ELLE MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2023

Irina Shayk Gets What She Wants

BY MATTIE KAHN AND PHOTOGRAPHED BY DAN JACKSON. STYLED BY ALEX WHITE, NOVEMBER 8, 2023

Six years ago, Irina Shayk was eight months pregnant and living in Los Angeles when she decided it was time to learn to drive. She was 31, a supermodel, living with her then partner Bradley Cooper, and until that point she’d relied on Ubers without hesitation. But now the back seat made her nauseous, and the whole practice seemed ridiculous. She was a grown woman.

She woke up one morning and decided: “That’s it.” She got her learner’s permit and practiced on Sunset Boulevard, hands at 10 and 2, her growing belly wedged behind the steering wheel. She gave birth to her daughter weeks later, but remained fixated on obtaining her license.

Shayk took 10 lessons, two hours each. When it was time to schedule her road test, people told her to choose an area with few pedestrians to make for a less stressful exam. And a few advised her: Avoid Santa Monica. Too crowded. “So I was like, ‘I want to do it in Santa Monica,’” Shayk says. “‘I want to be ready for everything.’” She took the test. She passed.

Beret, Euegnia Kim, $295. Earrings, Van Cleef & Arpels. Bodysuit, Marc Jacobs, $1,030.
DAN JACKSON