Aleksandra Melnichenko (; ; born 21 April 1977), also known as Sandra Meljničenko (), is a Serbian philanthropist and a former singer and model. She is married to the Russian billionaire entrepreneur Andrey Melnichenko.

Early life

Aleksandra "Sandra" Nikolić was born and grew up in

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

, the capital of former

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

, to a

Serbian Serbian may refer to: * Pertaining to Serbia in Southeast Europe; in particular **Serbs, a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans ** Serbian language ** Serbian culture **Demographics of Serbia, includes other ethnic groups within the co ...

father and a Croatian mother. Her father was an architectural engineer and her mother was an artist. Since the

breakup of Yugoslavia After a period of political and economic crisis in the 1980s, the constituent republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia split apart in the early 1990s. Unresolved issues from the breakup caused a series of inter-ethnic Yugoslav ...

, Aleksandra held both

and

Croatian citizenship The Croatian nationality law dates back from June 26, 1991, with amendments on May 8, 1992, October 28, 2011, and January 1, 2020, and an interpretation of the Constitutional Court in 1993. It is based upon the Constitution of Croatia (Chapter I ...

. Sandra was educated at the 11th Belgrade Gymnasium, before enrolling in the Faculty of International Management in Belgrade.

Career

At the age of 15, while still in high school and before enrolling into

Belgrade University The University of Belgrade () is a public research university in Belgrade, Serbia. It is the oldest and largest modern university in Serbia. Founded in 1808 as the Belgrade Higher School in revolutionary Serbia, by 1838 it merged with the Krag ...

's Faculty of Management, Aleksandra launched herself into a successful first career in fashion, winning international recognition as a model and, from 1996, regional fame as a member of the original cast of the

Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

' leading girl band Models. She returned to full-time modelling in 1998, working with leading international agencies while living in Europe's fashion capitals. Aleksandra Melnichenko has focused on philanthropy, mainly supporting children's education and the arts. Over time, the family's foundation and the companies the Melnichenko family invested in have donated nearly to charity.

Personal life

In 2003, in France, Aleksandra met entrepreneur and investor Andrey Melnichenko. The couple married two years after their first meeting, in September 2005, and started to spend an international life between different continents and countries. Aleksandra and Andrey have since welcomed a daughter (2012) and a son (2017). Aleksandra and Andrey Melnichenko own two superyachts designed by

Philippe Starck Philippe Starck (; born 18 January 1949) is a French industrial architect and designer known for his wide range of designs, including interior design, architecture, household objects, furniture, boats and other vehicles. His most popular pieces ...

Sailing Yacht A The sailing yacht ''A'' is a superyacht that was launched in 2017. The vessel is a sail-assisted motor yacht designed by Philippe Starck (exteriors and interiors) and built by Nobiskrug in Kiel, Germany for the Russian billionaire Andrey Meln ...

and Motor Yacht A, which reportedly cost $500 million and $350 million to build, respectively, and are considered to be "one of the most advanced superyachts on the water" with "environmentally-friendly innovations." In 2023, Serbian singer

Sara Jo Sara Jovanović ( sr-Cyrl, Сара Јовановић; ; born 29 October 1993), professionally known as Sara Jo, is a Serbian singer, songwriter, model and actress. Born in Rome, she came to prominence upon competing on ''Prvi glas Srbije (serie ...

collaborated with Serbian rapper

Mimi Mercedez Milena Janković ( sr-cyr, Милена Јанковић, born on 23 November 1992), better known as Mimi Mercedez ( sr-cyr, Мими Мерцедез) is a Serbian rapper, singer and songwriter. She is recognized as one of the pioneering and one ...

on a track called "Sandra Meljničenko", after Aleksandra. The track was included on Jo's debut album '' Bez kontrole'' that was released on 21 June of the same year.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Melnichenko, Aleksandra Russian billionaires Russian people of Serbian descent Russian people of Croatian descent Living people Serbian female models Serbian people of Croatian descent 1977 births Serbian emigrants to Russia Singers from Belgrade Models from Belgrade