Faces of the week
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/magazine/6455585.stm Version 0 of 1. Our regular look at some of the names which have made the news this week. Above are IRINA ABRAMOVICH (main picture), with <a href="#anchor">ANDREW RIDGELEY,</a> <a href="#anchor">DUCHESS OF CORNWALL,</a> <a href="#anchor">SIR MARTIN SORRELL</a> and <a href="#anchor">DAVID CAMERON</a>. IRINA ABRAMOVICH When Irina Malandina met her future husband, Roman Abramovich, friends insisted she could do better. She was a pretty air stewardess flying international routes on Aeroflot and had the chance of meeting a rich western businessman. He was a small-time Russian entrepreneur, dabbling in this and that. But she ignored the advice, took her chances and married Roman Abramovich. Sixteen years later, the couple have just announced that they've divorced. In a short statement, a spokesman for the Chelsea boss said that the couple had reached agreement in Russia on a consensual basis. It added - importantly in these days of multi-million pound divorce settlements - that Mr Abramovich's business interests would not be affected. Irina will undoubtedly have been given a generous payout. Her former husband is one of the 20 richest people in the world, with an estimated wealth in the region of £11bn. In happier times with Roman at Stamford BridgeSome lawyers think she may have got a cool £1bn - around a tenth of his wealth. But they've also pointed out she could have got a great deal more if she'd divorced in Britain. London is now regarded by many as the divorce capital of the world, where judges have recently taken a much more generous view of the contribution a wife makes to her husband's business career. By settling in Russia, Irina has also saved her former husband a good deal in legal fees. And perhaps just as importantly, for a man who closely guards his privacy, her decision to go through the Russian courts has helped to minimise the publicity about his financial empire. The business-like and private way in which the 39-year-old Irina has ended her marriage may not be a surprise to those who know her well. Like him, she came from humble beginnings. Steely determination Irina's father died when she was very young and she was brought up by her mother, a waitress and got a coveted job with Aeroflot. One of her former colleagues, Larissa Kurbatova, describes her as very young looking but beautiful - with blonde hair and large blue eyes. She also claims that the young Irina was already showing a steely determination, telling her friends that if she had children they would not suffer from poverty. Mixing with high-flying executives in the first class lounge, she met Roman Abramovich, a young businessman. She began helping him in his work. Abramovich had already been married and his step-daughter from this first union recalls that the family were generally involved in his business dealings, at one time making dolls in the their cramped Moscow flat. Irina is said to have been awarded a 10th of her husband's fortuneIrina's friends thought Roman scruffy and unwashed, and suggested she should wait for something better. But in 1991, she announced they were getting married. Inevitably he was away a great deal and is said to have had traditional views about a wife's role, preferring Irina to stay at home to look after their five children, rather than rely on nannies and staff. However, in the early days of their life together she studied law and more recently enrolled in a fine art course at Moscow University. He is said to have had modest tastes but as he moved into oil trading and his wealth grew, they began spending. Private jets, helicopters and homes in numerous countries around the world have all been acquired. As well as properties in Russia, the couple owned a castle in Bavaria, a town house in London, an estate in Sussex, and a villa in the south of France which once belonged to the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. She is said to count the Harrods owner, Mohamed Fayed among her friends. As the wife of an immensely rich man, it's not surprising that she's photographed in the best shops and restaurants. Friends insist she is more than just a shopping trophy wife and has never sought the limelight. She's described as shy and charming. At one social event at the Kremlin a few years ago, she's reported to have looked uncomfortable because her husband wasn't there. It's a situation she'll have to get used to now - cynics would say that the millions will cushion the blow. <a name="anchor"></a> <HR> ANDREW RIDGELEY Andrew Ridgeley was lampooned for years as the talentless half of Wham! But living a quiet life with his girlfriend in Cornwall, he's avoided the sad decline we see in some former pop idols. Now it's rumoured that he's agreed to a reunion with George Michael at Wembley later this year. Several commentators have urged him not to do it - suggesting he could lose the peace of mind he's achieved and which has so clearly eluded his former partner in pop. DUCHESS OF CORNWALL The Duchess of Cornwall is obviously someone who likes her home comforts. Going into hospital for a hysterectomy recently, she apparently took her own mattress and sheets. Food is also said to have been delivered to her from Clarence House. If she'd been in an NHS hospital one might understand such eccentricities. But it seems she was staying at a famous private hospital, where the Queen and other members of the Royal Family have all been patients. <a class="bodl" href="/1/hi/uk/6433107.stm">Full story</a> SIR MARTIN SORRELL Hard-hitting phrases are what advertising is all about and one such phrase is at the centre of a libel case currently being heard in the High Court in London. Sir Martin Sorrell, the chief executive of the WPP agency, claims that two of his former colleagues circulated an e-mail in which they called him and a female executive "mad dwarf and nympho schizo". The men he's accused have denied the claims and are set to give evidence next week. DAVID CAMERON David Cameron has been accused of taking his party to the left - now he's apparently making similar changes on a very personal level. Having previously parted his hair on the right, the Conservative leader appeared in the Commons yesterday with it parted on the opposite side of his head. A party spokesman has insisted that the change has no political significance. He might also have added that at least Mr Cameron has some hair - unlike several of his predecessors. <a class="bodl" href="/1/hi/uk_politics/6453165.stm">Full story</a> Written by BBC News Profiles Unit's Helen Morgan-Wynne |