Karolina Kurkova Biography

Also known as Karolína Isela Kurková

Born: on born February 28, 1984

Job Titles: Actor, Singer, Dancer, Clerical worker in a bank

Karolína Kurková was born in Decín, Czechoslovakia (Now Czech Republic) , to Josef Kurka, a Czech basketball player, and a Slovak mother. After a friend sent photos of Kurková to an agency in Prague, she immediately landed a runway appearance, as well as a commercial and print ad. She was 15 at the time. She later traveled to Milan to gain more experience. There, Miuccia Prada, the designer behind the brand Prada, signed her to a modeling contract.Daughter of a Czech basketball star, Karolina Kurkova inherited her father's figure and height. While Karolina was young she was made fun of for her height but that, along with her beauty, is what would help her succeed so much as a model. In September 1999, the hard-working 15-year-old model landed a modeling job with fashion and lifestyle magazine Vogue, in New York. Moving to the Big Apple, Kurková, at the tender age of 17, received America's recognition when she graced the cover of the February 2001 edition of Vogue, becoming one of the youngest models ever to appear on the magazine's cover.

Karolína Kurková is a Czech model, best known as one of the Victoria's Secret Angels. 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".

Following her Vogue cover, Kurková became recognized at haute couture fashion shows, and lingerie brand Victoria's Secret chose her to be a part of that year's televised fashion show special. Prominent fashion houses such as Yves Saint Laurent signed Kurková to modeling contracts, while print campaigns for Tommy Hilfiger, Valentino, and others helped expose her even more. In the 2002 Victoria's Secret fashion show she modeled the multi-million dollar bra worth almost $10 million, embellished with rubies and emeralds, which was designed by Hearts on Fire. Dubbed "the next supermodel" by Vogue editor Anna Wintour, Kurková was named "Model of the Year" at the 2002 VH1/Vogue Fashion Awards for her noticed hard work ethics when she worked twenty-three weeks straight. Kurková later signed contracts with designers including Ralph Lauren, Óscar de la Renta, Chanel and Balenciaga.

Most recently, she has appeared on the cover of Korea's W, as well as the Greek Vogue. She also appeared as the new face for DELL. Kurková has been featured in fashion spreads in most major fashion magazines including U.K., U.S., and German, French Vogue (as well as other international versions of), Vanity Fair and Vanity Fair Germany The Face. In Germany she covered the GQ SUMMER STYLE GQ Sommer Stil and the Park Avneue besides that she was part of many articles in fashion magzines like max or GALA. She has worked with well-known fashion photographers including Steven Klein, Mario Sorrenti, and Mario Testino. Kurkova has been featured on sixty magazine covers since the age of 17 and still counting.

She was again featured in the 2006 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, showcasing the multi-million dollar bra worth, this one worth $6.5 million, decked with almost 2000 diamonds weighing 800 carats, and a centerpiece diamond brooch weighing 10 carats. She happens to be the only other Victoria's secret angel besides Heidi Klum to model the multi-million dollar bra twice in 2002 and 2006. Karolina has done several print and ad campaigns for lingerie giant Victoria's Secret.

Kurková is among the world's top-earning models.

In December 2007, she could be seen in print ads for Dell and was featured on the February 2008 cover of Esquire magazine, re-creating the classic 1966 Angie Dickinson cover on Esquire's 75th anniversary along with fellow Victoria's Secret Angels Adriana Lima, Izabel Goulart and Selita Ebanks. Model.com featured her at No.5 on the list of the hottest models today. She graced the cover of Elle magazine's February 2008 issue and appeared only in shoes, diamonds and gloves for the November 2007 issue of Vanity Fair celebrating 20 years of supermodels with her fellow Angels. Karolina is widely considered one of the sexiest women in the world, and was chosen to be a part of People magazine's 100 most beautiful people in the world, sharing that space with her fellow 'Angels', with whom she also received a star on the Hollywood "Walk of Fame" prior to the 2007 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show.

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" . This sparked a discussion on the media, on why a woman with an average body is considered fat.

She currently lives in New York City's TriBeCa district and enjoys courtside basketball games at Madison Square Garden. She is said to be dating Ukrainian professional boxer Wladimir Klitchko. Karolina's interests are bastketball, hiking, and acting. One of her secret indulgences is the Knicks basketball teams courtside seats, the other biggest indulgence is anything sweet.

Kurková has been quoted as saying, "Everyone likes and deserves to have some fun. In the end, when you smile, life smiles back at you!"

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.