# Valeria Lukyanova (Валерия Валерьевна Лукьянова)
**Valeria Lukyanova** (Валерия Валерьевна Лукьянова) is a Ukrainian model and online instructor who became internationally known in 2012 as the "Human Barbie" (also called the "Odessa Barbie") for her doll-like appearance of platinum-blonde hair, an extremely narrow waist, large breasts, and wide eyes.[1](https://www.nationalworld.com/news/world/human-barbie-valeria-lukyanova-accused-poisoning-followers-promised-elixir-eternal-life-5341781) Born in 1985 in [Tiraspol](https://www.edgepedia.org/tiraspol), in what was then the Moldavian SSR, she later moved to Odesa, where her public career began.[2](https://www.parents.ru/znamenitosti/kak-seichas-vyglyadit-i-chem-zanimaetsya-zhivaya-kukla-valeriya-lukyanova-id7236372/) She uses the pseudonym Amatue online, which she describes as the name of her "Higher Self" in esoteric terms.[3](https://www.zakon.kz/redaktsiia-zakonkz/4833148-zhivaja-barbi-valerija-lukjanova-u.html)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Pageant title | Miss Diamond Crown of Ukraine, 2007[4](https://news.telegraf.com.ua/ukraina/2025-01-12/5893840-likuvala-lyudey-rtuttyu-ta-vismiyuvala-sanktsii-proti-rosii-kudi-znikla-odeska-barbi-lukyanova) |
| Stated look | She attributes her appearance to diet, exercise, and good genes, acknowledging only breast augmentation[1](https://www.nationalworld.com/news/world/human-barbie-valeria-lukyanova-accused-poisoning-followers-promised-elixir-eternal-life-5341781) |
| 2025 accusations | Dozens of former followers accused her of running a cult whose practices, including drinking turpentine and inhaling mercury vapor, left some hospitalized[1](https://www.nationalworld.com/news/world/human-barbie-valeria-lukyanova-accused-poisoning-followers-promised-elixir-eternal-life-5341781) |
## Early life and pageant career
Lukyanova was born in Tiraspol; her mother worked in the defense sector and her father was a builder. She won the Miss Diamond Crown of Ukraine contest in 2007, which first brought her public attention in the country.[4](https://news.telegraf.com.ua/ukraina/2025-01-12/5893840-likuvala-lyudey-rtuttyu-ta-vismiyuvala-sanktsii-proti-rosii-kudi-znikla-odeska-barbi-lukyanova) • [1](https://www.nationalworld.com/news/world/human-barbie-valeria-lukyanova-accused-poisoning-followers-promised-elixir-eternal-life-5341781)
**The Barbie image.** She began experimenting with doll-like styling in the early 2000s, using bright makeup and matching clothing, and the look became progressively more recognizable.[2](https://www.parents.ru/znamenitosti/kak-seichas-vyglyadit-i-chem-zanimaetsya-zhivaya-kukla-valeriya-lukyanova-id7236372/) Russian-language press has attributed to her an extensive list of cosmetic procedures, including rib removal, rhinoplasty, and blepharoplasty; she has consistently denied these, saying her face and figure reflect genetics, hard work, and her "inner world", and acknowledging only breast augmentation.[5](https://www.wmj.ru/stil-zhizni/novosti/b-s-lukianova-26-05-2020.htm) • [1](https://www.nationalworld.com/news/world/human-barbie-valeria-lukyanova-accused-poisoning-followers-promised-elixir-eternal-life-5341781) In April 2021 she posted old photographs with her father and sister to reject claims of multiple procedures.[1](https://www.nationalworld.com/news/world/human-barbie-valeria-lukyanova-accused-poisoning-followers-promised-elixir-eternal-life-5341781) Reported body measurements differ between sources: the Ruwiki encyclopedia lists her at 164 cm and 46 kg, while The Voice magazine lists 170 cm.[6](https://www.thevoicemag.ru/stars/biography/valeriya-lukyanova/)
## Viral fame, 2012 to 2016
Although she had posted videos of her appearance since late 2011, her fame exploded when the [Gawker Media](https://www.edgepedia.org/gawker-media) site Jezebel wrote about her on 22 April 2012, and her image spread rapidly through Twitter and the press.[7](https://digiindieblog.wordpress.com/2012/11/13/digidiva-superstar-valeria-lukyanovas-interview-with-v-magazine/) The British newspaper [Daily Mail](https://www.edgepedia.org/daily-mail), covering her that year, gave her the label "Human Barbie" that stuck in English-language media.[2](https://www.parents.ru/znamenitosti/kak-seichas-vyglyadit-i-chem-zanimaetsya-zhivaya-kukla-valeriya-lukyanova-id7236372/) In a 2012 interview with *V Magazine* she described herself as "the most famous woman of the Russian-speaking Internet" and said she taught at the School of Out-of-Body Travel, an international school showing students how to leave their physical body and travel in a spiritual body.[7](https://digiindieblog.wordpress.com/2012/11/13/digidiva-superstar-valeria-lukyanovas-interview-with-v-magazine/)
