His Highness Karim Aga Khan IV has castles, private jets, yachts, stud farms, a fortune of several billion and the title of Imam. Prince Karim remains a paradoxical figure for many: he owns absolutely unimaginable wealth, while he is considered the spiritual leader of 15 million Ismaili Shiites. How does he manage to so gracefully combine in himself a whole range of opposites: spiritual and material, Christianity and Islam, East and West? And, finally, why is he officially called a prince, not being a representative of any royal family?

Karim Aga Khan was born in Geneva, brought up in Nairobi, educated at the elite Swiss school Le Rosy and Harvard, has British citizenship, and his nationality is defined as "British Iranian". He spends most of his time in the air, in a private jet. His earthly abode is located on an estate near Chantilly, 40 km north of Paris.

A bolt from the blue

Although the Aga Khan is not tied to any political territory, when he travels he is actually accepted as head of state in any country. As an imam, he is responsible for the needs and spiritual needs of the followers of Ismailism (one of the directions of the Shia branch of Islam), which can be found in more than 25 countries.

Three years ago, Prince Karim celebrated the 55th anniversary of his imamate. No one, including himself, expected him to receive this title when, back in 1957, the will of his grandfather, Sultan Mohammed Shah Aga Khan III, was publicly read. For the first time in the family's 1,300-year history, the title was passed down a generation, bypassing Karim's father. "It was a shock," says the Aga Khan, "and I don't think anyone in my situation would have been prepared for it." The prince was studying at Harvard University when he unexpectedly received a message to visit his grandfather, who was in his villa in Cannes. The young man returned to his studies after 18 months, arriving at the student hostel with two secretaries and a personal assistant. At the same time, Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain confirmed the official appeal to Karim "His Highness".

This begs the question: where does the title of prince come from if there is no kingdom? The fact is that the Ismaili imams call themselves and family members princes and princesses according to the tradition that comes from their ancestor Feth Ali Shah, the Persian king. In 1830, he also awarded Karim's great-great-grandfather, Hasan Ali Shah, the title of Aga Khan, which in Turkish and Persian sounds like "great leader." Thus, Hasan Ali Shah became a prince when he married the daughter of the king of Persia and the 46th hereditary Imam of the Ismaili Muslims. After that, all subsequent Ismaili imams were automatically referred to as princes and Aga Khans. This status was officially recognized, including by the Queen of Great Britain.

For its weight in gold

In 1885, the grandfather of Prince Karim, who was born in India, was seven years old when he entered the Imamate after the death of his father. By the way, fate scattered all the Aga Khans around different countries world, partly because, firstly, they really do not have their own territory, and secondly, the duties of the imam dictate the need to be everywhere and at once. In the early 1900s, Sultan Mohammed Shah moved to Europe, in particular to breed horses and engage in the racing business, in which he soon succeeded. Horses were not something unfamiliar to the Aga Khan: his grandfather also built a large stable in India. Aga Khan III simply continued the tradition, but did it brilliantly. So, he was the owner of 5 winners of the Epsom Derby, 16 winners of the classic British races, and for the period 1924-1952, a record 13 times became the champion among the owners of horses participating in smooth races, for which he even got into the Guinness Book of Records. Aga Khan III also came up with the idea of ​​creating the Jumping Nations Cup in Dublin. Since 1926, the strongest riders from all over the world have competed for this trophy every year. Today, the Nations Cup is the most prestigious team show jumping series in the world.

The Imam did not forget to build hospitals, schools, banks and mosques for his followers. And they showed him their gratitude: in 1936, grateful fans gave the imam the equivalent of his weight in gold, and on the diamond and platinum jubilees he received the same gift in the form of appropriate stones and metal. Thus, Karim has already received a solid inheritance from his grandfather, in addition, Ismaili Muslims transfer to their spiritual leader at least 10% of their annual earnings, that is, hundreds of millions a year ... Although the Aga Khan has full control over these means, they are not intended for his personal use. In a word, today the amount of personal and “accountable” capital of Prince Karim is quite difficult to calculate, but, according to the latest Forbes estimates, his fortune is approximately $13.3 billion.

