08 January 2010

Czech Top-Model: Petra Nemcova


Petra Nemcova

Born 1979
Karvina, Czechoslovakia
-Model, Actress, Author-



Petra Nemcova (pron. Nyem-tso-vah) started modelling at the age of 16, after being spotted in a national talent competition in Prague. She then dabbled in French film, but her career was really launched worldwide when she appeared to roaring approval in Sports Illustrated's famed annual Swimsuit Edition. 


Petra is among the most popular of Victoria's Secret models, and continues to enjoy a successful and enduring career in a fickle profession. But life has not been all a bed of roses for her- Sadly, in 2004 Nemcova and her fiancé at the time -British photographer Simon Atlee- were staying at the Khao Lak resort in Thailand when the deadliest tsunami in history rocked the coastal region. 


Atlee did not survive; however, Nemcova, suffering a broken pelvis and serious internal injuries, clung naked to the top of a palm tree for eight hours until Thai civilians rescued the model and airlifted her to an inland hospital. Soon after leaving a hospital in her native Czech Republic, she appeared with Diane Sawyer on ABC's Primetime Live to give her first interview since the tsunami. 


Petra Nemcova continues to tell her story, and has even written an autobiography, which interestingly describes her experiences growing-up under Soviet-dominated communism in the what was then Czechoslovakia. Turns-out this stunning beauty is also a pretty brave gal, and has been extremely forthcoming regarding the tragedy that she endured, as well as other personal challenges in her life...