Eugenia Kuzmina Russian: Евге́ния Кузьминá; Yevgeniya Kuzmina; born 25 December 1987 is a Russian-American actress, comedian and model. Her modeling career took off when she appeared on the cover of Glamour, and walked the runway for multiple designers including Yves Saint Laurent, Alexander McQueen, Thierry Mugler. She appeared in advertisements for Hermes, Armani jeans, Dior sunglasses, GAP, and L’Oreal. Her first video appearance outside of Russia was in a music video “Ange étrange” by David Hallyday. In 2011, Kuzmina transitioned into acting.
Early life[edit]
Kuzmina was born in 1987 in Moscow, Soviet Union. Her father was a nuclear physicist. Her mother is a former scientist and a housewife. She was training to be a professional ice skater when at the age of 13 she was discovered by the Russian designer Slava Zaitsev. She starred in national commercials for RC Cola, M&Ms, October chocolate and Russian TV shows like Pole Chudes and Yeralash before being approached by a talent scout from Paris.
Career[edit]
Kuzmina’s modeling career took off when she started working with Nathalie Models, Ford Models Europe and then with IMG and LA Models.
She was the cover girl for the August 2004 edition of Glamour by Alexei Hey and has been featured in advertisements for Armani Jeans, Dior sunglasses, GAP, Arden B, Express, Kenzi, Replay Jeans, Sephora, and L’Oreal. She has been also featured in magazines, such as Elle, Harper’s Bazaar, Marie Claire, Japanese and Russian Vogue, GQ, Self, Shape, As well as catalogs for Hermès and Cartier.
She was featured in a music video for David Hallyday,[4] then Passion Pit, and Demi Lovato and transitioned into film work with a short film, Likeness directed by Rodrigo Prieto, starring Elle Fanning. Her first TV appearance was in the hit show True Blood. She portrayed a fairy. Right after she was cast in a FOX show New Girl as a model, ABC show Castle as an FBI agent opposite Stana Katic, Netflix show “The Comeback” as a Russian prostitute opposite Lisa Kudrow, Lady Dynamite show with Maria Bamford, etc. Her first starring movie role was in the independent horror film Quarantine L.A. After that, she played opposite John Turturro in a feature film Fading Gigolo, opposite Bill Murray in the film “Rock the Kasbah”, was featured in the film Dirty Grandpa opposite Zac Efron, Bad Moms opposite Mila Kunis and appeared in TV Movie “Tour de Pharmacy” opposite Andy Samberg and Orlando Bloom. In 2019, Kuzmina appeared in Todd Strauss-Schulson’s film Isn’t It Romantic, alongside Rebel Wilson, and The Gentlemen opposite Michelle Dockery. In 2021 she will be seen in TV Mini-Series Spy City alongside Dominic Cooper
Kuzmina is passionate about comedy and can frequently be seen doing stand up at The Comedy Store, Flappers and performing improv at UCB. She is currently[when?] on tour around the US and the world with her stand up group The Nobodies.
Personal life[edit]
Eugenia Kuzmina resides in Los Angeles with her film producer husband Bill Block, who has been CEO of Miramax since April 2017 and three children.