VILLAMORE, Ayla M.

[ayla villamore]

AYLA MADISON VILLAMORE Ayla Madison Villamore (born 12/03/86) is an American artist, fashion photographer and supermodel. Initially known as Ayla Vanikain, the eldest daughter to socialite Thea Vanikain, Ayla has made tremendous strides in becoming one of the most sought after and multitalented players in the art and fashion world. With a natural talent and eye for creating elegance and charm, she has built a small empire in the upper class art scene, worked with top designers for runway shows and magazines, and has even been behind the camera and shot editorial spreads for the likes of Vogue, Elle and Harper's Bazaar, easily rivaling other fashion greats. She has been married to American Rapper Malcolm Villamore since 2011.

- "Athena Oliveras and Ayla V to unveil a television special based on their always envious sisterhood this summer?! We can't wait. (E! Online)"

- "@AshlanGorse: Have to say, @aylav funny comments about nip slips on the red carpet at the Grammys just made me love her more. And how hot was that gold and white grecian creation she wore by Zuhair Murad? #Unashamed #NailedIt #GrecianGoddess"

- "Ayla V vs. RiRi?"

your signature: Long locks, bright smile.
your coffee order: Skinny Vanilla Latte, with an extra shot.
your go-to magazine: French Vogue.
your favorite brand: Currently, a tie between Lanvin and Rick Owens.
your ultimate goal: To be a good mother & keep a career going.

I absolutely don't understand: The appeal of corduroy. Or Honey Boo Boo.
I've always looked up to: My mother, Banksy and Grace Coddington.
I'm most likely to feud with: Rihanna.
I'm starting to pay attention to: Big Rich Atlanta.
I've always wanted to hook up with: Ben Affleck.
I wonder what it's like to be: Renee Graziano.

"Be willing, be giving, but also be selfish. What do I mean by those words? I mean that to be in this business, you have to be clever and play your cards right. That's just how it is. Most of these people who work in fashion either won a genetic lottery or were talented enough to fight their way into it, no matter how difficult. We're hard asses here, there is no way around that either. Fashion, or just being in the spotlight in general, is not for the faint hearted. You are constantly judged for no apparent reason other than our societies inexplainable obsession with criticism and wanting to be someone we aren't, and it can be a really unfair place because of that. It's always nice to be admired though, but to have to be up in arms to defend yourself constantly over rumors can be annoying and plain tiring as well. You just have to play your cards right, like I said earlier. Pick and choose your battles, and always, always, fight for what you want. Everyone takes different paths in life, and sometimes getting to your goals will take you out of your way for a bit. But don't give up. If you really want something, cut out the bullshit and take it. But don't be ungrateful either. The people that help you probably had it just as difficult, or maybe they were just lucky, but regardless, being in the spotlight means you have to always be grateful for what you are given. I'm that way regardless, but sometimes it's hard for some people. And that's where they get the worse reputations and lose their jobs, and sometimes.. their lives. It's one thing to be a hard ass and respected, but it's another to be an asshole. This world can be utterly exhausting, but it can also be such a wonderful place too. You get to do so much, you get opportunities you may have never dreamed of, but it also comes with a huge price. If you are ready to trade in certain things in your life for another, such as privacy,  normalcy, for possible wealth or worldwide recognition, by all means, go for it. But don't you dare start complaining, or go so crazy you can never find a job again, because your concerns will just end up playing like a broken record like the rest of Hollywood's wash-ups. And no one will give two fucks."

what, if anything, keeps you grounded?

My husband, daughter, family and friends. That seems like such an overplayed and boring ass cliche answer, but when you are in this insane life, where it can be easy to make a fool of yourself for the world to see, or completely lose everything over a betrayal or ill mistake, family and true friends are always there to dust you off, sort you out and get you on your feet again. No matter how busy I am I always make time for everyone I love. You may not always be treated how you'd like but there should be nothing stopping you from portraying yourself how you'd like to be perceived regardless. Being self confident in my talents and focused on my goals has also been really helpful in keeping me on the right path.

would you rather relive your best moment or redo your worst mistake?

Neither! The past is the past, live for today and the future.

where's your escape from the city?

