Later that same year she went to Moscow to the audition for Vozvrashchenie Khodzhi Nasreddina (Russian: Возвращение Ходжи Насреддина)[2] movie, and filming afterwards.
She succeeded in getting an appointment with Karl Lagerfeld, that allowed her to join in his fashion show and the world of haute couture.
In 1994, Pantaeva moved to New York City to further her career, and later appeared in Mortal Kombat Annihilation, as Jade, As Far as My Feet Will Carry Me and bit parts in Celebrity, Zoolander and People I Know, in addition to filming a guest appearance on 3rd Rock from the Sun.
Pantaeva walked runways for designers and fashion houses, such as: Christian Dior, Versace, Alexander McQueen, Thierry Mugler, Issey Miyake, John Galliano, Yves Saint Laurent, Anna Sui, Chloé, Kenzo, appeared in fashion campaigns for Calvin Klein, GAP, Kenzo, Missoni, Levi's Jeans, and was presented on covers of the fashion magazines: Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Elle, etc.
In 1998, she was a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model and wrote her autobiography Siberian Dream: A Memoir, which was published by Avon/Bard.