Royal rake

Prince Karim's father, Ali Solomon Khan, was born in Turin in 1911 to the second of the Aga Khan III's four wives, the Italian ballerina Teresa Magliano. Ali, one of the most beautiful and desperate people of his generation, met his first wife in 1933, although she was already married at that time. At one of the dinner parties in Deauville, he whispered to her, "Honey, will you marry me?" And the English aristocrat Joan Yard-Baller agreed. They married in Paris in May 1936, and Karim was born on December 13, 1936. The following year - his brother, Prince Amin.

Karim's father was not an exemplary family man from the very beginning: he had a famous affair with the English Baroness Pamela Harriman, who was dubbed "the last courtesan of history" for her numerous connections with famous men, and then with the American movie star Rita Hayworth (whom he later married, receiving divorce from Yard-Baller, but this marriage soon fell apart). They say that Ali had more than 3 thousand women in his entire life! All over the world, the prince's sexual fame thundered, and gossips whispered that Ali could be with several women during the night and never got tired. It is precisely for the reasons of the excessive love of his son that Mohammed Shah Aga Khan III

did not transfer his religious duties to him, so the title of imam immediately went to his eldest grandson. So Karim became Aga Khan IV.

Chess game

Another "legacy" of Karim was the horse breeding business, which, unlike the title of religious leader, he inherited in 1960 from his father, when he died in a car accident in the suburbs of Paris. “When dad died, we (the children) didn’t know at all what to do with this family passion of ours - nine huge thoroughbred horse breeding factories (In Ireland: Giltown, Sallymount, Sheshun and Ballyfear - and France: Bonneval, St. Crespin, Val Henri , Quilly, Tupo. - Approx. ed.)". They also passed to Ali by inheritance from his father, Aga Khan III, who managed to create a whole racing empire. “I was never interested in horses,” Karim recalls. - Harvard is a huge university, but they do not teach the peculiarities of thoroughbred horse breeding. So it was a complete surprise. It was very difficult for me to keep this business afloat, and I was in great danger of ruining it because of my ignorance. However, he decided to buy back the shares of his brothers and sisters and try to succeed in this business. And he succeeded!

For more than half a century, horses have brought the prince victories in the largest races. In the last five years alone, his horses have won Group 1 races 18 times. In 2012, the prince's mare, named Valeera, broke the century-long record in the Diana Prize and brought her owner the seventh victory in this race. The Aga Khan IV was twice the champion among the owners of horses participating in smooth racing, in 1981 and 2000, but so far has not managed to catch up with the Sheikh of Dubai Mohammed Al Maktoum, who from 1985 to 1996 received this title 9 times himself, and 9 times (from 1997 to 2013) he went to his Godolphin syndicate.

“Every time you select and plan for the next foal, it’s like playing chess with nature,” says the prince, who is still directly involved in breeding and selecting parent pairs.

One of the rare opportunities to catch a glimpse of the prince is to visit the races at Chantilly for the Diana Prize (French Ox). This prize, established in 1843, is considered one of the most prestigious in France. The race takes place just a few kilometers from the prince's estate in Eglemont. However, without the Aga Khan, perhaps today neither this prize nor the hippodrome in Chantilly would exist: the prince “took under his wing”, restored and reconstructed a vast territory of 8 thousand hectares, where, in addition to the hippodrome, one of the most famous objects cultural heritage France - Chateau de Chantilly. By the way, one of the brightest stages of the series of show jumping tournaments of the Global Champions Tour is being held against its background.

Champion Kidnapping

The history of horse racing is full of both glorious and dark pages. It is among the latter that the fate of Shergar, the famous stallion of the Aga Khan IV, abducted by unknown persons, belongs. Shergar first entered the track of the hippodrome at the age of 2 years, in 1980, but a year later he became a racing legend. He won the five largest races (Guardian Classic Trial, Chester Vase, Derby Stakes, Irish Derby, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth diamond Stakes), and in the Epsom Derby he was ahead of his closest rival by 10 (!) Corps. Then he was recognized as the national hero of Ireland and the Horse of the Year in Europe. Taking the opportunity, the Aga Khan sold an 85 percent stake in Shergar, which was valued at £10 million. Several buyers were able to master such a record amount, and the stallion went to the millionaire Joe Mañe and his veterinarian Stan Cosgrove.

