28 Facts About Paulina Porizkova

Paulina Porizkova was born on 9 April 1965 in Prostejov, then in Czechoslovakia, to anti-Soviet dissident parents, Anna Paulina Porizkova and Jiri Porizka.

Paulina Porizkova was left in the care of her maternal grandmother after her parents fled to Sweden to escape the Warsaw Pact invasion.

When Paulina Porizkova was seven, her pregnant mother returned to Czechoslovakia by a fake passport in an attempt to rescue her.

Paulina Porizkova shared the photo that got the attention of modeling scout John Casablancas.

Paulina Porizkova 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.

Paulina Porizkova was the second woman to be featured on the swimsuit issue's front cover in consecutive years.

Paulina Porizkova appeared on the cover and inside New York in July, 1985.

Paulina Porizkova appeared on the covers of numerous magazines around the world during the 1980s and 1990s, including Vogue, Elle, Harper's Bazaar, Self, Cosmopolitan, and Glamour.

Paulina Porizkova has been featured in advertising campaigns for Chanel, Versace, Hermes, Christian Dior, Oscar De La Renta, Mikimoto, Perry Ellis, Laura Biagiotti, Anne Klein, Ellen Tracy, Barneys New York, Ann Taylor, Guerlain, and Revlon and appeared on the runway for Calvin Klein.

In 1988, Paulina Porizkova won what was then the highest-paying modeling contract: a $6,000,000 contract with Estee Lauder, replacing Willow Bay.

Paulina Porizkova was part of the panel of judges on America's Next Top Model, starting on Cycle 10, replacing fashion icon Twiggy.

Paulina Porizkova continued to conduct regular weekly evaluations of ANTM participants on the show until she announced during a 12 May 2009, appearance on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson that she had been fired from the show.

Paulina Porizkova was a participant on Dancing with the Stars, in spring 2007 but was voted off on the first results show which aired on 27 March 2007.

Paulina Porizkova appeared in the fourth episode of Celebrity Ghost Stories' second season.

Paulina Porizkova appeared in Emir Kusturica's 1993 film Arizona Dream, with Johnny Depp and Jerry Lewis, in a minor role as Lewis's young Polish fiancee.

Paulina Porizkova had the main female role in the 1998 film Thursday.

Paulina Porizkova starred in the 2001 thriller film Dark Asylum, alongside Judd Nelson.

Paulina Porizkova appeared in an episode of the Starz comedy series Head Case which aired on 24 April 2009.

Paulina Porizkova appeared in a 6th-season episode of Desperate Housewives, "Chromolume No 7", alongside model Heidi Klum.

Paulina Porizkova appeared on the ABC Family drama-comedy series Jane by Design in an episode which aired on 6 March 2012, and made a guest appearance on The Mysteries of Laura in February 2015.

Paulina Porizkova published her first novel, A Model Summer, in 2007, which is about a 15-year-old Swedish girl chosen by a modeling agent to spend a summer working in Paris in 1980.

Paulina Porizkova is a blogger for Modelinia and The Huffington Post.

Paulina Porizkova is one of several women referenced in Sonic Youth's song "Swimsuit Issue", from the 1992 album Dirty.

Paulina Porizkova was the inspiration of the late transgender model and ballroom performer Octavia St Laurent who spoke glowingly about her in the documentary film Paris is Burning.

Paulina Porizkova has said that St Laurent's praise and idolization in the documentary was the favorite moment of her modeling career.

In May 2018, Paulina Porizkova announced she and Ocasek had separated a year earlier.

In September 2019, while caring for Ocasek following an unspecified surgery, Paulina Porizkova found him dead in his home.

In "America Made Me a Feminist", an article she wrote for The New York Times in 2017, Paulina Porizkova stated that she considered herself a feminist.