It's a secret. But you can bet it involves the ocean, my husband and no clothes.

what are you like when you're out of the spotlight?

I don't know? I feel like I act the same in the spotlight as I do out, I think. I'm not in the business to hide my personality, it's pointless.

how do you think your team would describe working with you?

They'd say i'm like a fucking dictator ~ Kidding. Or so I hope! I'm very particular, i'm aware, but I find that I can also be very laid-back as well, or i'd probably go insane most of the time. My team is basically my extended family, and I treat them so. Teasing, pranks, matchmaking and all included!

were there any deciding moments in your career?

When it came down to deciding whether I would quit fashion all together or simply work on my art career was a huge tangled mess. And to be honest, I thought I could cut out one or the other, but the longer I went without one, the more I missed it. I guess it's true what my mother used to say, "Once you get a taste of fashion, it's hard to let go." So, to simply put it, the deciding moment to pursue all my loves at the same time was probably the most messy, ridiculous yet perfect decision i've ever made.

any inside details on your latest project?

Clues: Nakedness, body paint, surrealism, sexiness.

father: Ezekiel Vanikain, 46.
mother: Thea Vanikain (nee Posen), 46.
siblings: Maya Vanikain, 24, & Zachary Vanikain, 22.
other: Malcolm Villamore, 27, Husband & Aria Villamore, 15 months, Daughter.

Martha Klein, 63, Grandmother.
Guy Laurent, 67, Grandfather.
Anton Posen, 64, Grandfather.
Zac Posen, 32, Uncle.
Nisa Posen, 7, Niece.

Sean Villamore, 30, Brother-in-Law.
Parker Reis, 23, Brother-in-Law.
Deanne Villamore, 27, Sister-in-Law.
Anthony Villamore, 7, Nephew.

Lola, Female, Mutt.
Cesar, Male, Shiba Inu.
Lily, Female, Brittany Spaniel.


I was born Ayla Madison Vanikain, the first child to Ezekiel and Thea Vanikain. My parents had me young, as I believe my mother was only 21 at the time. But regardless, my parents were ecstatic, and according to everyone I know, it made complete sense that they wanted a family early. They were just like that, you know? Mature souls. I was raised most of my life in Los Angeles, California, but spent a lot of my younger years being my mother's plus one across the globe, when she was a supermodel. My mother traveling a lot though drove a slight rift between my parents, and after I turned 3, my mother retired and opened up her own fashion boutique called Thea's which resides in the ever popular, Rodeo Drive. Till this day, it's an exclusive place for the wealthy and well-known to buy all their favor designer wear. As most people are aware though, most of my fame and fortune started off simply because I was Martha Klein's and Guy Laurent's granddaughter. My grandmother used to be a successful supermodel her self during the 70's, and she is part of a hotel dynasty. The Le Meurice, "Hotel for Kings," a 5 star hotel in Paris, France is owned by that side of my family, and has been around for centuries. In the past it has held kings, sultans and various eminent guests like Alfonso XIII of Spain, Salvador Dali, Elizabeth Taylor and Georgia de Chirico. Only the most exclusive people end up staying there you see, and for years people try and capture photos of the famous guests making their way inside and out. My grandmother often uses that as leverage to get what she wants in the world, and part of the reason I broke off contact with that side of the family two years ago. They are far too big headed, narrow-minded and bitter for my liking. Three years after I was born, my parents had my sister Maya and then two years later, had my younger brother Zach. I adore my siblings a great deal and we are very close as a family. But of course that doesn't mean we don't go with out fights and disagreements. I went a month or two without speaking to Maya after an incident in high school, and there were plenty of times when us siblings took things way too far. But at the end of the day our parents reminded us family is everything, and that's how we like to keep it. I'd do anything for them, and just glad they are aware of that.

