# Lera Abova
**Lera Abova** (Лера Абова; born 1992) is the professional name of Valeria Smirnova (Валерия Смирнова), a Russian-born model and actress who holds German nationality. She began modeling in 2016 after being noticed by the British photographer David Sims, made her film debut as Maude in [Luc Besson](https://www.edgepedia.org/luc-besson)'s *[Anna](https://www.edgepedia.org/anna-2019-feature-film)* (2019), and plays Miss All Sunday, also known as [Nico Robin](https://www.edgepedia.org/nico-robin), in the second season of Netflix's live-action *One Piece* series.[1](https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2018/mar/13/model-lera-abova-i-would-rather-be-risky-than-be-everyones-cup-of-tea)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1992, Slavgorod, Altai Krai, Russia (Siberia); birth name Valeria Smirnova[2](https://www.peoples.ru/art/cinema/actor/lera_abova/) |
| Modeling break | 2016 shoot with photographer David Sims, who became a champion of her career[1](https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2018/mar/13/model-lera-abova-i-would-rather-be-risky-than-be-everyones-cup-of-tea) |
| 2025 films | *Exterritorial* (Irina/Kyra Volkova) and Ethan Coen's *Honey Don't!* (Chère)[3](https://cis.filmmakers.eu/en/actors/lera-abova) |
## Early life
Abova was born in 1992 in Slavgorod, a small town in [Altai Krai](https://www.edgepedia.org/altai-krai) in Siberia, and grew up there.[2](https://www.peoples.ru/art/cinema/actor/lera_abova/) She has described the village as "so small they don't have it on the map," and has said that as a child she had no idea of Berlin, London or New York, not even of Moscow.[1](https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2018/mar/13/model-lera-abova-i-would-rather-be-risky-than-be-everyones-cup-of-tea) • [4](https://www.zeit.de/zeit-magazin/2019/31/lera-abova-model-traum) She was the oldest child in her family.[5](https://wink.ru/persons/lera-abova)
When she was 13 her family moved to Germany. She spoke no German at first and communicated through an electronic translator; the language barrier and different interests made it hard to connect with peers. After learning the language she found her footing, and she has said that within half a year she was scoring higher on school tests than her classmates.[1](https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2018/mar/13/model-lera-abova-i-would-rather-be-risky-than-be-everyones-cup-of-tea) • [6](https://vogue.ua/ru/article/beauty/byuti-gid/glotok-svezhego-vozduha-muza-devida-simsa-v-semke-vogue-ua-31623.html) She left school before her final exams, around age 18 or 19, and later said she never regretted it.[1](https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2018/mar/13/model-lera-abova-i-would-rather-be-risky-than-be-everyones-cup-of-tea)
## Modeling career
**Discovery.** Abova's break came in 2016, when she shot with David Sims, a British photographer she describes as her muse-giver and champion; she has said he changed her life. She also worked with Sølve Sundsbø, Colin Dodgson, and Mariano Vivanco.[1](https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2018/mar/13/model-lera-abova-i-would-rather-be-risky-than-be-everyones-cup-of-tea) Her first job was for MISBHV, a young Polish label that debuted at [New York Fashion Week](https://www.edgepedia.org/new-york-fashion-week) in September 2016.[6](https://vogue.ua/ru/article/beauty/byuti-gid/glotok-svezhego-vozduha-muza-devida-simsa-v-semke-vogue-ua-31623.html)
Her editorial work includes covers and fashion stories for Vogue Ukraine, Vogue Paris, Vogue Germany, Vogue Russia, and Vogue Australia, and she starred in campaigns for Joseph, Acne, and Sportmax.[1](https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2018/mar/13/model-lera-abova-i-would-rather-be-risky-than-be-everyones-cup-of-tea) She calls herself "a character model" and has said her booker never told her to lose weight.[1](https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2018/mar/13/model-lera-abova-i-would-rather-be-risky-than-be-everyones-cup-of-tea) She shaved her head in what she describes as "a Britney Spears moment, when I was in a bad relationship"; the move did her career no harm.[1](https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2018/mar/13/model-lera-abova-i-would-rather-be-risky-than-be-everyones-cup-of-tea) In a 2019 interview she credited her long-time mother agent, Peter, with believing in her from the start and pushing her toward the fashion industry.[7](https://www.cinema-movietheater.com/in-english/french-films-movies/lera-abova-about-anna/)
## Acting career
**Anna (2019).** Abova's path to acting ran through Instagram: in late 2017 she told her agent she wanted to move to Los Angeles and act, and a week later Luc Besson discovered her on the platform and invited her to a casting at Europacorp in Beverly Hills. She got the part.[7](https://www.cinema-movietheater.com/in-english/french-films-movies/lera-abova-about-anna/) She has called Besson her first acting teacher, saying he gave her the confidence to perform in her first acting experience.[7](https://www.cinema-movietheater.com/in-english/french-films-movies/lera-abova-about-anna/)
After the film, and on Besson's advice to study acting, she spent about a year and a half moving between Berlin, New York, Los Angeles, and London to train with teachers, and worked on her mixed Russian-German-English accent.[7](https://www.cinema-movietheater.com/in-english/french-films-movies/lera-abova-about-anna/)
