Biography

Svetlana Khodchenkova is a Russian actress, known for her roles in Bless the Woman (2003) and in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011). She was born Svetlana Viktorovna Khodchenkova on January 21, 1983, in Moscow and spent her childhood in Zheleznodorozhny, a small city about 6 miles east of Moscow, Russia. She was raised by a single mother, attended a public school, and once dreamed of becoming a medical doctor. In 1998, at the age of 15, she started a career as a fashion model in Moscow, and also made a few international gigs. In 2000 she began her studies at the Moscow Institute of World Economics, but quit in favor of acting.