Besides my siblings, I grew up with the Polshuks, Oliveras, and Layla Sinclair. Being in the spotlight constantly, it wasn't difficult for us to be known for the little troubles we caused as a group. Or really what I dragged some of them into, to be more honest. But all in good fun, and i'm only happy we still have a strong bond even after all these years. Except for Layla and I, but that story of our fallout is completely something that doesn't need to be spoken of ever again. So it won't be. Despite the two year age gap between Athena and I, we became like sisters from the start. And what sister isn't pissed when you start dating her twin brother? Clearly only the best. I dated Sebastian Oliveras for a while in my teens, and my mother and his father, who were oddly and might I add, disturbingly so, lovers for a while back when they were in their teens, still to this day tease us that they first thought we were going to be complete copies of them. That idea went out the window though when we amicably ended our relationship when I went off the college at Columbia University. At Columbia I graduated with a double degree in Media Communications and Art. But I was a complete failure in putting that too good use, for I was far more interested in modeling, which I had been doing since I was 14, and also, being a troubling little minx, as Sebastian would put it. In short, I was a crazy thing, even after college, and was so hopelessly romantic, that I ended up moving to London with my then boyfriend Ross Aberle, a British musician. I have to say, my time in London was one of my darker periods of my past, and just thinking of it still bothers me. I had some drug habits and other things went terribly wrong as well, as I played the groupie to my boyfriend's band, Margie's Dead. When I became pregnant by Ross, I was terrified, simply because Ross was a raging alcoholic and I normally was his punching bag. But I stayed because as I said before, I was naive and hopelessly in love with the asshole. It was only when I lost my child.. I left him. But not before going on a grief stricken rampage.

When I moved back to Los Angeles, having been gone a good two years with hardly any contact with my family and friends, it was hard to pick up where I left off. But after some making up and getting my life back on track, I started to focus on modeling, but also pursued my artistic love with a blog showcasing my art work, and then a few months later I met Malcolm Villamore, a Minnesota born DJ. I still to this day tease him about his pick up line in the bar I met him at, even though secretly, I was already intrigued by his charming insistence then. I was in no way shape of form ready to have another relationship, and he clearly wasn't either, so our casual sleeping together made sense. It only got complicated when we did start to develop real feelings and our prejudices got the better of us sometimes. We cheated, we lied, we fought, we hurt.. but after all those months, we finally were able to admit to each other that there really wasn't any reason we shouldn't be together. Love is a crazy thing, but I don't regret a single second of what we went through. Because in the end, it made our own relationship stronger and us better people. After a year of dating, and then moving in together, things got plenty serious and crazy for us. We started traveling quite a bit, planning our future together and our careers only got more complex as we tried to take on more than we could chew. When one failed at something, we stopped, picked ourselves up and started again, because we knew that no matter what, we were going to try and have it all. When Malcolm's rapping career finally hit it off, I couldn't have been more happy for him. After everything that he had to endure in his life, I never thought there was anyone more deserving for that success. My own art career had gained a significant boost by then, and I just finished opening my second gallery in Paris. I also started holding auctions with exclusive clientele, and i've never looked back. It's grown so much now that I even opened my first real auction house in New York, which I hope one day will begin to rival Sotheby's.

As for my modeling career, I took it all in stride. Once I decided I couldn't completely give it up like I was previously determined to do, I decided to see where it could take me all over again. For those that do know me, knew that photography had always been a love as mine, and was part of my artistic expression, just as painting was. And after years of building my reputation for it, I was given a change to do an editorial for harper's bazaar in the spring of 2010. When April rolled around and my issue came out, I was in complete awe. I had always had the opportunity to grace a cover, or be in an editorial, but never had I been able to successfully produce my own creation for magazines I adored since I was a child. It was truly a high point in my life, and I am forever grateful for that opportunity and what followed. I spent the next few months doing back to back work with my photography, producing editorial spreads and also learning from the already great fashion photographers out there. It was a mixture of learning and producing perfection, and it was an exhausting experience but worth it in the end. When the holidays rolled around, Malcolm and I took a well needed break and spent all our time with family and friends. We also celebrated our birthdays, which are only a few weeks apart, in style as always, before Malcolm surprised me with a well needed vacation to our favorite spot in Lisbon, Portugal in early 2011. We had gone there months before, and completely fell in love with the culture. Coming back was even better.