Television and film followed. She traveled to New York for a shoot and interview with V Magazine, and in 2015 a crowdfunding campaign was launched for a horror film, "The Doll", with her in the lead role.[8](https://24smi.org/celebrity/3831-valeriia-lukianova.html)
**The GQ controversy.** A 2014 profile by Michael Idov, editor of GQ Russia, reported her statements on race and beauty, including a suggestion that the push for plastic surgery in the [Western world](https://www.edgepedia.org/western-world) was "because of the race-mixing"; the interview drew wide criticism.[9](https://time.com/52026/is-the-human-barbie-sexy-a-gq-writer-on-meeting-the-real-life-doll/) In the same period [Justin Jedlica](https://www.edgepedia.org/justin-jedlica), an American known as the "Human Ken doll" who had reportedly spent $150,000 on cosmetic surgery, publicly dismissed her after they met, calling her "an illusionist" who relies on extensions and stage makeup.[10](https://time.com/53732/human-ken-and-human-barbie-destroying-our-girlhood-dreams-one-interview-at-a-time/)
In a 2017 InStyle interview she said she had moved away from the ultra-slim doll figure toward a fitness-model physique, calling herself "a real Amazon warrior".[11](https://www.instyle.co.uk/beauty/valeria-lukyanova-human-barbie-interview)
## Esoteric teachings and online business
Lukyanova has consistently combined her image with esoteric claims. She has said she practices astral projection, sees spirits, and considers herself a medium; in a 2022 interview she said she could spend a whole day "in another body".[12](https://www.mv.org.ua/news/262214-odesskaja_barbi_ja_vseljayus_v_drugih_lyudei.html) She has also claimed to be a breatharian, living on sunlight and air, and to have had contact with aliens.[11](https://www.instyle.co.uk/beauty/valeria-lukyanova-human-barbie-interview) She performs new-age songs of her own composition, with a repertoire she puts at more than 150 songs in different languages, and has worked as a DJ.[3](https://www.zakon.kz/redaktsiia-zakonkz/4833148-zhivaja-barbi-valerija-lukjanova-u.html) • [11](https://www.instyle.co.uk/beauty/valeria-lukyanova-human-barbie-interview)
Her current website operates as the "Valeria Lukyanova Research Group of Natural Beauty & Longevity", selling a three-month rejuvenation course, a ten-day "Academy of Beauty" program from $179, and digital books, and describing her as an anti-aging expert with more than 20 years of practice.[13](https://www.valeria-lukyanova.com/) She lives abroad and sells courses to a Russian-speaking audience with the help of her mother.[1](https://www.nationalworld.com/news/world/human-barbie-valeria-lukyanova-accused-poisoning-followers-promised-elixir-eternal-life-5341781)
## 2025 accusations
In September 2025, dozens of women in Russia came forward to accuse Lukyanova of running a cult that sold "elixirs of immortality" while causing severe health problems. Former followers said she told them she had achieved immortality and that her advice would grant "eternal youth"; the advice reportedly included drinking turpentine, inhaling mercury vapor, and taking narcotics, and left some women hospitalized and others in psychiatric clinics.[1](https://www.nationalworld.com/news/world/human-barbie-valeria-lukyanova-accused-poisoning-followers-promised-elixir-eternal-life-5341781) Russian media reported the same allegations, describing recommendations of turpentine, narcotics, and mercury vapor that led to serious health problems among followers.[14](https://radio1.ru/news/proisshestviya/prodavala-eliksiri-bessmertiya-barbi-moshennitsu-obvinili-v-sozdanii-sekti/) A former student, Ekaterina Shcherbak, said she was given the herbal drug kratom, which made her vomit violently, and that she was told it was against "Hydra", a character Lukyanova said she was battling.[1](https://www.nationalworld.com/news/world/human-barbie-valeria-lukyanova-accused-poisoning-followers-promised-elixir-eternal-life-5341781) Earlier reporting had already drawn attention to her courses: in 2023 the blogger Katya Konasova published an exposé of courses that included turpentine-garlic smoothie recipes and mercury-vapor inhalation "for superpowers".[15](https://aif.ru/society/media/skipidarom_i_rtutyu_zhivaya_kukla_barbi_izgonyaet_gidru_u_posledovateley) Russian prosecutors had examined her mercury and turpentine "treatments" as early as 2022.[16](https://gazeta.ua/ru/articles/celebrities/_lechit-lyudej-s-pomoschyu-rtuti-odesskuyu-barbi-proveryaet-prokuratura-rf/1153145) The accusations are allegations by former followers and press reports; no court judgment against her is recorded in the sources.
