22 February 2009

Pavlína Pořízková, b 1965, Czechoslavakia





I'm reading: Pavlína Pořízková, b 1965, CzechoslavakiaTweet this! Posted by Katie Jane at 6:23 PM

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  1. Katie JaneFebruary 22, 2009 at 6:37 PM

    A photographer friend took pictures of Porizkova and sent them to the Elite modeling agency in 1980. At 5 feet 10 1/2 inches (180 cm), she was the perfect height for a fashion model. Elite head John Casablancas noticed Porizkova's attractiveness and potential, and offered her a ticket to Paris.

    She quickly rose to become a top model in Paris during the early 1980s, and her fame spread to the United States when she posed in swimwear for Sports Illustrated magazine. She appeared on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue in 1984 and again in 1985. (Her first appearance as a model in the magazine was in 1983.) A third consecutive run as the S.I. covergirl supposedly was dashed when she appeared on the cover of Life magazine in a swimsuit.

    Porizkova appeared on the cover of Playboy magazine in August 1987 to preview her new (non-nude) swimsuit calendar. A few years earlier she had appeared in a nude spread in GQ magazine, which had left her feeling dissatisfied. Both of her calendars in 1988 and 1989 by photographer Marco Glaviano sold hundreds of thousands of copies, setting a standard that paved the way for other models like Cindy Crawford and Frederique van der Wal for their own pictorial calendars.

    Porizkova was chosen twice by People magazine as one of the Fifty Most Beautiful People in the world, in 1990 and 1992. Harper's Bazaar magazine named her one of its ten most beautiful women in 1992. American Photo magazine in its first issue declared her to be the model of the 1980s.

    She featured in advertising for Diet Sprite.

    Porizkova was the cover model for the 20th Anniversary issue of Cosmopolitan magazine in November 1985.

    In 1988, Porizkova won what was then the highest-paying modeling contract: a six million dollar contract with Estée Lauder cosmetics, replacing the model Willow Bay. Estée Lauder's strategy in the late 1980s was to move away from an older generation of women and target younger urbanite professional women. The black-and-white television and print advertising campaign won praise from critics. The Estée Lauder makeover transformed Porizkova's public image from a swimsuit model to that of European sophisticate and she remained the company's face until 1995.

    On August 23, 1989, Porizkova married Ric Ocasek, lead singer for the rock band The Cars. They had first met in 1984 during the filming of The Cars' music video, "Drive", which was directed by Timothy Hutton. Porizkova was only 19 and Ocasek was already married at that time. Paulina became a naturalized U.S. citizen under the name Paulina Porizkova-Ocasek. The couple have two children, Jonathan Raven Ocasek, born on November 4, 1993, and Oliver Orion Ocasek, born in May 23, 1998.

    Porizkova was the subject of the song "Friends of P" by The Rentals on their 1995 album Return of the Rentals, written by lead singer Matt Sharp, also a former member of the Ocasek-produced Weezer and the song "Paulina" on No Doubt's first album.

    In early 2001, she was the hostess for a television show on the E! network's Style Channel. In 2005, she made her first appearance in the noted Victoria's Secret catalogue.

    Although she had an extraordinary career as a model, Porizkova was known to make disparaging remarks about the fashion and beauty industry, which was displeasing to some in the field. She is now part of the panel of judges on America's Next Top Model, starting on Cycle 10 replacing the fashion icon, Twiggy. She continues to conduct regular weekly evaluations of Top Model participants on the show.

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