shows Antoine Arnault, whom Natalia married in 2020 and with whom she had two sons, very moved.

Natalia Vodianova planned to travel to North Carolina to meet Jenna's parents.

The latter promises to show him lots of videos from his childhood.

"You're going to cry," she told her sister.

"I'm ready," Natalia replied.

Source: lefigaro

All life articles on 2022-11-18

You may like

Trends 24h

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.