Erika Herceg
Erika Mykolayivna Herceg (; ; born 5 July 1988) is a Ukrainian singer and model. She was formerly a member of the Ukrainian girl group Nu Virgos from 2013 until 2020, and has since begun a career as a solo artist. Early life. Herceg was born on 5 July 1988 in Mala Dobron, a small village in Zakarpattia Oblast primarily populated by Ukraine's Hungarian minority. Herceg is of Hungarian origin, being born to a Hungarian father and a Ukrainian mother of half-Hungarian origin. In her early life, Herceg attended a school in the town of Záhony in Hungary , not far from the Hungary–Ukraine border, but as border crossings became more difficult between the two countries, Herceg transferred to a school in her village. As a teenager, Herceg studied at the Church Reformed Lyceum in nearby Velyka Dobron, where she sang in Hungarian in the church choir and won several regional competitions. In 2006, Herceg was admitted to study in the Department of Economics and Management at the Ferenc Rakoczi II Transcarpathian Hungarian Institute in Berehove. While a university student, Herceg also worked as a waitress and call centre operator, before graduating with her degree in 2009. After  graduating, Herceg found work as a professional model. In 2011, she moved from Western Ukraine to Kyiv, and began working as a lingerie model. In 2012, she appeared in the November issue of the Ukrainian version of "Playboy". Music career. 2013–2020: Nu Virgos. In 2013, Herceg took part in the show "Khochu v Via Gru", which she ultimately won along with Anastasia Kozhevnikova and Misha Romanova. As part of their winning prize, the three were announced as the new lineup of the Ukrainian girl group Nu Virgos. After seven years with the group, Herceg announced her plans to depart in  order to begin a solo career in May 2020, and ultimately left the group that December. 2020–present: Solo career. In September 2020, Herceg relocated from Kyiv to Almaty in Kazakhstan. She later teased snippets of upcoming solo music the following month, before releasing her debut solo single "Imitatsiya" in November. Her second solo single "Tolko dlya tebya" was released later that month. After taking a year-long break from music, Herceg returned to the spotlight with the single "Otpusti" in December 2021.