Kristina Menissov

Interview by Ryan West

Photography by Daniel Deitch
Styling by Ilaria de Plano & Vincent Weathersby Jr.
Makeup by Frankie Segura
Hair by Adrian Cobian

Kristina Menissov is a Kazakhstani Ethiopian model and singer based in the United States. During her career she has worked with various high-profile magazines, brands, and designers. In the early 2020s she began a career as a solo singer in the electronic and pop genres.

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Hi Kristina, thanks for talking to us today. We loved the photos from the shoot. The glam and styling was fantastic and seemed to bring out different sides of you. Do you feel like a different person when you dress for shoots? If so, are there any personas that tend to come out for you?

Hello Session Magazine readers! I want to start with saying how grateful I am for Session choosing me as a model for this issue! Now to answer your question, oh definitely every look brings out a different side of me, I think modeling gives an opportunity to all of my personalities to shine in a safe place for them, because if I put my shadow personality in a cage for too long without her being able to express herself, then she will break out and start destroying everything. Jokes aside as growing up I heard that I look like a kaleidoscope and it is amazing to find a career that I actually get to use it.

In what ways do you incorporate some of your personal self into these personas?

I think the answer for every look and actually for everything in life is to look within. While looking within for how I would be as this character makes it so easy for me to transform into a different persona while dressing up in a different way every time.

Have you ever tried acting? If not, would you some day? And what sort of role would it be?

I have tried a few small roles that usually would be very close to me or even as a background model, but nothing major. I have such a high expectation for myself, if do something do it right and I just don’t have time to go to acting school and learn fundamentals, until then, I think I will leave acting for professionals and maybe one day I would, when I will have more time to dedicate myself to acting. I feel like I could fit very well into some fictional characters of women in power.

You also have a very interesting and diverse background and career. Coming from a mixed ethnic background do you speak any languages other than English? If so, what are they?

I am half Kazakhstani and Half Ethiopian, I speak Kazakh, unfortunately my dad didn’t teach me Amharic, but I grew up in Kazakhstan and it a bilingual country, which makes me speak Russian as well, plus I studied in Italy for opera singing and that’s where I learned Italian. That’s all the languages I speak.

I also heard you are working on new music again and might have a new EP coming soon. Can you tell us anything about it? Is there a theme to the album?

I decided to not wait for the EP and accomplish 10% of my goal for this year at least and I am releasing 2 singles ‘Potion’ and ‘Crown’. I will do so during my live performance at Music Industry convention iPOP at the Anaheim Convention center. It makes me so happy to share that news with you first!

I know you mostly do electronic and pop music but you originally have an opera background. Is there anything from your opera experience that has helped or influenced you with your current music?

If you know the fundamentals in any type of singing you will be able to do the rest, the fundamentals are the same. The only difference is that we sing Opera vertically and Pop horizontally and, in the style, and freedom. There are more rules and structure in Opera and it took me time to learn to use all the freedom that Pop Music has to offer.

What made you want to pursue music? Is there anything about the industry that you are most attracted to?

There is no logic of me wanting to pursue music, I was just pursuing my heart, because when I stopped singing, I felt a gap inside and now being back and creating makes feel really good.

Is there anything in particular that any of your music or modeling projects has taught you?

Yes, to stay present and to grow you need to constantly have an analyzing mindset, how someone poses, what differentiates a supermodel from an average model, or if we use it in singing how someone sings, why some artists are on the level where they are and how I can get there etc. When I understood that I started growing so much faster.

I know you have a young son who has appeared in some of your shoots. Has becoming a mother changed the way you approach the entertainment business? Do you opt out from certain projects that you wouldn’t have before?

I didn’t considered modeling as a career before I became a mother, but in general I think becoming a mother made me more efficient at anything I do.

You have modeled in music videos before, notably for Tyga’s “Ibiza” song. Is that something you hope to do again in other artists videos or is that off the table as you are a music artist yourself now?

I really hope that next time I’m in a video it will be as a featured artist singing, instead of just modeling.

If you could sit down with any actor or musician (past or present), who would you pick and why?

Oh, I so love this question, I would want to sit down with Whitney Houston, professionally and also to learn her journey and two more artists would be Sade and Alicia Keys. I think I wouldn’t even be able to ask one question normally, but just screaming and jumping from the excitement.

What is the wildest thing you have ever done? Did you regret it or did it add to your character?

I think the wildest thing would be moving to Los Angeles on my own while pregnant, not regretting it at all, just shocked how I was able to pull it off.

What are your plans for 2024? Let us know as well about any charities you’re aligned with or any that you plan on starting.

My Plans for 2024, oh now it’s going to be a different level of commitment to the New Year List after speaking it out load for everyone to read, I will have to make it happen!

1. I want to release 10-12 songs (whether it’s EP or singles)
2. I will film a music video.
3. I will buy my first house.
4. I will give a solo concert.
5. I am launching a course that will help to kickstart a modeling career for aspiring models, it will be more than just a course, it is a community of women who have the life circumstances like mine and to know that they could make it if I did.
6. I am going to get back to something I set aside in 2023 – it is a clothing company called Mini & Mom and bring it finally to life.

Made me so motivated to write all those goals right now!

About charity, have you watched a movie called “Sound of Freedom”, with the wars around the world the amount of Human Trafficking has sky rocketed. I am trying to bring awareness to this problem and I feel like the non-profit organization O.U.R Rescue is doing a very efficient job and I support them. I think for everyone it’s important to watch that movie just to start somewhere.

Thank you for talking with us today. Are there any final words for our readers?

I would like to remind everyone that hard work eventually pays off, so visualize and then act on it by making a plan and make sure you do what’s in that plan. Everything is possible we just need to let ourselves accept it. Thank you Session Mag for sharing your platform with me. I wish you guys to create more magic like you already have!

Follow along with Kristina Menissov at https://www.instagram.com/kristinamenissov
Special thanks to Maison Privee PR & PR Solo showrooms.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.