Karolína Kurková - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Karolína Isela Kurková (born February 28, 1984) is a Czech

Czech Republic

The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....

model, best known as a former Victoria's Secret Angel, and an aspiring actress. Mario Testino

Mario Testino

-Early Life:Testino grew up in Lima, the eldest son of a businessman. When he was young he wanted to be a priest. Testino recalls being unpopular at school because of his flamboyance. He was good at math and went on to study economics at Universidad del Pacífico, where his insistence on wearing...

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." Vogue
Vogue (magazine)
Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 18 national and one regional edition by Condé Nast.-History:In 1892 Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly publication in the United States. When he died in 1909, Condé Montrose Nast picked up the magazine and slowly began...

editor Anna Wintour

Anna Wintour

Anna Wintour, OBE is the British-born editor-in-chief of American Vogue, a position she has held since 1988. With her trademark pageboy bob haircut and sunglasses, Wintour has become an institution throughout the fashion world, widely praised for her eye for fashion trends and her support for...

called her the "next supermodel".

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
Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...

annual list of the highest earning models.

Early life and career

Karolína Kurková was born in Děčín

Decín

Děčín is a town in the Ústí nad Labem Region in the north of the Czech Republic. It is the largest town and administrative seat of the Děčín District.-Geography:...

, Czech Republic, to Josef Kurka, a Czech basketball player, and a Slovak

Slovakia

The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...

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

Prague

Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...

, she – at 15 – landed a runway

Runway (fashion)

Runway or catwalk describes a narrow, usually flat platform that runs into an auditorium, used by models to demonstrate clothing and accessories during a fashion show In fashion jargon, "what's on the catwalk" or similar phrasing can refer to whatever is new and popular in fashion.- Exclusive...

appearance, as well as a commercial and print advertising. She later traveled to Milan

Milan

Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...

to gain more experience and signed a modeling contract with Miuccia Prada

Miuccia Prada

Miuccia Prada is an Italian fashion designer and entrepreneur. She also has a Ph.D. in Political Science.Prada was born in Milan, the youngest granddaughter of Mario Prada, founder of the company. According to: Forbes.com's The World's Richest People 2001: "She and her husband, Patrizio Bertelli,...

.

In September 1999, Kurková appeared in the American edition of fashion and lifestyle magazine Vogue
Vogue (magazine)
Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 18 national and one regional edition by Condé Nast.-History:In 1892 Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly publication in the United States. When he died in 1909, Condé Montrose Nast picked up the magazine and slowly began...

, and after moving to New York City at the age of 17, graced the cover of the February 2001 edition.

Kurková is also known for her unusual navel

Navel

The navel is a scar on the abdomen caused when the umbilical cord is removed from a newborn baby...

. She actually doesn't have one because of an operation she had as an infant.

Modeling career

Following her Vogue cover, Kurková became recognized at haute couture

Haute couture

Haute couture refers to the creation of exclusive custom-fitted clothing. Haute couture is made to order for a specific customer, and it is usually made from high-quality, expensive fabric and sewn with extreme attention to detail and finished by the most experienced and capable seamstresses,...

fashion shows. Additionally, the lingerie brand Victoria's Secret

Victoria's Secret

Victoria's Secret is an American retailer of women's wear, lingerie and beauty products. It is the largest segment of publicly-traded Limited Brands with sales of over US$5 billion and an operating income of $1 billion in 2006...

chose her to be a part of 2000's fashion show webcast, though she was only 16 at the time. Prominent fashion houses such as Yves Saint Laurent

Yves Saint Laurent (brand)

Yves Saint Laurent or YSL is a luxury fashion house founded by Yves Saint Laurent and his partner, Pierre Bergé. Today, its chief designer is Stefano Pilati. Yves Saint Laurent, founder of the brand, died in 2008.-History:...

signed Kurková to contracts, while print campaigns for Tommy Hilfiger

Tommy Hilfiger

Thomas Jacob "Tommy" Hilfiger is an American fashion designer and founder of the premium lifestyle brand Tommy Hilfiger.-Early life:...

, Valentino

Valentino SpA

Valentino SpA is a clothing company founded in 1959 by Valentino Garavani. Nowadays it is a part of Valentino Fashion Group. New creative directors Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli will take Alessandra Facchinetti's seat as creative designer...

