Ruslana Korshunova
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2 July 1987
Ruslana Korshunova | |
|---|---|
 Korshunova backstage at a Yigal Azrouël fashion show in September 2007 | |
| Born | Ruslana Sergeyevna Korshunova 2 July 1987 |
| Died | 28 June 2008 (aged 20) New York City, U.S. |
| Occupation | Model |
| Modeling information | |
| Height | 174 cm (5 ft 9 in) |
| Hair color | dark-blonde |
| Eye color | blue-grey |
Ruslana Sergeyevna Korshunova (Russian: Руслана Серге́евна Коршунова; 2 July 1987 – 28 June 2008) was a Russian model who, at the time of her death, was a rising star in the fashion industry.[2][3] Her death became a subject of international attention for a variety of reasons, including her connection to Jeffrey Epstein.[4][5] Korshunova rose to fame in 2006 after her commercial for the brand Nina Ricci.
Ruslana Korshunova was born in Uelkal, Chukotka, Russia and later moved with her family to Almaty, Kazakhstan.[6][7][8] Her father Sergey Korshunov was a Red army officer who died in 1992 when she was five years old. According to her mother, Valentina Kutenkova, before Korshunova began modeling she was enrolled in a school for gifted children, [9] and was fluent in Russian, English, Kazakh and German.[2][10]
Career
Korshunova was discovered in 2003, when All Asia magazine printed a story on Almaty's local German language club, which Korshunova was then attending. Her photograph, which was featured in the article, caught the attention of Debbie Jones of Models 1; Jones tracked down and signed the 15-year-old, whose knee-length hair led to her being nicknamed 'The Russian Rapunzel'.[11]
Korshunova was represented by IMG, Beatrice Models, Traffic Models, Marilyn Model Agency and iCasting Moscow. British Vogue hailed her as "a face to be excited about" in 2005.[6] She appeared on the covers of Elle France and Vogue Russia, in numerous runway shows, and in print ads for Nina Ricci,[12] Blugirl by Blumarine, Clarins, Ghost, Girbaud, Kenzo, Marithé + François Girbaud, Max Studio, Moschino, Pantene, Paul Smith, Vera Wang, Marc Jacobs, Mario Sorrenti, Paolo Roversi, Donna Karan and Christian Dior.[2] In 2006 Korshunova appeared in the Vogue Italia feature "Broken Dolls", photographed by Patrick Demarcheleir.[13][14][15] It was reported that, at this point, she was earning $7000 per shoot.[16]
Death
On 28 June 2008, at around 2:30 p.m., Korshunova died after falling from the ninth-floor balcony of her apartment at 130 Water Street in New York's Financial District. Police stated that there were no signs of a struggle or violence and concluded that her death was a suicide. She left no note and there was evidence that she had hastily cut her hair. Her former boyfriend stated that he dropped her off at her apartment several hours earlier, after they watched the film Ghost. She was not known to use drugs, and a friend stated that she had just returned from a modeling job in Paris, noting that she seemed to be "on top of the world", [17] and was making plans for her up-coming 21st birthday. However, in her social media posts, Korshunova appeared brokenhearted and angry. Her comments included "I'm so lost. Will I ever find myself?", "I'm a bitch. I'm a witch. I don't care what you say.", and "It hurts, as if someone took a part of me, tore it out, mercilessly stomped all over and threw it out. My dream is to fly. Oh, my rainbow, it is too high."[18]
Her body was returned to Russia and buried at Khovanskoye Cemetery in Moscow.[19]Her mother does not believe that her daughter committed suicide, saying "She told me about her work problems about a year ago. She said that she wanted to quit the modeling career. Everything was fine with her recently though. If she had problems at work, she would have told me".[20][21][22]
Jeffrey Epstein connection
In January 2024, documents revealed that, in 2006, Korshunova had visited Little Saint James, the island belonging to sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein.[5][23] In documents related to Epstein released in January 2026, Korshunova is referenced in Epstein-related correspondence after her death. In a July 2010 email later made public, Epstein mentioned Korshunova while referring to the death of a Russian model two years earlier, blaming her boyfriend for refusing to get her the help she needed.[24] Additional records released in January 2026 include an August 2011 email from a third party to Epstein asking whether a modeling agency had failed to pay Korshunova.[25] The same released materials include a saved image containing a quote attributed to Korshunova, though no context is provided.[26] According to an email in the files, Korshunova was physically abused by her last boyfriend.[27]
