Eva Herzigova

By Sara Templeton

As a teenager, Eva always had the idea that her sister was the more physically beautiful one - and who knows, maybe she still is?

That doesn't detract from the fact that Eva was one of the 90's most prominent Czech models, often being compared with Marilyn Monroe such was her natural beauty, and today she is emerging as a so-so actor to boot.

On March 10, during 1973 in the town of Litvinov, in what was then known as Czechoslovakia, Eva Herzigova was born to Czech parents; her mother a secretary, her father an electrician.

The Czech Republic is the birthplace of numerous celebrities, including Veronica Varekova, Adriana Sklenarikova, Daniela Pestova, Karolina Kurkova and Petra Nemcova to name a few of the brighter lights, and beyond Brazil, it's home to one of the biggest concentrations of internationally successful models - and it's fair to say that Eva helped open the floodgates in the early 1990s.

Eva grew up in the north part of Czechoslovakia where there was plenty of cold weather and snow, allowing her to try any number of winter sports. In addition to cross-country skiing, Eva was keen on things like basketball and gymnastics, leading an active teenage life.

At the age of 16 however, her life would be forever changed, as a family trip to Prague lead her to a modeling competition set up by French agency Metropolitan Models. Eva expected her sister to enter the contest, but she did not. And so Eva did.

She placed first in the modeling competition and within six months was working in Paris - but unlike most top up and comers, Eva wasn't convinced that it was her calling in life to model, her career du jour, if you like.

To begin with, Eva wasn't comfortable with the whole process of being a model, and coupled with instant fame and being splashed across the covers of glossy magazines she began to doubt whether the fashion industry suited her at the time.

Why the 180cm tall woman stuck at it despite such well-documented initial angst is anyone's guess - perhaps it was the money, or her work ethic? - but after a few years she started to enjoy herself, particularly in front of the photo camera, rather than at live runway shows.

She enjoys photo shoots so much that she was once quoted saying, "I love photo sessions. I'm alone, I'm the queen, everyone's taking care of me."

Since accepting the inner workings of the fashion industry - being fluent in the English, Czech, Russian, and French languages helped a lot - Eva has worked with Guess? on a number of campaigns, followed by a stint as the spokesmodel for Wonderbra, where fellow Czech Adriana Sklenarikova would follow in her footsteps.

Eva Herzigova has worked with esteemed American lingerie line Victoria's Secret, as well as featuring in the Sports Illustrated magazine. Today she is keen on sharpening her thespian mind, having already starred in a number of European films. Securing roles in films like 1995's Les Anges Gardiens (by Jean-Marie Poire) alongside actors like Gerard Depardieu is no mean feat, and Eva has also appeared in the 2000 production of Just for the Time Being.

More recently, Eva can be seen in the 2004 production of Modigliani, also starring Andy Garcia, and is tipped to be part of the 2006 film Go Go Tales, which also stars Harvey Keitel, Robert Carlyle, Drea de Matteo and fellow former model Naomi Campbell.

What more needs to be said about this cross-country skiier-turned-model-turned-actor? Just a few tidbits really: Eva also likes horse riding, reading, riding her Harley Davidson motorbike and going to the movies, and currently has residences in Monaco, the Czech Republic and New York City.