, Louis Vuitton

Louis Vuitton

Louis Vuitton Malletier – commonly referred to as Louis Vuitton , or shortened to LV – is a French fashion house founded in 1854 by Louis Vuitton. The label is well known for its LV monogram, which is featured on most products, ranging from luxury trunks and leather goods to ready-to-wear, shoes,...

, John Galliano

John Galliano

John Charles Galliano CBE, RDI is a Gibraltan-born British fashion designer who was best known as head designer of French haute couture houses Givenchy and Christian Dior , and his own self titled fashion house.-Family:He was born in Gibraltar to a Gibraltarian father, Juan Galliano, and a...

, Chanel

Chanel

Chanel S.A. is a French fashion house founded by the couturier Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel, well established in haute couture, specializing in luxury goods . She gained the name "Coco" while maintaining a career as a singer at a café in France...

, Christian Dior

Christian Dior

Christian Dior , was a French fashion designer, best known as the founder of one of the world's top fashion houses, also called Christian Dior.-Life:...

, Hugo Boss

Hugo Boss

Hugo Ferdinand Boss was the founder of clothing company Hugo Boss.-Early life:Boss was born in Metzingen, Germany. After completing his apprenticeship and one year of employment, he founded his own company in Metzingen in 1923.-Support of Nazism:Boss joined the Nazi Party in 1931, two years before...

, Versace

Versace

Gianni Versace S.p.A. , usually referred to as Versace, is an Italian fashion label founded by Gianni Versace in 1978.The first Versace boutique was opened in Milan's Via della Spiga in 1978, and its popularity was immediate. Today, Versace is one of the world's leading international fashion houses...

, H&M

H&M

H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB is a Swedish retail-clothing company, known for its fast-fashion clothing offerings for women, men, teenagers and children....

, and others helped expose her even more. In the 2002 Victoria's Secret fashion show, she wore the multi-million dollar fantasy bra, worth almost $10 million and designed by Hearts on Fire. Other runway credits of hers include Alberta Ferretti

Alberta Ferretti

Alberta Ferretti is an Italian fashion designer and dressmaker. She designs for Alberta Ferretti and Philosophy di Alberta Ferretti. Her showroom is in Milan, Italy but her studio is in the picturesque village of Cattolica, near Rimini, Italy....

, Alexander McQueen

Alexander McQueen

Lee Alexander McQueen, CBE was a British fashion designer and couturier best known for his in-depth knowledge of bespoke British tailoring, his tendency to juxtapose strength with fragility in his collections, as well as the emotional power and raw energy of his provocative fashion shows...

, Balenciaga

Balenciaga

Balenciaga is a fashion house founded by Cristóbal Balenciaga, a Basque designer, born in the Basque Country, Spain. He had a reputation as a couturier of uncompromising standards and was referred to as "the master of us all" by Christian Dior. His bubble skirts and odd, feminine, yet ultra-modern...

, Calvin Klein

Calvin Klein

Calvin Richard Klein is an American fashion designer who launched the company that would later become Calvin Klein Inc. in 1968. In addition to clothing, Klein has also given his name to a range of perfumes, watches, and jewelry....

, Carolina Herrera

Carolina Herrera (fashion designer)

Carolina Herrera Carolina Herrera Carolina Herrera (born María Carolina Josefina Pacanins y Niño (born January 8, 1939) is a Venezuelan and naturalized American fashion designer and entrepreneur who founded her eponymous company in 1980.-Early life:...

, Chanel

Chanel

, Christian Dior

Christian Dior

Christian Dior , was a French fashion designer, best known as the founder of one of the world's top fashion houses, also called Christian Dior.-Life:...

, Dolce & Gabbana

Dolce & Gabbana

Dolce & Gabbana is an Italian luxury industry fashion house. The company was started by the Italian designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana in Milan, Italy. By 2005 their turnover was €597 million....

, Karl Lagerfeld

Karl Lagerfeld

Karl Lagerfeld is a German fashion designer, artist and photographer based in Paris. He has collaborated on a variety of fashion and art related projects, most notably as head designer and creative director for the fashion house Chanel...

