Magdalena Wrobel

By Sara Templeton

Most people think of the former Pope (John Paul II) or sausages or the Iron Curtain when the topic of Poland is raised over dinner, and few would instantly cry 'world famous models', a subject far more likely if a country such as Brazil or the Czech Republic is mentioned.

Yet Poland can indeed lay claim to a number of top models, one of them the majestic Magdalena Wrobel.

Born in 1975 in Gdansk, Poland, Magdalena managed to get a foot in the door in 1993 at the age of 18.

Though the details are somewhat sparse, it is believed she was discovered by a photographer after managing a second place in a Ford Supermodel of the World contest.

The 5'10" tall Magdalena was then signed by Eastern Models in Warsaw and the rest, as they say, is history.

Following her domestic success, Magdalena was soon travelling all over the world, following lucrative contracts and campaigns all over Europe and the Americas.

Her face was soon recognisable on all the mainstream magazines, including Marie Claire, Glamour, Cosmo, Vogue and Elle, and we're not just talking spreads - she graced many covers too.

As her reputation rose, thanks in large part to her positive attitude and easygoing personality, Magdalena was signed on by more modeling agencies, including Next [New York] and Fashion Model Management [Milan].

Working as a model, Magdalena's income was bolstered by ad campaigns for top shelf fashion houses like Calvin Klein, Valentino, Donna Karan, Yves Saint Laurent and Emporio Armani.

One of her biggest modeling contracts, where she ascended from up-and-coming model to fully-fledged top model, was with Wonderbra, which was followed by more work with another lingerie giant, Victoria's Secret.

By now Magdalena was well known in modeling circles and was also quite the consummate catwalker, having appeared in numerous fashion shows for names such as Guy Laroche, Oscar de le Renta, Nicole Miller, Christian Lacroix, Emanuel Ungaro, Givenchy and Christian Dior.

Today Magdalena is being superceded by other, much younger models, but it's fair to say that she had a good run, and she helped put Poland on the modeling map, no doubt inspiring other young Poles to do the same.

Magdalena has a great love of nature and the outdoors, so it comes as no great surprise that she enjoys active sports such as mountain biking and skiing, and is also a big fan of yoga, like so many celebrities today. And if Poland ever comes up in conversation, you'll be able to talk about more than just sausages.