Petra Nemcova

In December 2004, tragedy struck when Němcová was vacationing with her fiancé, Simon Atlee, in Thailand. The infamous tsunami, one of the worst natural disasters of all time, swept the couple out of their hotel room window. Němcová survived by clinging to a palm tree, suffering lacerations and a severely broken pelvis; Atlee was swept out to sea and found dead three months later.

She founded the ‘Happy Heart Foundation’ (HHF) in 2006, an organization aimed to help survivors of natural disasters. They specifically focus on coming in and rebuilding schools after first-responders leave the scene. She was inspired to do this work after her own experience with the tsunami in Thailand.

It is reported that she has dated Sean Penn and James Blunt. In 2012, she broke off her engagement to actor Jamie Belman.

Petra is one of two children and was very close to her sister Olga growing up. She was discovered as a young teenager when she was walking in Prague by ‘NEXT Model Management’. She moved to Milan, Italy immediately after signing.

Feeling overwhelmed by the glamour industry at such a young age, she moved home to the Czech Republic after her very brief stint in Milan. In 1995, she won the Czech ‘Elite Model Look’ competition at the age of 16. She then returned to Milan to begin modeling seriously.

Starting in 2000, she worked for designers such as Lolita Lempicka, Matthew Williamson, and Michino Koshino. She made her first TV appearance on ‘Absolutely Fabulous’, a British sitcom, a year later.

In 2002, she made her first appearance in the ‘Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition.’ A year later, she achieved a major milestone in her career when she appeared on the cover of the magazine.

She was on the panel of judges of the 53rd Miss Universe pageant, held in Ecuador June 2004.

In 2005, she released ‘Love Always, Petra,’ an autobiography where she writes about living under Communist rule in Czechoslovakia as a child. It follows her career from breaking out as a model and living as a supermodel now.

She was featured on the cover of ‘Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition’ in 2003, her first big break. She went on to become a supermodel, working for brands such as ‘Victoria's Secret’ and appearing on the covers of ‘Elle’ and ‘Glamour.’

Following the tsunami, she founded a charity to help children recover from natural disasters. She has dedicated much of her life to this work.