Kurylenko was discovered by a female model scout while on vacation in Moscow at the age of 13 when she was 17, she signed a contract with Paris-based Madison modeling agency. 18 years old, she appeared on the cover of Vogue and Elle. While working as a model in Paris, Kurylenko supported her mother in Ukraine
Kurylenko moved to Paris after leaving Ukraine in 1996 to pursue her modeling career, and in 2001 she was awarded French citizenship. In 2000 married Kurylenko French fashion photographer Cedric Van Mol, but the couple divorced four years later. In 2006, she married U.S. mobile phone accessory entrepreneur Damian Gabrielle. They were divorced in late 2007. She moved to London in 2009. On October 1, 2009 chat with Komsomolskaya Pravda Ukraine, she declared that she will move back to Ukraine, or to marry again.