On February 8, 1983, six masked armed men broke into the house of the stableman Shergar, took the horse and took it away in an unknown direction. The kidnappers contacted the Aga Khan and demanded a ransom from him, not suspecting that the latter only owned a small share of the horse's ownership. Having found out that Shergar had several owners, the attackers tried to blackmail everyone at once, but no one wanted to pay the ransom. “We were going to negotiate, not pay. If we paid the ransom, any racehorse in the world could become a target for criminals,” one of the owners later said. Then the bandits threatened to kill the stallion, and kept their promise: they shot him with machine guns, and he slowly and painfully died from loss of blood. According to rumors, Shergar's body was buried in the mountains, and the criminals were never found. Perhaps such a decision of the owners will seem cynical and cruel to someone, but, indeed, since then such incidents have not been repeated.

Family matters

Despite the great public role, Aga Khan IV was never a person leading a "social" lifestyle. "He's not outgoing and doesn't like to be in public like his father," says a childhood friend of Prince Karim. - On the this moment he leads a very modest life." And although the Aga Khan, of course, is a connoisseur of female beauty, he is far from his father, a playboy. "Karim is a manic worker, he doesn't drink alcohol or smoke, he's very serious and hardworking."

In 1968, the prince fell in love with an English model, the daughter of an Indian Army officer, Sally Crichton-Stuart. Their marriage lasted 25 years and they had three children: Prince Rahim Aga Khan, Prince Hussein Aga Khan and Princess Zahra Aga Khan. Today, they all work for the benefit of the imamate: the princess heads the Department of Social Welfare, located in the secretariat of the Aga Khan in France. Rahim is Executive Director of the Aga Khan Foundation for economic development, and Hussain works in the field of security environment. When Karim and his wife divorced, Sally was left with a famous collection of jewelry, designed and made especially for her by such famous jewelers as Cartier, Harry Winston, Bulgari, Van Cleef and Arpels, Tiffany, Bucciarati, Boucheron and others. Among them was the famous Begum blue diamond (this is the "official name" of the Aga Khan's wife), which is part of a necklace consisting of 41 more heart-shaped diamonds. Begum ranks 12th in the list of famous blue diamonds in the world, is the third largest blue diamond in the shape of a heart. After the divorce, Sally sold some of her jewelry and founded a charitable foundation to help poor families and children with this money. The total sale of the jewelry was $27.68 million, and the Begum necklace went to Lawrence Graff, chairman of Graff Diamonds, who purchased the necklace for $7.8 million. Thus, by selling the jewelry, Sally was able to alleviate the suffering of many unfortunate people all over the world, however, she herself did not remain in the loser.

Two years after his divorce from Sally, in 1995, Karim married a German-born Princess Gabriela-zu-Leiningen, who took the name Begum Inaara and bore him a son, Prince Ali Muhammad Aga Khan. However, after 6 years, she filed for divorce, accusing the imam of extramarital affairs. Now the 79-year-old Aga Khan is dating the baron's daughter and ex-wife a major British businessman, Countess Beatrice von der Schulenburg, and rumors now and then appear in the media that he is going to enter into a third marriage. In general, despite a fairly advanced age, Karim does not waste time and lives a full life.

