Quick Facts
Biography
Viktoria Modesta (born on 25 February 1987 as Viktorija Moskaļova in Daugavpils, Latvia) is a Latvian-born English singer-songwriter performance artist and model.
Early life
Modesta was born in Daugavpils in 1987 where she learned singing aged six at a local music school. Moskaļova moved with her family from Latvia to the United Kingdom when she was 12 years old. Due to a doctor's negligence at her birth, Moskalova spent most of her childhood in and out of hospitals. This accident led to a lasting problem with her left leg. In 2007, she had a voluntary below-the-knee leg amputation to improve her mobility and safeguard her future health. Her physicality has become known for challenging the modern perception of altered beauty.
Career
Modeling
Moskalova began modeling at the age of fifteen. She has appeared on subculture magazine covers such as Bizarre and Skin Two.
On 10 January 2015 Viktoria signed with IMG Models worldwide.
Music
Moskalova attended a performance art school from the age of 6 in Daugavpils, Latvia studying piano, vocal performance and sheet music. In 2009, she launched her first musical writing collaborative project with musician/producer Nik Hodges. Their first written track "Jane Bond" was featured in Music Week Playlist. In May 2010, Moskalova was selected as one of the six best unsigned artists in the UK by Evo Music Rooms presented by Edith Bowman. The show was broadcast on Channel 4.
On 19 March 2010 Moskalova released her first EP titled EP1.
On 28 May 2012 Moskalova put out a digital, independent release of her debut single "Only You". which was featured by iD, Wonderland and Notion magazines.
On 12 December 2014 Launched a collaboration with Channel 4 for the campaign Born Riskypresenting her as worlds first Bionic Pop Artist supported by a track "Prototype"released on Spotify for streaming. The video for the campaign video was directed by Saam Farahmand. The video had received global attention with over 6million views on YouTube and over 16 million on Channel 4 Facebook. The story was publicised worldwide throughout news networks publications such as i-D Magazine, Upworthy, Forbes and Elle Magazine USA. Prototype video has received a Silver Lion Award at Cannes Film Festival
MIT Media Lab
Moskalova has joined the MIT Media Lab as a Director's Fellow.
2012 Summer Paralympics closing ceremony
Moskalova performed as the 'Snow Queen' to a live performance of "42" by Coldplay at the 2012 Summer Paralympics closing ceremony in London directed by Kim Gavin in a 'Winter' section together with 6 warrior skaters from Dancing On Ice. Her performance wearing a Swarovski crystal-covered prosthetic leg was written about in The Times, Grazia and Look magazines.