, Louis Vuitton

Louis Vuitton

, Marc Jacobs

Marc Jacobs

Marc Jacobs is an American fashion designer. He is the head designer for Marc Jacobs, as well as Marc by Marc Jacobs, a diffusion line, with more than 200 retail stores in 60 countries. He has been the creative director of the French design house Louis Vuitton since 1997...

, Ralph Lauren

Ralph Lauren

Ralph Lauren is an American fashion designer and business executive; best known for his Polo Ralph Lauren clothing brand.-Early life:...

, Stella McCartney

Stella McCartney

Stella Nina McCartney is an English fashion designer. She is the daughter of former Beatles member Sir Paul McCartney and the late photographer and animal rights activist, Linda McCartney.-Early life:...

, and Vera Wang

Vera Wang

Vera Ellen Wang is a Chinese American fashion designer based in New York City and former figure skater. She is known for her wide clientele of couture bridesmaid gowns and wedding gown collections.-Personal life:...

.

Kurková was named "Model of the Year" at the 2002 VH1

VH1

VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...

/Vogue Fashion Awards, in part for her work ethic, having worked twenty-three weeks straight. Photographed by Steven Meisel

Steven Meisel

Steven Meisel is an American photographer, who obtained popular acclaim with his work in US and Italian Vogue and his photographs of friend Madonna in her 1992 book Sex...

, she was presented on the September 2004 cover of American Vogue
Vogue (magazine)
Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 18 national and one regional edition by Condé Nast.-History:In 1892 Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly publication in the United States. When he died in 1909, Condé Montrose Nast picked up the magazine and slowly began...

as one of the "Models of the Moment".

Kurková has appeared in almost twenty Vogue magazine covers internationally, including the French, Italian, UK, German, Russian, Greek, and Korean editions, and has also appeared in international editions of Elle
Elle (magazine)
Elle is a worldwide magazine of French origin that focuses on women's fashion, beauty, health, and entertainment. Elle is also the world's largest fashion magazine. It was founded by Pierre Lazareff and his wife Hélène Gordon in 1945. The title, in French, means "she".-History:Elle was founded in...

, Vanity Fair
Vanity Fair (magazine)
Vanity Fair is a magazine of pop culture, fashion, and current affairs published by Condé Nast. The present Vanity Fair has been published since 1983 and there have been editions for four European countries as well as the U.S. edition. This revived the title which had ceased publication in 1935...

, and The Face
The Face (magazine)
The Face was a British music, fashion and culture monthly magazine started in May 1980 by Nick Logan.-1980s:Logan had previously created the teen pop magazine Smash Hits, and had been an editor at the New Musical Express in the 1970s before launching The Face in 1980.The magazine was influential in...

. She has worked with noted fashion photographers like Steven Klein

Steven Klein

Steven Klein is an American photographer based in New York.-History:After studying painting at the Rhode Island School of Design, he moved into the field of photography...

, Mario Sorrenti

Mario Sorrenti

Mario Sorrenti is a photographer and director best known for his spreads of nude models in the pages of Vogue and Harper's Bazaar....

, and Mario Testino

Mario Testino

.

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 (160 g) and a centerpiece diamond brooch weighing 10 carats (2 g). 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

Angie Dickinson

Angie Dickinson is an American actress. She has appeared in more than fifty films, including Rio Bravo, Ocean's Eleven, Dressed to Kill and Pay It Forward, and starred on television as Sergeant Suzanne "Pepper" Anderson on the 1970s crime series Police Woman.-Early life:Dickinson, the second of...

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

Dell

Dell, Inc. is an American multinational information technology corporation based in 1 Dell Way, Round Rock, Texas, United States, that develops, sells and supports computers and related products and services. Bearing the name of its founder, Michael Dell, the company is one of the largest...

.

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

Cellulite

Cellulite is a topographic skin change that occurs in most postpubertal females. It presents as a modification of skin topography evident by skin dimpling and nodularity that occurs mainly in women on the pelvic region, lower limbs, and abdomen, and is caused by the herniation of subcutaneous fat...

".

Kurková has a smooth indentation in place of a navel

Navel

The navel is a scar on the abdomen caused when the umbilical cord is removed from a newborn baby...

, and photographs are often altered by the addition of an image of a navel to hide this.

Kurková is represented by Viva Models

Viva Models

VIVA Model Management is a model agency based in Paris.The agency was founded in 1988 by director Cyril Brule. The boutique agency focuses on high-fashion editorial and catwalk work...

