£1m birthday wife who's a match for J-Lo

11 April 2012
The Weekender

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This is the stunning Serbian model who inspired a Russian billionaire to pay £1million for a private concert by Jennifer Lopez.

Miss Lopez sang at a lavish 30th birthday party staged for Aleksandra Melnichenko by her wealthy - and clearly devoted - husband, Andrei.

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Mr Melnichenko, 35, who became one of the world's youngest billionaires by founding Moscow's MDM bank, flew the American star by helicopter to his 27-acre estate in Ascot to perform a 40-minute set.

The 60 guests, including Russian and Serbian tycoons, were entertained by cabaret acts and circus performers as they dined in a specially-constructed nightclub under a marquee before Miss Lopez performed a selection of her hits, including If You Had My Love and Jenny From The Block.

Aleksandra, who married Mr Melnichenko two years ago, once had a pop career of her own: at 17 she became a founder member of an all-girl Yugoslavian pop group called Models.

Aleksandra, who bears something of a resemblance to Miss Lopez and speaks five languages, has been modelling since she was 15.

The concert was the latest in a line of performances by pop stars for billionaires in recent months, including George Michael, who received £1.7million for singing at a New Year's Eve party thrown by Vladimir Potanin in Moscow and £750,000 for performing at Topshop boss Philip Green's 55th birthday party in the Maldives in March.

Mr Melnichenko is used to picking up the phone to hire A-listers to impress his wife: he paid £2million for Christina Aguilera to perform at their wedding.

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