Kseniya Sobchak

Biography

Ksenia Anatolyevna Sobchak (Russian: Ксения Анатольевна Собчак, IPA: ['ksʲenʲɪjə ɐnɐ'tolʲjɪvnə sɐpˈt͜ɕak]; born 5 November 1981) is a Russian journalist, media manager, television personality, and former politician. She is the younger daughter of Anatoly Sobchak, the first democratically elected mayor of Saint Petersburg and one of Vladimir Putin's mentors, and Senator Lyudmila Narusova. Sobchak became known to the wider public as the host of the TNT reality show Dom-2. She later became an anchor at the independent television channel TV Rain and served as editor-in-chief of L'Officiel Russia. Sobchak was the Civic Initiative's candidate for the 2018 Russian presidential election. From 2020 to 2021, she co-hosted the television talk show Dok-Tok with Alexander Gordon on Channel One. Currently, Sobchak leads her own independent media holding, Ostorozhno Media, which includes a network of popular Telegram channels and her YouTube journalism project "Ostorozhno: Sobchak". Sobchak is the second daughter of the first democratically elected mayor of Saint Petersburg, Anatoly Sobchak, and Lyudmila Narusova, a Russian politician. Sobchak has described herself as being of part‑Jewish heritage. Sobchak also revealed that she and her family had experienced antisemitism. As a child, Sobchak attended the ballet school attached to the Mariinsky Theatre. She also attended the Hermitage Museum art school. In 1998, Sobchak left the school attached to Herzen University and enrolled at Saint Petersburg State University (Department of International Relations). In 2001, Sobchak moved to Moscow and enrolled in the International Relations programme at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations.

== Entertainment career ==

=== Television ===

Sobchak became famous in 2004 as a host of the reality show Dom-2. She left the show in 2012 because the show's lowbrow orientation had become incongruent with her political activism. From 2008 to 2010, Sobchak was a host of the reality shows Who Does NOT Want to Be a Millionaire?, Last Hero‑6, Sweet Life of a Blonde, the Muz‑TV Awards, and Two Stars. In 2010, Sobchak became a host of the television programme Freedom of Thought on the state‑run Channel 5. She soon left the programme because, according to her, it had turned into a never‑ending discussion of public utilities maintenance. In 2011, Sobchak hosted the programme Sobchak Live on the independent channel TV Rain and became the host of Top Model po-russki on Muz-TV. In 2012, she appeared in the television series Brief Guide To A Happy Life. On 7 September 2012, MTV Russia launched a talk show, GosDep (State Department) with Ksenia Sobchak. The show aimed to cover hot social and political issues. The first episode, titled 'Where Is Putin Leading Us?', featured interviews with the head of Left Front, Sergei Udaltsov; a member of the 'Solidarnost' (Solidarity) movement, Ilya Yashin; and the eco‑activist Yevgeniya Chirikova. The show was cancelled after one episode. The second episode would have included an interview with the anti‑corruption blogger Alexei Navalny. MTV Russia representatives said the show was cancelled because of a lack of interest in politics among the channel's audience.

=== Film === Sobchak acted in the comedies Hitler Goes Kaput!, Rzhevsky Versus Napoleon, The Best Movie, and Entropiya. Sobchak also acted in the film Thieves and Prostitutes.

=== Music === In 2007, Sobchak recorded the song 'Dance with Me' (Потанцуй со мной) with the Russian rapper Timati, as well as a music video. Russian media at the time attributed a relationship between Sobchak and Timati.

=== Annual income === According to Forbes magazine, in 2021 Sobchak was the seventh highest‑paid celebrity in Russia. She has been ranked as high as fourth (in 2010) and as low as 15th (in 2016) among Russian celebrities. Her income in 2017 was approximately US$2.1 million. The main source of this annual revenue is advertising contracts.

=== Euroset === It was reported that Sobchak sold her ownership stake in Euroset for $2.3 million in December 2012.