Age: 33
female
Valeria Smirnova (born 4 November 1992), known professionally as Lera Abova, is a Russian and German model and actress. She works under more than one modelling agency, including Select Model Management, Oui Management, and Fabbrica Milano Management. In the Pitch Perfect spin-off, Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin, she played as Thea. She is cast as Nico Robin for Netflix's adaptation of One Piece. Abova was born 4 November 1992, and grew up in the village of Slavgorod in Siberia. According to her the village is “so small they don’t have it on the map”. When she was 13, she moved to Germany. She didn't speak German, so she used an electronic translator to communicate. She struggled to connect with her schoolmates due to the language barrier and her being from a different background. She liked to wear a pink Pokémon T-shirt and had “crazy, long hair.” After learning German, she made many friends. She dropped out of school before her final exams when she was either 18 or 19. In 2016, she was noticed by David Sims who started her career as a fashion model. Soon other fashion photographers signed her, including Colin Dodgson and Mariano Vivanco, as well as Vogue stylists from many countries around the world. In the first two years of her career, she participated in many advertising campaigns. In 2017, Luc Besson cast her in the role of Maude in his film Anna, alongside Sasha Luss.
“1940. As England prepares to fight the Nazis, three very different women answer the call to mysterious country estate Bletchley Park, where the best minds in Britain train to break German military codes. Vivacious debutante Osla is the girl who has everything—beauty, wealth, and the dashing Prince Philip of Greece sending her roses—but she burns to prove herself as more than a society girl, and puts her fluent German to use as a translator of decoded enemy secrets. Imperious self-made Mab, product of east-end London poverty, works the legendary codebreaking machines as she conceals old wounds and looks for a socially advantageous husband. Both Osla and Mab are quick to see the potential in local village spinster Beth, whose shyness conceals a brilliant facility with puzzles, and soon Beth spreads her wings as one of the Park’s few female cryptanalysts. But war, loss, and the impossible pressure of secrecy will tear the three apart.”
