Karolina Kurkova

By SARA TEMPLETON

In her home country of the Czech Republic, Karolina Kurkova is a well-known celebrity, but she's only just recently started to make an impact on the world stage.

Largely due to her appearance in a fairly recent Victoria's Secret television advertising campaign, Kurkova is starting to get a taste of the supermodel lifestyle as the big names recognise her natural talent.

Performing in more and more fashion shows, appearing on the covers of glossy magazines and traveling to tropical locations to shoot top-flight pictorials...

With green eyes, blonde hair and standing some 5' 11" tall, she is fast becoming one of the fashion industry's most sought-after models and, at just 20-years of age, there's a good chance we'll be seeing a lot more of the Czech.

Kurkova's first break into America, was when she appeared on the cover of Vogue in February 2001 at just 17 years old. She won the 'Model of the Year' award at the Vogue Fashion Awards in 2002, which was followed up by a popular appearance in the aforementioned Victoria's Secret ad campaign.

	Perfume: The perfect fragrance can make you feel sexy and in control.
	Lingerie: Give in to your temptations and desires and you'll feel slinky and smooth.

Rewind a couple of decades: Kurkova was born on February 28th, 1984, in the town of Decin in what was formerly known as Czechoslovakia.

Rewind a couple of years: Karolina was just a tall girl at school, owing to her father's height, who was a professional basketballer, one Josef Kurka.

One of Karolina's close companions decided to send photos of the Czech to a modeling agency in Prague, and the rest, as they say, is history...

Shortly after this, Karolina Kurkova was signed up, landing small catwalk jobs and even the odd print ad.

But Karolina knew that Czech Republic was just the tip of the fashion iceberg, and so decided to up and leave for Milan, Italy.

Once entrenched in what is arguably one of the most prolific fashion capitals of the world, she was quickly signed up by Miuccia Prada.

Learning the ropes in a more cut-throat environment, Karolina quickly learned that slackers don't get far in the fashion industry, no matter how gorgeous or well formed a person may be.

As such, she quickly set about making a name for herself, with some reports stating she once worked for 23 weeks straight. Well, I once worked in complete darkness for six hours straight myself, which wasn't easy, especially when your PC has lost power as well.

Gaining much-needed experience in Milan, Karolina eventually moved to New York, New York in 2001 and, in February of that year, she became one of the youngest ever models to land the cover of Vogue USA.

Victoria's Secret was quick to sign her up, and following her big American push, the campaigns started rolling in: Yves Saint Laurent, Tommy and Valentino to name just a few.

Later in 2001, the Czech bombshell was one of the most sought- after catwalk models as well, with the likes of Valentino, Versace, Christian Dior, Ralph Lauren, Balenciaga, Oscar de la Renta, Givenchy and Louis Vuitton all knocking on her door to sign contracts.

Today, Karolina Kurkova has graced the cover of more than 60 glossy mags, and there's more on the way! Known as an exceptionally hard worker, hence the 'Model of the Year' award at the Vogue Fashion Awards in 2002, Karolina has a very upbeat and positive attitude, according to her peers.

Currently residing in the trendy TriBeCa locale of New York, Karolina Kurkova is set to be one of the new millennium's brightest stars, with her amazingly chiselled visage, tall frame and impressive work ethic.