15 February 2009

Karolína Kurková, b 1984, Czech Republic










1 comment:

  1. Karolína Kurková was born in Děčín, Czechoslovakia, to Josef Kurka, a Czech basketball player, and a Slovak mother.

    While Kurková was young, she was made fun of for her height. But after a friend sent photos of Kurková to an agency in Prague, she - at 15 - landed a runway appearance, as well as a commercial and print ad. She later traveled to Milan to gain more experience and signed a modeling contract with Miuccia Prada.

    In September 1999, Kurková appeared in the American edition of fashion and lifestyle magazine Vogue, and after moving to New York City at the age of 17, graced the cover of the February 2001 edition, becoming one of the youngest models ever to appear on the magazine's cover.

    Kurková was named "Model of the Year" at the 2002 VH1/Vogue Fashion Awards, in part for her work ethic, having worked twenty-three weeks straight.

    After being contracted as a Victoria's Secret Angel in 2005, she was featured in the 2006 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, showcasing the $6.5 million fantasy bra decked with almost 2000 diamonds weighing 800 carats and a centerpiece diamond brooch weighing 10 carats. She is the only Angel besides Heidi Klum to model the fantasy bra twice. As an Angel, she received a star on the Hollywood "Walk of Fame" prior to the 2007 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, appeared on the February 2008 cover of Esquire, re-creating the classic 1966 Angie Dickinson cover for the magazine's 75th anniversary, and was chosen as part of People magazine's 100 most beautiful people in the world.

    In December 2007, she could be seen in print ads for Dell.

    In the last Cía Marítima fashion show, Kurková's unexpectedly heavier physique brought criticism from the Brazilian press as having "too much back fat, love handles and cellulite".

    Kurková is among the world's top-earning models, having earned an estimated $5 million in the year 2007. She was placed 6th in the Forbes annual list of the highest earning models.

    Kurková has no navel, and photographs are often altered by the addition of an image of a navel to hide this.

    Kurková is set to make her film debut alongside Frankie Muniz, Harvey Keitel, and Amber Valletta in Howard Himelstein's coming-of-age dramedy, My Sexiest Year. She has also been cast as Courtney A. Kreiger / Cover Girl in the live action G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra to be released in 2009.

    She appeared on the 2008 Academy of Country Music Awards along with Dwight Yoakum in presenting the "Top Female Vocalist" award to Carrie Underwood.

    In March 2006, Kurková received an award from the non-profit organization, Women Together, for her humanitarian work. Kurková was honored for working for the welfare of children through organizations such as "The Beautiful Life Fund", "Free Arts" and "Global Youth Action Network". Karolina Kurkova Received the Atmosphere Magazine Award at the Madrid Planet Hollywood on December 18, 2003.

    Mario Testino said of Kurková, "The proportions of her body and her face, as well as her energy level, make her a model who could fit almost into any moment." Designer Marc Jacobs said, "She has an angelic look with a dark side, she's sweet and fun but looks like she could be an evil bewitching child." Vogue editor Anna Wintour called her the "next supermodel".

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