With an eye on the future

Prince Karim Aga Khan IV, the current head of the dynasty, a philanthropist and venture capitalist, is a very prominent and influential figure in financial and religious circles. Under his leadership, the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) operates, within which a number of socio-economic, educational and cultural institutions operate. The Fund has branches in 18 countries of the world, mainly in Central Asia, in the Middle East, East and West Africa, as well as in Southeast Asia. The Russian office of the AKDN began its work in 2007, it implements projects of social assistance to labor migrants, immigrants from the CIS countries of the Central Asian region. The Aga Khan Foundation has developed a special “Mountain Regions Development Support Program”, which includes, first of all, assistance to the Ismaili community of Gorno-Badakhshan (Tajikistan). This program is aimed at building irrigation canals, developing new lands, providing loans at a very low interest rate, and helping small businesses. A long-term program for the training of future personnel from among the Ismailis is also envisaged. A real contribution to the development of education in Tajikistan was the creation of the University Central Asia in Khorog ( administrative center Gorno-Badakhshan) and its branches in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. The university was established in 2000 by the governments of the three republics and the Aga Khan Foundation. Already today, the Fund pays for the education of Ismaili youth in Russian universities, and the international scholarship program has enabled the best students to continue their education in educational institutions in Central Asia, Europe and North America.

Friend of God

The Aga Khan Foundation employs 80,000 people from 30 countries. This organization is known for its charitable activities, but at the same time, the fund brings good profits in completely different industries - from energy and aviation to pharmaceuticals and the hotel business. Thus, in 2010, the organization's revenue amounted to $ 2.3 billion. AKDN includes training centers Aga Khan Agency for Microfinance, Aga Khan Education Services, Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development, Aga Khan Health Services, Aga Khan Planning and Building Services, Aga Khan Trust for Culture, University Aga Khan and FOCUS Humanitarian Aid is an international group of agencies established to provide additional emergency assistance in developing countries.

Anything can be said about the lifestyle of this prince without a kingdom, but it is worth recognizing that Karim Aga Khan, as an imam, did a huge and extremely fruitful job. “He did a lot for people,” says lawyer, banker and economist James Wolfensohn, “but for God he is a fantastically good friend!”

The only royal person revered in Central Asia, namely in the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO) of Tajikistan, is Prince Karim Aga Khan IV. A British citizen and spiritual leader of the vast Ismaili community, His Highness Prince Aga Khan celebrates his 80th birthday today, December 13.

In honor of this anniversary, Open Asia Online has gathered Interesting Facts from the life of this royal person.

Aga Khan IV - a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad

Prince Karim Aga Khan IV is the 49th Imam of the Ismaili-Nizari community of the Shiite direction in Islam and is considered a direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad through his daughter Fatima. The title "Aga Khan" ("honorary leader" - approx. OA) was awarded to the ancestor of the Aga Khan IV - Hasan Ali Shah in 1830. Hassan Ali Shah became a prince when he married the daughter of the king of Persia and the 46th hereditary Imam of the Ismaili Muslims. After that, all subsequent Ismaili imams were automatically referred to as princes and Aga Khans. In 1887, the Governor-General of British India, Earl Dufferin, recognized the title of prince for the Aga Khan I in gratitude for the services rendered to the British during afghan war 1841–1842 and other military operations.

Aga Khan IV - royalty

Despite the fact that Prince Karim Aga Khan IV does not have his own state, he is equated to a monarch: in 1957, Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain granted him the title of "His Highness". In 1959, the Shah of Iran conferred on him the title of "His Royal Highness".

Last Ismaili public education in the mountain fortress of Alamut - on the territory of present-day Iran - fell back in December 1256 after a siege by the Mongol ruler Hulagu.

Aga Khan IV has millions of followers around the world

There are approximately 20 million Nizari Ismailis in the world, living in 25 countries. The majority of Ismailis live in African and Asian countries, including Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Iran. There are also large communities in the US, Canada and the UK.

The Ismaili community of Tajikistan is one of the largest, it has about 250 thousand people. The followers of Ismailism are mainly people from the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO) or Pamirs.

Aga Khan IV first came to Tajikistan in 1995

The first meeting of Prince Karim Aga Khan IV with his followers from Tajikistan took place on May 25, 1995. On that day, members of the Ismaili community for the first time had the opportunity to see their imam live, and since then they have annually celebrated this date as the Day of light or the Day of the meeting - Ruzi Nur (Didor). Until that time, the Pamirs passed on stories about their imam to each other from generation to generation.