## Personal life
She is married to Dmitry Shkrabov.[6](https://www.thevoicemag.ru/stars/biography/valeriya-lukyanova/) Her Instagram account has been followed by roughly two million people, and her posts have ranged from beauty content to astral-projection teachings.[1](https://www.nationalworld.com/news/world/human-barbie-valeria-lukyanova-accused-poisoning-followers-promised-elixir-eternal-life-5341781) • [17](https://www.thevoicemag.ru/stars/krupnim-planom/barbi-teper-ekstrasens-kak-vyglyadit-i-chem-zhivet-devushka-reshivshaya-stat-kukloy/)
## References
1. [Human Barbie: Influencer Valeria Lukyanova accused of poisoning followers who were promised the elixir of eternal life, NationalWorld (1 October 2025)](https://www.nationalworld.com/news/world/human-barbie-valeria-lukyanova-accused-poisoning-followers-promised-elixir-eternal-life-5341781)
2. [«Живая кукла» Валерия Лукьянова (Аматуе): как сейчас выглядит и чем занимается, Счастливые родители](https://www.parents.ru/znamenitosti/kak-seichas-vyglyadit-i-chem-zanimaetsya-zhivaya-kukla-valeriya-lukyanova-id7236372/)
3. ["Живая Барби" Валерия Лукьянова: у меня свое эзотерическое учение, Zakon.kz (7 December 2016)](https://www.zakon.kz/redaktsiia-zakonkz/4833148-zhivaja-barbi-valerija-lukjanova-u.html)
4. [Валерия Лукьянова — что известно, где сейчас, Телеграф (12 January 2025)](https://news.telegraf.com.ua/ukraina/2025-01-12/5893840-likuvala-lyudey-rtuttyu-ta-vismiyuvala-sanktsii-proti-rosii-kudi-znikla-odeska-barbi-lukyanova)
5. [Было — стало: как менялась «космическая Барби» Валерия Лукьянова, WMJ.ru (27 May 2020)](https://www.wmj.ru/stil-zhizni/novosti/b-s-lukianova-26-05-2020.htm)
6. [Валерия Лукьянова — полная биография, Журнал The Voice](https://www.thevoicemag.ru/stars/biography/valeriya-lukyanova/)
7. [Digidiva Superstar Valeria Lukyanova's Interview With V Magazine, Digiindie (13 November 2012)](https://digiindieblog.wordpress.com/2012/11/13/digidiva-superstar-valeria-lukyanovas-interview-with-v-magazine/)
8. [Валерия Лукьянова — биография, личная жизнь, фото, новости, 24СМИ](https://24smi.org/celebrity/3831-valeriia-lukianova.html)
9. [Is the 'Human Barbie' Sexy? A GQ Writer On Meeting the Real-Life Doll, Time (7 April 2014)](https://time.com/52026/is-the-human-barbie-sexy-a-gq-writer-on-meeting-the-real-life-doll/)
10. [Human Ken and Human Barbie: Destroying Our Girlhood Dreams One Interview at a Time, Time (8 April 2014)](https://time.com/53732/human-ken-and-human-barbie-destroying-our-girlhood-dreams-one-interview-at-a-time/)
11. [Welcome to the Dollhouse: A Conversation with Human Barbie, Valeria Lukyanova, InStyle (20 March 2017)](https://www.instyle.co.uk/beauty/valeria-lukyanova-human-barbie-interview)
12. [Одесская барби: я вселяюсь в других людей, Местные Вести (12 January 2022)](https://www.mv.org.ua/news/262214-odesskaja_barbi_ja_vseljayus_v_drugih_lyudei.html)
13. [Официальный сайт Валерии Лукьяновой](https://www.valeria-lukyanova.com/)
14. [«Продавала эликсиры бессмертия»: Барби-мошенницу обвинили в создании секты, Радио 1 (27 September 2025)](https://radio1.ru/news/proisshestviya/prodavala-eliksiri-bessmertiya-barbi-moshennitsu-obvinili-v-sozdanii-sekti/)
15. [Скипидаром и ртутью. «Живая кукла Барби» изгоняет «гидру» у последователей, Аргументы и Факты](https://aif.ru/society/media/skipidarom_i_rtutyu_zhivaya_kukla_barbi_izgonyaet_gidru_u_posledovateley)
16. [«Лечит» людей с помощью ртути — одесскую «Барби» проверяет прокуратура РФ, Gazeta.ua](https://gazeta.ua/ru/articles/celebrities/_lechit-lyudej-s-pomoschyu-rtuti-odesskuyu-barbi-proveryaet-prokuratura-rf/1153145)
17. [Одесская «Барби» Валерия Лукьянова: как выглядит и чем занимается, Журнал The Voice](https://www.thevoicemag.ru/stars/krupnim-planom/barbi-teper-ekstrasens-kak-vyglyadit-i-chem-zhivet-devushka-reshivshaya-stat-kukloy/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Food, customs, and everyday culture › Clothing, textiles, and domestic crafts › Fashion and commercial models › Glamour and pin-up models*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 19, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Sep 19, 2026; Sep 30, 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