Paulina Porizkova

Paulina Porizkova (born April 9 1965) is an actress and former supermodel. She was born as Pavlína Po?ízková in Prost?jov, Czechoslovakia (now Czech Republic). Measurements: 35B-23 1/2-35 1/2

Modeling Career

A photographer friend took pictures of Paulina and sent them to Elite modeling agency in 1980. Elite head John Casablancas saw her potential and offer her a ticket to Paris. It was an extremely tempting offer for a teenage Paulina who was eager to get out of Sweden and support herself. She quickly rose up to become the top model in Paris during the early eighties.

Related Topics:
Elite modeling agency - John Casablancas

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Her stardom exploded across the pond with winning the coveted spot on the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue in 1984 and then again in 1985. Her first appearance was in 1983. A third consecutive run as covergirl was dashed when she appeared on the cover Life in a swimsuit.

Related Topics:
''Sports Illustrated'' Swimsuit Issue - 1984 - 1985 - Life

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She appeared on the cover of Playboy magazine in August 1987 to preview her new (non nude) swimsuit caldender. Paulina did have a controversial nude spread in GQ magazine a few years earlier. She felt deceived and exploited by the magazine however.

Related Topics:
Playboy - August - 1987 - GQ

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Her two calender in 1988 and 1989 each sold in huge numbers, setting the standard and paving the way for other models like Cindy Crawford for their own pin-up calendars.

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Paulina Porizkova was considered the most beautiful model of her era. She was chosen twice by People magazine as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the world in 1990 and 1992. Bazaar magazine named her as one of the ten most beautiful women in 1992. American Photo magazine in its premiere issue declared her to be the model of the 80's. She appeared on the covers of countless magazines around the world during the eighties and nineties including numerous appearances on Vogue, Elle, Harper's Bazaar, Self and Glamour, with one estimate that she has appeared on 350 magazine covers. Paulina was also the model for the ill-fated Diet Sprite.

Related Topics:
People - 1990 - 1992 - Vogue - Elle - Harper's Bazaar - Self - Glamour - Diet Sprite

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In 1988, Paulina won what was the highest-paying modeling contract at the time, a six-million-dollar-a-year contract as the face of Estee Lauder. The Estee Lauder makeover turned her public image from an Eastern European sexpot to the epitome of European sophistication. The classy black-and-white ad campaign won plaudits from critics. Estee Lauder replaced Paulina with Elizabeth Hurley in 1995.

Related Topics:
Estee Lauder - Elizabeth Hurley

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After having her first child, she devoted less and less time to modeling, and concentrated on acting in independent films. She quickly got a new gig as lead model for Escada. In the early 2001 she hosted a show on E!'s Style channel. In 2005, she made her first appearance in Victoria's Secret.

Related Topics:
Escada - E! - Style channel - Victoria's Secret

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Although she had an illustrious career, Paulina was never one to fall into the glamour associated with being a model. Despite the perks that modeling provided, she wasn't proud or happy about her job, mostly because of the connotations that are associated with modeling, so she sought other outlets in which she could express herself more creatively.

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During her early modelling career, Porizkova had a very noticeable gap between her two front teeth. For this reason, she usually appeared with a closed mouth smile during the period. One writer noted that it was an eccentricity in an other wise perfect face. The smile however became something of a trademark for her during that period of her career. The gap was corrected before her major film debut in Anna.

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She was a family friend of Liv Tyler and took notice of Liv's beauty, and encouraged her to try modeling.

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