Aga Khan IV saved the Pamirs in the 90s

Food humanitarian aid provided by the Aga Khan to the population of GBAO in the years civil war 1992-1997, saved people from mass starvation. Then Gorno-Badakhshan found itself in an economic blockade. Organized by the Aga Khan IV, food supplies from the Kyrgyz Osh became the only way for the Pamirs to survive. Making an extreme journey along the Pamir roads, caravans delivered tens of thousands of tons of flour, butter, sugar, powdered milk, rice and other essential products to each settlement in Gorno-Badakhshan.

Aga Khan IV - billionaire

American Forbes in 2008 included the Aga Khan IV in the list of the richest monarchs in the world. The publication ranked the Ismaili leader 11th in its ranking and estimated his fortune at one billion dollars. Other sources give another figure - about three billion dollars. One of the main sources of income for the Aga Khan is the breeding of thoroughbred horses and horse racing. He owns horse farms in France and Ireland. In addition, the prince is the owner of a group of exclusive hotels. One of the Aga Khan's most brilliant ventures is the Costa Smeralda resort on the Italian island of Sardinia.

Under the leadership of the prince, the Aga Khan Development Network operates, within which a number of socio-economic, educational and cultural institutions operate. The mission of this fund is to improve the quality of life of local communities, especially in developing countries, through the construction of schools, hospitals and other infrastructure facilities.

Aga Khan IV - Harvard Graduate

The prince studied at the Institut Le Rosey (Switzerland) and graduated with honors from Harvard University (USA) in 1959 with a degree in Islamic history.

Aga Khan IV was married twice

In 1968, the prince fell in love with an English model, the daughter of an Indian army officer, Sally Crichton Stewart. Their marriage lasted 25 years, three children were born: Prince Rahim Aga Khan, Prince Hussein Aga Khan and Princess Zahra Aga Khan. When Karim and his wife divorced, Sally was left with a famous jewelry collection designed by famous jewelers - Cartier, Bulgari, Tiffany and others. This collection also includes the famous blue diamond "Begum" (this is the official name of the Aga Khan's wife), which is part of a necklace consisting of 41 more heart-shaped diamonds. "Begum" ranks 12th in the list of famous blue diamonds in the world, is the third largest blue diamond in the shape of a heart.

After the divorce, Sally sold some of her jewelry and founded a charitable foundation to help poor families and children with this money. Two years after his divorce from Sally, in 1995, Karim married a German-born Princess Gabriela-zu-Leiningen, who took the name Begum Inaara and bore him a son, Prince Ali Muhammad Aga Khan. However, after 6 years, she filed for divorce.

Aga Khan IV and his children

Prince Zahra's eldest daughter Aga Khan was born in 1970. She graduated with honors from Harvard in 1994. At numerous events, it is she who represents her father and his foundation. In 1997, Zahra married British businessman and fashion model Mark Boyden. It was an unusual marriage, for which the father of the bride gave special permission, since the groom flatly refused to convert to Islam. They had a daughter and a son, but the marriage ended in divorce.

The first son of the Aga Khan IV, Prince Rahim Aga Khan, born in 1971, received higher education in the USA and Spain. In 2013, Naomi Campbell introduced him to 24-year-old model Kendra Spears. In the same year they got married, for the sake of the wedding Kendra converted to Islam and received a new name - Princess Salva. In 2015, the couple had a son.

The Aga Khan's second son, Prince Hussein, graduated from William College (USA) with a Bachelor of Arts degree. He also holds a master's degree in international relations. In 2006, Hussain married American Christine White. Christine also converted to Islam and was given the title and name of Princess Haliya. However, in 2011, the couple announced a divorce, and Khaliya became Christine again.

The youngest son of the Aga Khan IV, Ali Muhammad Aga Khan, turned 16 this year.

Aga Khan IV supports education in Central Asia

A real contribution to the development of education in Tajikistan was the creation of the University of Central Asia in Khorog (administrative center of Gorno-Badakhshan, - note by OA) and its branches in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. The university was established in 2000 by the governments of the three republics and the Aga Khan Foundation. Today, the Fund pays for the education of Ismaili youth in Russian universities, and an international scholarship program has enabled the best students to continue their education in educational institutions in Central Asia, Europe and North America.

