Cosplay has long been formed into the official direction of geek culture, and models working in this style are attracting more and more attention not only to those who are also passionate about games, manga, films and comics. One of the brightest stars of Russian cosplay is Valeria Chimera, who can transform into anyone: the demonic sorceress from Blade and Soul, the beautiful Cirilla from The Witcher or the Black Orchid from Killer Instinct. Lera Himera, in addition to demonstrating various bright and recognizable images, works successfully in the modeling business, shoots for the site and the Suicide Girls magazine. Who would doubt that she has a steadily growing success on social networks, only on Instagram she has almost 130 thousand subscribers at the end of 2021.
Official data
- Nickname: Lera (Valeria) Chimera/Lera (Valery) Himera;
- Place of birth: Russian Federation;
- Date of birth: 1992, June 9;
- Zodiac sign: Gemini;
- Online occupation: cosplay model, nude model, blogger;
- Marital status, children: single, no children.
About her childhood and adolescence
“The quiet one, who loved to read books on mythology and about dragons, chimeras, loved biology and listened to Rammstein,” Lera Chimera confessed to herself on Instagram, talking about her childhood. Serious and smart beyond her years, Valeria was still fond of designers, played consoles, watched Robocop. And I looked in books at pictures of chimeras: so terrible in appearance and beautiful at the same time … Then Lera Himera will explain the choice of her nickname: “The chimera is a symbol of unpredictable metamorphoses and also the desire to achieve a crazy dream. Such a shocking and sonorous pseudonym is just for me.”
Lera Himera as a child
The girl learned early what a tragic loss is … Lera grew up without a dad from about ten years old, and her mother, judging by her stories, worked hard to ensure her daughter had a normal life. For example, Valeria mentioned that a woman saved money for the first computer for her daughter for a whole year. When she grew up, her passion for extreme online games and a passion for mythology led her to informal parties, and a desire to transform into bright, recognizable heroines gradually matured in her soul. All biographers like to mention the topic of informals in relation to Lera Chimera, but for some reason they forget to say that the girl went to study at a medical university: her passion for parties and the first steampunk photosets did not prevent her from taking education seriously.
First successes cosplay
It happened in 2014: then Lera Himera triumphantly declared itself at Starcon, the largest festival in Russia for lovers of science, fantasy and cinema. She appeared there in the guise of the main character of the computer game “Alice: Madness Returns”, and at first experienced an unpleasant shock: Alice, besides her, there were several more at the event! The girl quickly realized that the jokes about the “non-original” costume could be solved in an interesting way: she persuaded all the “Alices” to walk around the exhibition together. And now Lera Chimera is approached with requests to be photographed nearby, admired, asked what her name is. Success, what can I say!
Popularity in the cosplay community and social networks
Then Valeria Himera revealed the secret of her popularity, how she attracted attention in her first public appearance, and then only raised the bar. There is no secret, really. It is necessary, according to her:
- Choose a popular and recognizable character;
- Find a heroine with whom there is an external resemblance;
- The image should be non-standard and bright, attracting attention.
It cannot be said that all her relatives accepted the hobby, which grew into a serious occupation, positively. “The ambiguous attitude of some,” Lera Chimera said on this topic in an interview for the “mirf” resource in 2016, she then visited Comic Con Russia in Moscow. Even then, in the media, the nickname “Lera Himera” was respectfully mentioned as “a bright cosplay star and the owner of several prestigious awards.”
Well, it’s impossible, when talking about the awards, not to mention her most striking image, about which in 2016 everyone who is related to cosplay spoke with enthusiastic aspiration. This is still her favorite heroine – Jin Seo Yeon from the online game “Blade & soul”. “The master of mutants and the master of demonic arts, she sows death and destruction around her, and then disappears like a nightmare,” oh, how great is this description of the evil but beautiful Jin So Yeon in the reincarnation of Lera Chimera! For this work, Valeria received several prizes, including an award at one of the Comic Con and at the Navigator of the Game World competition.
Latest news
Lera Himera continues to combine performances at gaming exhibitions with work on the Internet . Work – because it is really hard work that requires a thoughtful creative attitude! Lera Himera also maintains a “Patreon” account, where especially temperamental fans are given the opportunity to admire the materials more boldly. Each of her new works, in the public domain, or for those who subscribed to Patreon, is an explosion of emotions and bright colors, whether it's Kitana from Mortal Kombat, or Ada from The Devil's Residence. And with simple, non-cosplay photos, she pleases subscribers, they are also very popular with fans and receive huge portions of likes. On the eve of the new year 2021, Lera Himera released a personalized “Erotic Calendar”, and it was such a success that a year later she decided to update the edition with fresh photos.