**Television and later films.** In 2022 she played DJ Das Boot, also named Thea, in six episodes of the Peacock series *Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin*, alongside [Sarah Hyland](https://www.edgepedia.org/sarah-hyland), Jameela Jamil, and Adam Devine.[8](https://www.metalhead-mag.com/lera-abova-for-the-metalhead-magazine) In 2025 she appeared in two films: the German action thriller *Exterritorial*, directed by Christian Zübert, as Irina/Kyra Volkova, and [Ethan Coen](https://www.edgepedia.org/ethan-coen)'s *[Honey Don't!](https://www.edgepedia.org/honey-dont)*, written by Coen and Tricia Cooke, as Chère.[3](https://cis.filmmakers.eu/en/actors/lera-abova)
**One Piece.** In September 2024 it was announced that Abova would play the archaeologist and pirate Nico Robin, introduced as Miss All Sunday, in the Netflix original *One Piece*; the character is a principal antagonist of the series' second season, opposite [Joe Manganiello](https://www.edgepedia.org/joe-manganiello)'s Crocodile.[9](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ba2CNq9NoVA) Netflix's season 3 announcement, titled *ONE PIECE: The Battle of Alabasta*, again lists her as Miss All Sunday.[10](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/one-piece-renewed-season-3) She has spoken publicly about the weight of fan expectations when joining a franchise with a large established community.[11](https://www.pontopb.com.br/noticia/cultura-927934404/lera-abova-fala-sobre-nico-robin-pressao-dos-fas-e-bastidores-de-yone-piecey-no-imagineland-2026-.html)
## Public profile
Abova divides her time between Berlin, London, and New York, and agency listings give her places of residence as Berlin and Zürich.[1](https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2018/mar/13/model-lera-abova-i-would-rather-be-risky-than-be-everyones-cup-of-tea) • [3](https://cis.filmmakers.eu/en/actors/lera-abova) She is fluent in Russian and German and works in English as well.[3](https://cis.filmmakers.eu/en/actors/lera-abova) • [7](https://www.cinema-movietheater.com/in-english/french-films-movies/lera-abova-about-anna/) In a 2018 Guardian interview she said she was not seeking Instagram fame, despite having 52,000 followers at the time, and that she pays her younger brother's private school fees.[1](https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2018/mar/13/model-lera-abova-i-would-rather-be-risky-than-be-everyones-cup-of-tea)
Reported heights differ between databases: IMDb lists 1.70 m, her German agency profile 173 cm, and Kinopoisk and Filmweb 175 cm.[12](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm10603736/bio/) • [3](https://cis.filmmakers.eu/en/actors/lera-abova) • [13](https://www.kinopoisk.ru/name/5585095/)
## References
1. [Model Lera Abova: 'I would rather be risky than be everyone's cup of tea', The Guardian, 13 March 2018](https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2018/mar/13/model-lera-abova-i-would-rather-be-risky-than-be-everyones-cup-of-tea)
2. [Лера Абова: путь от модели к актрисе, Peoples.ru](https://www.peoples.ru/art/cinema/actor/lera_abova/)
3. [Lera Abova, CIS Actors / Filmmakers.eu profile](https://cis.filmmakers.eu/en/actors/lera-abova)
4. [Lera Abova: "Ich weiß, dass mich niemand anderes retten kann", ZEITmagazin Nr. 31/2019](https://www.zeit.de/zeit-magazin/2019/31/lera-abova-model-traum)
5. [Лера Абова, биография, Wink](https://wink.ru/persons/lera-abova)
6. [Глоток свежего воздуха: муза Дэвида Симса в съемке Vogue UA, Vogue Ukraine](https://vogue.ua/ru/article/beauty/byuti-gid/glotok-svezhego-vozduha-muza-devida-simsa-v-semke-vogue-ua-31623.html)
7. [Exclusive interview with Lera Abova about Anna, Cinema-MovieTheater, 16 June 2019](https://www.cinema-movietheater.com/in-english/french-films-movies/lera-abova-about-anna/)
8. [Exclusive Interview with Lera Abova, Metalhead Magazine](https://www.metalhead-mag.com/lera-abova-for-the-metalhead-magazine)
9. [New Casting Announced For Netflix's One Piece Live-Action Series, IGN, 19 September 2024](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ba2CNq9NoVA)
10. [ONE PIECE Season 3: New Cast, BTS Photos, Synopsis, More, Netflix Tudum](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/one-piece-renewed-season-3)
11. [Lera Abova fala sobre Nico Robin no Imagineland 2026, Portal Ponto PB](https://www.pontopb.com.br/noticia/cultura-927934404/lera-abova-fala-sobre-nico-robin-pressao-dos-fas-e-bastidores-de-yone-piecey-no-imagineland-2026-.html)
12. [Lera Abova Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm10603736/bio/)
13. [Лера Абова, Кинопоиск](https://www.kinopoisk.ru/name/5585095/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › German actors*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 11, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license