Barbie has been an icon and inspiration for young girls since the doll was first launched in 1959, so it’s no surprise that some women go to great lengths to try to emulate her look.
Valeria Lukyanova is one such ‘real woman’ who has made a career out of looking like Barbie but as a person. Here’s what you need to know about the Ukrainian model and the character that made her famous.
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Why People Want To Look Like A Real-Life Barbie
Barbie is more than just a popular fashion doll – she’s a cultural icon. For the young girls who played with her, she was seen as someone to aspire to be like. From wanting to be like Barbie, this naturally extended to wanting to look like her.
In fact, Barbie reinforced a particular standard of beauty: tall, white, blonde and blue-eyed, with an hourglass figure. The brand has come under fire multiple times for pushing an unrealistic body image on impressionable girls, and recent attempts at inclusivity (like selling ethnically and physically diverse dolls) have been received well by the public.
Human Barbie Doll: Valeria Lukyanova
Who Is Valeria Lukyanova?
Valeria Lukyanova, born to Valery and Irina Lukyanova in 1985, is a model and social media personality from Ukraine. She was already relatively known in Ukraine and Russia after winning the “Miss Diamond Crown of the World” pageant in 2007, but she gained international media attention in the early 2010s after posting photos of herself online and participating in a few online documentaries about her life.
The model has since branched out into music (she’s a trained opera singer!), writing, and film; Lukyanova even starred in a horror film called The Doll alongside famous male porn actor Ron Jeremy.
As of writing, Valeria Lukyanova has over 810,000 followers on Instagram.
How Does Valeria Lukyanova Achieve Her ‘Human Barbie’ Look?
According to Lukyanova herself, the model doesn’t like being known as ‘the girl that looks like Barbie’. She’s expressed that it’s “a little degrading and insulting”, but she’s accepted it now since it’s become part of her image.
Valeria uses a combination of contact lenses, makeup, and poses to achieve her famous look.
What Is Valeria Lukyanova’s Diet And Workout Routine?
Lukyanova regularly hits the gym, as evidenced by her frequent photos while working out. She is also a raw vegetarian and lives on a mostly liquid diet, which explains her incredibly small waist.
In 2014, the ‘Human Barbie’ came under fire after converting to Breatharianism, an extreme belief that people can survive without food or water (like a plant). Lukyanova has since stopped practising it, although she says she would love to do it someday when she is more able.
Has Valeria Lukyanova Had Any Plastic Surgery?
Lukyanova has been adamant about the fact that, aside from breast implants, she hasn’t done any body or facial modifications to achieve her slim figure and doll-like features.
What Does Valeria Lukyanova Look Like Without Makeup?
Although she doesn’t mind ‘baring it all’ in a skimpy bikini, Valeria doesn’t post pictures of her bare face that often. But when she does, you can really see how she looks like a doll even without makeup! Here’s are ‘before and after’ shots of Valeria in various levels of makeup:
Has Valeria Lukyanova Had Any Scandals?
Aside from the Breatharianism controversy and her alleged plastic surgery, Lukyanova has also been criticised for her ‘racist’ views. She once told GQ that race-mixing was a problem, saying “Ethnicities are mixing now, so there’s degeneration.”
Is Valeria Lukyanova Married? Does She Have Any Children?
Lukyanova is married to businessman Dmitry Shkrabov. The model has stated that having a baby or a traditional family lifestyle is not something she wants.
Other ‘Living Dolls’
Lil Miquela
Technically, Lil Miquela is a cross between an Instagram influencer and a digital art project. She’s also a musician and model.
Duckie Thot
Australia’s Next Top Model runner-up Duckie Thot has worked with Fenty Beauty, Victoria’s Secret, and Balmain. In the fashion industry, she’s sometimes referred to as ‘Barbie’ or the ‘Princess of South Africa’.
Anastasiya Shpagina
Shpagina is a makeup artist who transforms herself into various characters and personalities on her IG. She also loves copying dolls like Barbie and Bratz.
Nannette Hammond
Nannette Hammond became famous for spending half a million dollars on plastic surgery just to look like Barbie. She’s now an adult film star.
Angelica Kenova
Kenova calls herself the ‘Russian Barbie’ and has garnered a lot of comparisons to Lukyanova. She started young – her parents actually raised her as a human Barbie doll.
Alina Kovalevskaya
Alina’s Instagram is now on private, and most of her social media has been inactive for a couple of years. But there was a time that the ‘living doll’ was poised as Lukyanova’s ‘successor’ to the Human Barbie ‘crown’.
A Barbie Girl In A Barbie World
Lukyanova is a divisive figure for both her appearance and her views, but we can all agree that she’s extremely talented at one thing: looking like a real-life Barbie.
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