She received international recognition when she appeared as the first Russian model on the cover of the 2011 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.

Shayk was born in Yemanzhelinsk (Chelyabinsk Oblast region), Soviet Union, to a Volga Tatar father, Valery Shaykhlislamov (Şəyxelislamov, from Shaykh al-Islām[7]), a coal miner, and ethnic Russian mother, Olga, a kindergarten music teacher.

[11] In 2007, Shayk replaced Ana Beatriz Barros as the face of Intimissimi,[12] and in the same year debuted in the annual Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.

[15] Other work includes the Victoria's Secret catalog, Lacoste, Cesare Paciotti and Morellato.

[23] At the end of the year, she was pictured nude in the GQ Spain December issue; however, she claimed that she had not stripped for the photoshoot, and that the magazine had digitally altered the images to remove her lingerie.

[24] On Valentine's Day, in an episode of the Late Show with David Letterman, it was revealed via Billboard that Shayk was the covermodel for the 2011 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.

[26] Shayk became the face of swim label Luli Fama's 2011 advertising campaign and look book.

[33] In February 2013, she covered Vs. magazine with Anne V and the same month she did an editorial for CR Fashion book issue 2 photographed by Bruce Weber and styled by Carine Roitfeld.

[36] In 2016, she walked in the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show while 6 months pregnant[37] with baby girl Lea de Seine Shayk Cooper.

[41] Shayk made her acting debut as Megara alongside Dwayne Johnson in the 2014 film Hercules.

They started dating soon after and got engaged in 2011, when Ronaldo flew to New York on Valentine’s Day and proposed to her.