When Malcolm proposed the second night we were there, he caught me completely off guard. And I know that's typically how it should go, but you don't understand. I am a nuisance when I am suspicious, and I absolutely love to play detective and try and completely ruin my surprises. I'm an idiot that way! So when he cleverly hide it from me all that time, and got down on that one knee... I literally lost it. I bawled like a baby, and added myself to the long list of sappy romance females who always do the same. Still to this day I ask him if I freaked him out with all the crying, but he always tells me he knew I was happy, and that me creating an ocean on his shirt was no big deal at all. Such a sweet guy, right? We were engaged for a good 7 months before we walked down the aisle in Portugal, the exact location i'd rather leave nameless, simply because it's one of our favorite secret getaways and i'd like to keep it as just that, secret. But I can tell you that it was absolutely everything I imagined and more. The weather was perfect in July, the crystal clear blue waters and beach was a picturesque background to our big day. I felt as if I was in one of Claude Monet's paintings, it was completely surreal. I might have cried a little during the vows, but I can assure you I bucked up and held it together because what bride wants to have runny eye makeup during her wedding? The possibility of runny eye makeup was the least of my worries beforehand though. At my last fitting before the wedding, I literally couldn't zip up my gown! I was a pathetic mess, all hyperventilating and getting all in the fetal position on the ground, my mother, sister, Athena and Elsie having absolutely no clue whether to laugh or comfort me in my crazy moment of distress. And then I deemed this a state of emergency, and I went on a crash liquid diet until Malcolm told me I was being ridiculous. Men don't get it though, who wants to be fat on their wedding day?! And it was Zuhair Murad. He made it specifically for me, the sweet man. I couldn't let him down! But you see, what I didn't understand then, when I married Malcolm, I was barely 3 months pregnant. Considering all the fooling around we were notoriously known to do, multiple times a day I might add.. I shouldn't have been a bit surprised, but boy was I. We both were. But don't mistake surprised with freaked and angry, we were the complete opposite. Ever since losing my first child at the hands of my ex-fiance nearly five years ago, i've wanted to feel that happiness again, to carry a child of my own. So being pregnant just added even more excitement to our lives that day.

Being pregnant with Aria was.. an adventure, let me tell you. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't a bad pregnancy, but i'm a stubborn girl and just add that to mood swings and just.. poor Malcolm. Poor everyone who dealt with me! When my water broke I was literally out to kill everyone, flinging paperwork off desks in the hospital, pushing carts that got in my way while I was in the wheelchair, screaming at people, it was like a scene out of Baby Mama, except you know, without the comedy. I was in labor for so long, I can't even tell you the exact amount of time. But it was long and felt like years. But all that pain and frustration went away when I got to hold little Aria in my arms for the first time. She was perfection. I still keep a photo in my wallet of Malcolm first holding her though.. probably the cutest photo i've ever seen. Having a child isn't an easy job, but I think Malcolm and I got it easy, as Aria most of the time slept pretty well and in general, wasn't a huge hassle. But even when times got a little tough, with both of us working, trying to continue our dream careers and care for her, just hearing her laugh, smile, and seeing those green eyes light up, was enough to remind us that it was all and always worth it.

Now, i'm spending time just doing what I love and reveling in the challenges and fun it always brings. And i'm showing that world to my daughter, one bit at a time. Bringing her to work with me sometimes is probably one of my favorite parts of the day, as she reminds me of me a little sometimes when ahe gets into everything she can find, and constantly makes a statement and causing everyone to laugh as she puts on a show. Even though i'm constantly coast to coast with my work, I always know that being a wife and mother comes first. And who honestly could be away from Malcolm for too long? I'm still crazy in love with that guy, and happily brag that my husband is the hottest thing alive, most likely to the annoyance of my crew. Or amusement, especially when I leave my phone lying around and they read our naughty messages aloud to tease me. We always find time for us, and though it can be a constant struggle to balance sometimes, I know that's just how life is, a challenge. And I love it. I wouldn't trade my life right now for anything else in the world.

alias: Eliza
age: 22
play-by: Cameron Russell
spotlight group: Red Carpet
city: Coast to Coast
listening to: Rescue Me From the Dance Floor, Flo Rida & M.iam.i

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