æz ɐn ˈɑːɹt hˈɪstɚɹi stˈuːdənt æt ðə ɹˈʌʃən stˈeɪt jˌuːnɪvˈɜːsᵻɾi fɚðə hjuːmˈænᵻɾiz, pˌɪvəvɐɹˈoʊvə nˈɛvɚ dɹˈiːmd ʌv bᵻkˈʌmɪŋ ɐ mˈɑːdəl ʌntˈɪl hɜː fɹˈɛnd ænd fjˈuːtʃɚ hˈʌsbənd, fətˈɑːɡɹəfɚɹ ˈiːɡoːɹ vˈɪʃnɪˌækɑːv, tˈʊk fˈoʊɾoʊz ʌv hɜːɹ ɪn tˈuː θˈaʊzənd fˈaɪv ænd pɹɪzˈɛntᵻd ðˌɛm tə ðɪ ˌɪntɚnˈæʃənəl mˈɑːdəlɪŋ ˈeɪdʒənsi ˌaɪˌɛmdʒˈiː.
As an art history student at the Russian State University for the Humanities, Pivovarova never dreamed of becoming a model until her friend and future husband, photographer Igor Vishnyakov, took photos of her in 2005 and presented them to the international modeling agency IMG.