Ksenia Anatolyevna Sobchak (, BGN/PCGN: Kseniya Anatol'yevna Sobchak, GOST: Ksenija Anatolevna Sobčak, ; born 5 November 1981) is a Russian public figure, TV anchor, journalist, socialite and actress. She is the younger daughter of the first democratically elected mayor of Saint Petersburg, Anatoly Sobchak, and the Russian senator Lyudmila Narusova. Sobchak became known to the wider public as the host of the reality show Dom-2, which aired on the Russian channel TNT. Later she became an anchor at independent television channel TV Rain. As of January 2023, she hosts the television show Dok-Tok with Alexander Gordon.
Sobchak was the Civic Initiative's candidate for the 2018 Russian presidential election.
Early life and education
Sobchak is the second daughter of the first democratically elected mayor of Saint Petersburg Anatoly Sobchak and Lyudmila Narusova, a Russian politician. Sobchak has described herself as being of part Jewish heritage. Sobchak also revealed that she and her family experienced anti-Semitism.
As a child, Sobchak attended the ballet school attached to the Mariinsky Theatre. She also attended the Hermitage Museum art school. In 1998, Sobchak left the school attached to Herzen University, and enrolled at the Saint Petersburg State University (Department of International Relations). In 2001, Sobchak moved to Moscow and enrolled in the International Relations program at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations.
Entertainment career
Television
Sobchak became famous in 2004, as a host of the reality show Dom-2. She left the show in 2012, because the show's lowbrow orientation became incongruent with her political activism.
From 2008 to 2010, Sobchak was a host of the reality shows Who does NOT want to be a millionaire?, Last Hero-6, and Sweet life of a blonde, Muz-TV Awards, and Two stars.
In 2010, Sobchak became a host of the TV program Freedom of Thought on the state-run Channel 5. She soon left the program, since, according to her, it turned into a never-ending discussion of public utilities maintenance.
Since 2011, Sobchak has hosted the program Sobchak Live on the independent channel TV Rain and Top Model po-russki on Muz-TV.
In 2012, she appeared in the television series Brief Guide To A Happy Life.
On 7 September 2012, MTV Russia launched a talk-show GosDep (State Department) with Ksenia Sobchak. The show aimed to cover hot social and political issues. The first episode of the show, titled "Where is Putin leading us?" featured interviews with the head of Left Front Sergei Udaltsov, member of "Solidarnost" (Solidarity) movement Ilya Yashin, and eco-activist Yevgeniya Chirikova. The show was cancelled after one episode. The second episode would have included an interview with anti-corruption blogger Alexei Navalny. MTV Russia representatives said the show was cancelled because of the lack of interest in politics among the channel's audience.
As of January 2023, she hosts the television show Dok-Tok with Alexander Gordon.
Film
Sobchak acted in the comedies Hitler Goes Kaput!, Rzhevsky Versus Napoleon, The Best Movie and Entropiya. Sobchak also acted in the film Thieves and Prostitutes.
Music
In 2007, Sobchak recorded the song 'Dance with me (Потанцуй со мной)' with Russian rapper Timati, as well as a music video. Russian media at the time attributed a relationship between Sobchak and Timati.
Sobchak had earlier posed for the cover of the British band Pulp's This Is Hardcore album. Released in 1998, the album's artwork was produced by the artist John Currin. Asked about the cover, Sobchak said "The shoot was fun. Jarvis is very nice, very shy."
Annual income
According to Forbes Magazine, in 2021 Sobchak was the 7th highest paid celebrity in Russia. She has been ranked as high as #4 (2010) and as low as #15 (2016) of Russian celebrities. Her income in 2017 was around US$2.1 million. The main source of this annual revenue is from advertising contracts.
Euroset
It was reported that Sobchak sold her ownership stake in Euroset for $2.3 million in December 2012.
Other
Around the time of her interview of Valērijs Kargins in Riga, she and Oksana Robski () released the perfume Married to a Millionaire ().
On 28 December 2008, Sobchak was on an Aeroflot flight from Moscow to New York City when she and other passengers determined that the pilot was drunk prior to take-off. Sobchak phoned Aeroflot who replaced the flight deck crew.