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Kendra Spears - American top model, which is included in the list of 50 best models according to models.com. Her "calling card" was a mole above her lip, thanks to which she is so often compared with supermodel Cindy Crawford. Although there is no mole, the similarity of the two models is still obvious. Dark brown luxurious hair, height - 179, feminine figure (84-61-86), long legs, open American smile.

“Kendra has the same classic beauty and atomic charisma that made 1980s supermodels history. She appeared on the fashion horizon at the right time,” says renowned fashion photographer Giampaulo Sgura.

Kendra Spears' career began five years ago. The world-famous modeling agency Ford announced a competition, and as an experiment, a virtual casting was held within the framework of the Myspace Internet resource. A twenty-year-old student from Washington State maintained a blog on the site, where she posted many photos. Kendra easily won the Internet competition, and then in New York she made it to the final and signed a contract with the agency.

Kendra on the podium

Remembering her first steps in the modeling business, Kendra likes to talk about one interesting detail. At the time of the final competition, the model wore braces. “Getting them was probably the best decision I made in my life,” Kendra shared in an interview with the contestant, “I want to show girls with braces that they should not be ashamed of either them or themselves. If you work on yourself, your appearance, health, this in itself is wonderful.

Fashion magazine covers with Kendra

Now Kendra's career is developing only forward. Participation in the Prada advertising campaign, fashion shows at Gucci, Lanvin, Valentino shows have already conquered peaks. This season Kenda is the face of Tod's, Escada, Patek Philippe, Max Mara Studio and smiles from the covers of Vogue, Numero and Allure.

Kendra is developing not only in the modeling business. The American beauty graduated from the University of Washington with a degree in sociology and architecture. In addition to her studies and the world of fashion, Kendra is interested in photography, knitting, cycling and sports. The latter is necessary to keep the figure in good shape. Kendra never uses the elevator, there are only stairs for her, every day she starts with stretching exercises and cannot imagine her life without swimming.

In April 2013, Kenda Spears' engagement to Prince Rahim Aga Khan was announced. But, despite the high-profile title of the groom, the model is not going to leave the modeling business, so we will soon see Kendra's radiant smile on the new covers of the most influential publications in the fashion industry.

The history of model Kendra Spears is impressive: she was born in the American outback, made a dizzying career, and then married one of the most influential Muslims in the world - Prince Rahim Aga Khan. Two years after the wedding, in 2015, the couple had an heir. And today it became known that Kendra is pregnant again - she is preparing to give her husband a second child.

We are very happy to announce that Prince Raheem and Princess Salwa are expecting their second child. This is a great happiness for the entire Ismaili community,

It is reported on the official website of the Ismailis - a community that, following his father, will be headed by Prince Rahim Aga Khan.

In 2013, model, face of Prada, Calvin Klein and Diane von Fürstenberg, Kendra Spears married 42-year-old Prince Rahim Aga Khan, the hereditary imam of an ancient Shiite family and a direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad. After the wedding, Kendra not only converted to Islam, but also took a new name - Princess Salva Aga Khan, but did not abandon her usual way of life. The princess to this day takes part in social events and works as a model - after the wedding, for example, she became the face of the democratic brand Next.

Misalliance is easily explained by family histories. Grandfather Rahim Aga Khan - Ali Khan - had a reputation as a "social lion" and a playboy. Among his girlfriends were actresses Joan Fontaine and Yvonne De Carlo, French model Lisa Bourdain, and American movie star Rita Hayward, who bore him a daughter. The father of Rahim Aga Khan, the current head of the Ismaili Muslim community, Karim Aga Khan IV, also had a loving disposition. His first wife was model Sarah Francis Crocker-Poole, and his second was a divorced German princess, Gabrielle Leiningen.

Despite family "traditions", a real calm reigned on the love front of Prince Rahim Aga Khan. For some time, there were even rumors in the media about the unconventional sexual orientation of the prince. Everything changed in 2012 when Naomi Campbell introduced him to 25-year-old model Kendra Spears.

