I'm always sad to leave paradise, but I leave behind the hopes of coming again soon.

When I was growing up in Russia, my grandmothers would cook the best pancakes in the world, the best meatballs, the best dumplings.

My personal memories of the brand go way back to the time when I was a teenager. L'Oreal make-up felt like a real luxury for me, and I remember dreaming of purchasing a L'Oreal lipstick.

Nothing is easy, and as far as my modelling career goes, the path to the top has been long and difficult, but that's what makes it special. I always look back to remind myself where I've come from.

My father sort of relented. He saw Rajiv, and he said he is a good man. But his more worried about his daughter, because I was going far to a place completely different... with completely different customs. He felt that perhaps I would not be able to accustom to these new ways.

I think that's what we need more of: Asian-Americans on movie screens and TV screens where they're normalized. Where it's not about them being Asian or a person of color. It's just about them being a human. I think that's why sometimes when I see movies with an Asian family, but it's very stereotyped, I don't find that relatable.

On becoming a mother, I sort of feel like every kid is my kid. I really do get that sense in a much more profound way that we all are a global community and we all have to band to try and give the children of our this generation whatever tools we can to go out into this world and try and make it a better place.

All of us kids in the neighbourhood had to go shoeless for the same reason - all except the landlord's son, because his father had more income.