Paris.

In November 2008, E! Entertainment Television voted her the world's sexiest woman, beating the likes of Angelina Jolie

Angelina Jolie

Angelina Jolie is an American actress. She has received an Academy Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and three Golden Globe Awards, and was named Hollywood's highest-paid actress by Forbes in 2009 and 2011. Jolie is noted for promoting humanitarian causes as a Goodwill Ambassador for the...

, Scarlett Johansson

Scarlett Johansson

Scarlett Johansson is an American actress, model and singer.Johansson made her film debut in North and was later nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead for her performance in Manny & Lo . She rose to further prominence with her roles in The Horse Whisperer and Ghost World...

, Gisele Bündchen

Gisele Bündchen

Gisele Caroline Bündchen is a Brazilian fashion model, occasional film actress and goodwill ambassador for the UN Environment Programme.In the late 1990s, Bündchen became one of the first in a wave of Brazilian models to find success...

, and her fellow Angels Heidi Klum

Heidi Klum

Heidi Samuel , better known by her birth name Heidi Klum, is a German model, actress, television host, businesswoman, fashion designer, television producer, and occasional singer. In 2008 she became an American citizen while maintaining her native German citizenship...

and Adriana Lima

Adriana Lima

Adriana Lima is a Brazilian model, best known as a Victoria's Secret Angel since 2000, and as a spokesmodel for Maybelline cosmetics from 2003 to 2009...

.

Kurkova modeled for Bottega Veneta

Bottega Veneta

Bottega Veneta is an Italian luxury goods house best known for its leather goods. Founded in 1966, it was purchased in 2001 by Gucci Group, now a part of the French multinational group PPR. Bottega Veneta is headquartered in Vicenza, in the Veneto region of northeastern Italy.- History :Bottega...

spring 2011 campaign in a classic Hitchcock-esque style.

Television/movie career

Kurková made her film debut alongside Frankie Muniz

Frankie Muniz

Francisco "Frankie" Muniz IV is an American actor, musician, writer, producer, and racecar driver. He is known primarily as the star of the FOX television family sitcom Malcolm in the Middle. In 2003, he was considered "one of Hollywood's most bankable teens". In 2008, he put his acting career...

, Harvey Keitel

Harvey Keitel

Harvey Keitel is an American actor. Some of his most notable starring roles were in Martin Scorsese's Mean Streets and Taxi Driver, Ridley Scott's The Duellists and Thelma and Louise, Ettore Scola's That Night in Varennes, Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction, Jane Campion's The...

, and Amber Valletta

Amber Valletta

Amber Evangeline Valletta is an American actress and model. She began her career as a model for fashion agencies, and appeared on cover pages of internationally recognized magazines. She made her film debut in Drop Back Ten . She then starred in the hit film Hitch...

in Howard Himelstein's coming-of-age dramedy, My Sexiest Year
My Sexiest Year
My Sexiest Year is a 2007 romantic comedy/drama starring Frankie Muniz and Harvey Keitel and was written and directed by Howard Himelstein. The film is a romantic coming-of-age story in which the kindness bestowed by a glamorous model is returned 30 years later by the young man in whom she inspired...

. She played Courtney A. Kreiger / Cover Girl

Cover Girl (G.I. Joe)

Cover Girl is a fictional character from the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero toyline comic books and cartoon series. She is a tank jockey, specializing in the Wolverine missile tank, and debuted in 1983.-Profile:...

in the live action 2009 G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra film. She was a guest judge on the fifteenth season

America's Next Top Model, Cycle 15

America's Next Top Model, Cycle 15 is the fifteenth cycle of America's Next Top Model and the ninth season to be aired on The CW network. It premiered on September 8, 2010...

of America's Next Top Model
America's Next Top Model
America's Next Top Model is a reality television show in which a number of women compete for the title of America's Next Top Model and a chance to start their career in the modeling industry....

and fourth season

Germany's Next Topmodel, Cycle 4

Germany's Next Topmodel, Cycle 4 is the fourth season of the show that was aired on the German television network ProSieben. The show started airing on February 12, 2009...

of Germany's Next Top Model
Germany's Next Top Model
Germany's Next Topmodel is a German reality television show, based on a concept that was introduced by Tyra Banks with America's Next Top Model. The competition is hosted by Heidi Klum, who also serves as the lead judge and executive producer of the show.-Show format:Each yearly search of Germany's...

