Nelli was born in Saint-Petersburg, Russia to Korean father and Jewish mother with Eastern European background. Through childhood she was trained in ballet, piano and singing. At the age of 11 she spent a year in Chicago studying English, right after she moved back to her hometown she was cast as a lead in the TV-Series for adolescents "OBZH" that worked on for 4 seasons. At 17, Nelli pursued her acting career in Moscow, while studying in a Theatrical Institute she appeared in several TV productions and expressed her feelings to the capital in the Film "Moscow, I love you!". In 2009, she moved to Paris to study theatre and acting at the "L'école Claude Mathieu" school, where she learned French, playing Moliere, Racine and Claudel. Nelli discovered France touring with a play about Moliere's life "Babel Molière", received a best actress award for a French film "The Salt of Earth" and started to dance Argentine Tango. Nelli currently resides in Los Angeles for new adventures where she is pursuing Film and Television. She is represented at Endorse Management Group.