Petra Nemcova

Petra Němcová (Czech pronunciation: [ˈpɛtra ˈɲɛmtsovaː]; born 24 June 1979 in Karviná, Czechoslovakia, now Czech Republic) is a Czech model, television host, author, and philanthropist. She is the founder and chair of the Happy Hearts Fund. In December 2004, she was injured in Thailand by a tsunami resulting from the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake; her fiancé, photographer Simon Atlee, was killed in the tsunami. Petra Němcová was born June 24, 1979 in Communist Czechoslovakia. She grew up in Karvina with her sister Olga. As a child she was teased at school for sharing her name with the famous Czech author Bozena Němcová. She was scouted on the streets of Prague by "Next Model Management". Upon signing with the renowned agency Němcová moved to Milan. Petra Němcová was scouted walking through the streets in Prague. In 1995 she won the Czech Elite Model Look. Upon signing with Next Models, Němcová moved to Milan where her career flourished. She was featured in campaigns for Benetton, Bulgari Sunglasses, Cartier, Clarins, Cortefiel, Dirk Bikkembergs, Fortunoff, Graff, HP Intel Personal Computer, HS, Intimissimi, John Lewis, Lancaster, La Perla, La Senza, Maidenform, Max Factor, Pantene