.

She appeared on the 2008 Academy of Country Music Awards along with Dwight Yoakam

Dwight Yoakam

Dwight David Yoakam is an American singer-songwriter, actor and film director, most famous for his pioneering country music...

in presenting the "Top Female Vocalist" award to Carrie Underwood

Carrie Underwood

Carrie Marie Underwood is an American country singer-songwriter and actress who rose to fame as the winner of the fourth season of American Idol, in 2005...

.

In September 2010, Karolina guest-starred on NBC

NBC

The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...

's Chuck

Chuck (TV series)

Chuck is an action-comedy/spy-drama television program from the United States created by Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak. The series is about an "average computer-whiz-next-door" named Chuck, played by Zachary Levi, who receives an encoded e-mail from an old college friend now working for the Central...

season 4

Chuck (season 4)

The fourth season of Chuck was announced on May 13, 2010. Having initially ordered 13 episodes, NBC ordered an additional 11 on October 19, 2010 for a total of 24 episodes....

episode, "Chuck Versus the Suitcase

Chuck Versus the Suitcase

"Chuck Versus the Suitcase" is the second episode of the fourth season of Chuck. It originally aired September 27, 2010. There are crimes of fashion when Chuck Bartowski and Sarah Walker go undercover in Milan for Fashion Week to seize a high-tech weapon, yet Chuck soon recognizes a flaw in his...

". She played Sofia Stepanova, a secret agent posing as a supermodel.

Kurkova is currently in the works with German model Eva Padberg

Eva Padberg

Eva Padberg is a German fashion model, singer, and actress.Padberg was born in Bad Frankenhausen and grew up in Rottleben, Germany. In 1995, she applied for Bravos Boy & Girl contest; she made it among the best ten models and gained the opportunity to do a test shooting for Louisa Models in Munich...

on the upcoming reality television show Das perfekte Model, a model casting-show similar to Germany's Next Top Model
Germany's Next Top Model
Germany's Next Topmodel is a German reality television show, based on a concept that was introduced by Tyra Banks with America's Next Top Model. The competition is hosted by Heidi Klum, who also serves as the lead judge and executive producer of the show.-Show format:Each yearly search of Germany's...

. The show is set to be aired in spring 2012 on German television broadcast VOX.

Personal life

She lives in New York City's TriBeCa

TriBeCa

Tribeca is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York in the United States. Its name is an acronym based on the words "Triangle below Canal Street", and is properly bounded by Canal Street, West Street, Broadway, and Vesey Street...

district and enjoys courtside basketball games at Madison Square Garden

Madison Square Garden

Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...

.

Kurkova revealed that she has suffered from hypothyroidism

Hypothyroidism

Hypothyroidism is a condition in which the thyroid gland does not make enough thyroid hormone.Iodine deficiency is the most common cause of hypothyroidism worldwide but it can be caused by other causes such as several conditions of the thyroid gland or, less commonly, the pituitary gland or...

, which caused her to gain weight.

In July 2009, she announced she was expecting a child with her fiancé, Archie Drury. On October 29, Kurkova gave birth. The baby boy, Tobin Jack Drury, weighed in at 6 lbs. 3 oz., and is the couple's first child. Kurkova revealed that Drury proposed to her whilst on holiday in Capetown, South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

Charity

In March 2006, Kurková received an award from the non-profit organization, Women Together, for her humanitarian

Humanitarianism

In its most general form, humanitarianism is an ethic of kindness, benevolence and sympathy extended universally and impartially to all human beings. Humanitarianism has been an evolving concept historically but universality is a common element in its evolution...

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

Global Youth Action Network

The Global Youth Action Network is an international network of youth NGOs spanning 180 countries, and headquartered in New York, near the United Nations. GYAN is a youth-led not for profit organization that incubates global partnerships and increases youth participation in decision-making...

". Karolina Kurkova received the Atmosphere Magazine Award at the Madrid Planet Hollywood on December 18, 2003.

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Early life and career

Modeling career

Television/movie career

Personal life

Charity

External links