Princess Salva at the Elle Style Awards in LondonPrincess Salva with her first child, Prince Irfan

Despite her relative youth, Kendra is currently on the list of the fifty best models of our time. Her "calling card" is a charming mole above her lip. In many ways, it was she who became the real "highlight" of the beautiful Kendra Spears. And even if this mole did not exist, the label of “little Cindy” simply could not help but stick to the model. Dark chestnut mane, tall - 179 centimeters and surprisingly feminine proportions - 84-61-86. All this splendor is complemented by perfect endless legs and an open, all-conquering charming smile in American style.

Kendra Spears has a career going uphill, she is constantly invited by famous brands. Peaks like Gucci, Valentino, Lanvin, Hermes shows, Prada ads have long been conquered. Now the supermodel has become an adornment of Patek Philippe, Escada, Tod's, and at the autumn shows at Fashion Week she shone in the clothes of such fashion houses as Anthony Vaccarello, Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs.

Carier start

Kendra Spears began climbing five years ago. One of Ford's most influential modeling agencies announced a competition, but approached this issue creatively. As an experiment during the rise of various social networks, the agency arranged a casting, but not only offline, but also on the Myspace resource. Kendra was 20 at the time. She was a student at the University of Washington and was active on social media. And directly on Myspace she kept her personal blog, posted photos. Although later, already becoming famous, she said that at that time she did not have an iPod. As expected, Spears won the online competition, then triumphantly made it to the finals in New York and eventually signed a contract with Ford. Interestingly, it was at that time that Kendra wore braces. Incorrect bite has now been corrected. The girl thought about the future - she graduated from the university with a degree in architecture and sociology.

After the competition, in which, by the way, Kendra took second place, and the conclusion of the contract, her career took off. What is surprising is that Spears has an amazing confidence that is not typical of beginners. In her interviews, she often says that she is always confident in her abilities and in victory.

Kendra Spears debuted at New York Fashion Week in September 2008. Later, the model took part in the opening of the show in Milan from John Richmond, and then she walked the podium for Gucci. Her first season in Paris turned out to be fantastically successful, she worked for such recognized masters as Valentino, Lanvin, Christian Lacroix. After the end of the fashion show season in October 2009, Spears began to appear more and more often on the covers of Italian and Danish fashion magazines. In the fall season of 2009, Kendra became the face of Prada. In 2010-2011, she graced the cover of the famous Vogue magazine, and at the same time, the model signed several lucrative contracts.

Kendra owes her magnificent figure to healthy food, which she loves very much and believes that even a snack on the run should be as healthy as possible. If, for example, these are nuts, then cashews, because they are rich in carbohydrates and at the same time low in calories. If it is yogurt, then without any fillers, and if chocolate, then only black. Plus, Kendra never gets a facelift, and best friend a slender figure considers the stairs. In whatever corner of the world the model wakes up and at whatever time she gets up, she always starts the day with stretching exercises. Swimming and cycling are a mandatory daily routine at home for Kendra.

From model to princess

On the last day of this summer, American model Kendra Spears became a legal wife. crown prince Rahim Aga Khan, who is the eldest son of His Royal Highness Karim Aga Khan IV. The wedding ceremony in the best traditions of Islam took place in picturesque Switzerland on the banks of the transparent Lake Geneva in the romantic and chic Chateau de Bellerive.

The bride's outfit was truly fabulous and absolutely worthy of a true princess. Traditional Muslim wedding sari in delicate color Ivory was trimmed with gold patterns and wonderfully combined with fragile exclusive jewelry. Graceful sandals completed the traditional wedding dress.

As it became known, 24-year-old Kendra Spears converted to Islam before the wedding, and from now on she received not only the title of princess, but also another name - Salwa. By the way, Kendra is not the first model to enter the family of a mentor and spiritual leader Muslim community of His Highness. The Aga Khan IV himself married a model from Britain, Sarah Crocket-Poole. Rahim's sister and brother were also legally married to models, and his grandfather was the husband of the famous actress Rita Hayworth. So, the prince probably had no problem getting his blessing for such a multicultural marriage.

Despite the age difference, Kendra herself says that she is very happy that she has found a soul mate. And her story proves once again that in modern world The tale of Cinderella has not lost its relevance.