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World explorer, artist, and author, Elena Levon grew up in Moscow, USSR, in a multi-ethnic family.
Her path has taken her from private circles at the highest levels of global culture and leadership to some of the world’s most remote and demanding environments: documenting Yanomami funerary rituals in the Amazon, living in the Darien Gap, interviewing rebels in Mali, traversing the Sahara, surviving Category 5 Cyclone Winston in Fiji, and crossing Atlantic Ocean as a novice sailor. From red malaria zones to red carpets - and pirate waters.
Elena Levon is multidisciplinary artist whom photographer Robert Farber has described as a modern-day Renaissance woman. She is the author of Naked Poetry - endorsed by Lionel Richie and shaped through collaborations with internationally recognized artists - her work reflects more than two decades of travel across six continents and over 100 countries.
Elena Levon's childhood unfolded during the final years of the Soviet era - a time marked by profound societal change, uncertainty, and economic instability. She was fortunate to be raised in a family where respect for different cultures and traditions was paramount, regardless of skin color, background, or religion. Her mother, Tatjana Melnikova, a professor and teacher of higher geometry, demonstrated through her own example that no matter how little you have, you should always share with those who have even less.
In 2002, her father Eduard Leonovich Ayrapetov - world-renowned scientist, author of numerous books and formulas, recipient of several international honors, awards and medals from Russian presidents, passed away after an extended battle with cancer. Elena had just turned 18. In May of 2023 Elena sang her last lullaby to her beautiful mother, who bravely fought in her own unforgiving "cancer war" for several years. At the age of 19, Elena Levon immigrated alone to the United States, building a new life independently. After nearly a decade of work and determination, she became a dual citizen, opening the path to a life of global exploration and discovery. Elena has spent decades pursuing experiences far beyond the ordinary. From living in the Darién Gap jungle and exploring the Amazon rain forest barefoot to living with desert nomads in the Mauritanian Sahara, surviving on an abandoned island in the Philippines, and celebrating with remote tribes in Papua New Guinea, her journey has taken her into some of the world's most isolated environments. Her travels have moved between two very different worlds - from Oscars and Golden Globes events, exclusive charity galas, film premieres, and private gatherings at The Chateau Marmont to navigating Africa and South America solo by public transport, without guides or security.
Along the way, she has witnessed ancient Voodoo ceremonies in West Africa and South America, documented funeral traditions of Yanomami tribe, danced with mummies in Madagascar and Indonesia, participated in rare tribal rituals, and received ceremonial amulets - including jaguar claw and bone necklaces - gifted by tribal shamans as symbols of protection. She has also stood before thousands of years of humanity's earliest expressions, witnessing ancient cave paintings and engravings left by our ancestors across different continents. Through these encounters, Elena has witnessed the traditions and strength of diverse cultures and communities around the world. She has shared life with Indigenous tribes across the Amazon, Africa, Asia, and Oceania, sailed an eighteen-ton ketch across the Atlantic Ocean with no previous sailing experience, come face to face with silver-back gorillas, and experienced a rare close encounter with a wild leopard in the African wilderness.
Elena has made it a priority to support the communities she visits. Her humanitarian efforts include providing medical and food supplies, clothing, and other essential aid to impoverished regions. Elena Levon ensures that every place she visits receives support directly from her. She supports local communities as gratitude for incredible hospitality and trust shown to her. In 2016, during Category 5 Cyclone Winston in Fiji, Elena stayed behind when others, including American Peace Corps, evacuated. She was determined not to leave the local population behind and, despite the danger, helped rescue an injured infant and mother by securing a boat to take them to safety. Elena's commitment to standing with locals in times of crisis exemplifies her philosophy that no life is more important than another.
Elena Levon has navigated war zones, risked filming and sharing documentaries, which provided a much-needed voice to thousands of local people and helped tell their side of the story without censorship. She survived natural disasters and faced personal life tragedies, including the death of her parents and her own personal health hell - which almost cut life short in her twenties. She has survived dangerous situations in remote regions, including standing before a loaded rifle near Timbuktu and talking her way out of the encounter. From sharing dinners with presidents and royalty to sleeping on the ground in village homes, Elena Levon's life has been defined by curiosity, courage, and a deep connection to the people, cultures, and landscapes she has encountered around the world. In 2023, with no prior sailing experience, Elena Levon purchased the 47-foot sailing yacht Rebels and began offshore sailing expeditions that have since taken her more than 10,000 nautical miles across the Atlantic Ocean. Based on available public records and documented sailing routes, in 2026 Elena Levon became the first woman to sail and anchor a private yacht in Liberia (West Africa) and the first woman to co-captain a private, non-commercial sailing yacht in a rare double-handed crossing of the central Gulf of Guinea, one of the least-traveled and most dangerous maritime regions in the world.
Today, Elena Levon is transforming those experiences into books, reported features, personal essays, photography, films, and humanitarian work, including fund-raising for the Edina Birthing Center in Liberia.
