Paulina Porizkova

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Paulina Porizkova
Pavlína Pořízková 2014.JPG
Porizkova in 2014
Born
Pavlína Pořízková

(1965-04-09) 9 April 1965 (age 56)
Prostějov, Czechoslovakia
Occupation
  • Model
  • actress
  • author
Spouse(s)
Ric Ocasek
​
​
(m. 1989; died 2019)​
Modeling information
Height1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[1]
Agency
  • The Model CoOp (New York)
  • Premium Models (Paris)
  • IMG Models (Milan)
  • Models 1 (London)
  • Traffic Models (Barcelona)
  • Place Models (Hamburg)[2]

Paulina Porizkova (born Pavlína Pořízková, Czech: [ˈpavliːna ˈpor̝iːskovaː]; 9 April 1965) is a model, actress and author. Born in Czechoslovakia, she now holds dual American and Swedish citizenship.

In 1984, at 18 years old, she became the first woman from Central Europe to be on the cover of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue.[3] In 1988, Porizkova earned what was then the highest-paying modeling contract ever: a $6,000,000 contract with Estée Lauder. She was part of the judging panel of America's Next Top Model in Cycles 10–12.

Early life[]

Born near Prostějov, Czechoslovakia to Anna Porizkova and Jiri Porizka, Porizkova was three years old when her anti-Soviet dissident parents fled Czechoslovakia to Lund, Sweden, to escape the 1968 Warsaw Pact invasion.[4] She was left in the care of her grandmother.[5] Czechoslovak authorities would not allow her parents to reclaim her, and the ensuing battle was widely publicized in the Swedish press, making Porizkova a cause célèbre.[5][4]

After a failed rescue attempt when Porizkova was seven, in which her pregnant mother returned to Czechoslovakia and was shortly detained by the national police and then placed under house arrest,[5] international political pressure led by Olof Palme caused the communist government to allow the Pořízek family to be reunited after seven years.[4] Porizkova acquired Swedish citizenship.[6] The reunion was soon ended when Porizkova's father left the family, her parents filed for divorce, and her father refused to pay child support for Paulina and her younger brother.[5] Porizkova and her father have been estranged since her youth.[5] Her mother, a midwife, remarried at least twice and as of 2010 was reported to be serving in the Peace Corps in Uganda.[5]

Career[]

Modeling[]

External images
image icon Porizkova's Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue cover from 13 February 1984
image icon Porizkova's Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue cover from 11 February 1985

Porizkova shared the photo that got the attention of modeling scout John Casablancas. She was thirteen years old. One of her friends, who wanted to be a makeup artist, painted Porizkova's face, along with other friends, and sent the photographs to modeling agencies in Paris in the hopes of getting hired. "Soon after, a modeling agent called inviting me to Copenhagen to meet the famed model scout John Casablancas. . . . He took one look at me and asked: want to go to Paris? As if I'd say no! The rest, as they say, is history." [7][4]

Porizkova rose to become a top model in Paris during the early 1980s, and her fame spread to the United States when she posed in swimwear for Sports Illustrated.[improper synthesis?] In 1984, at 18 years old, she became the first woman from Central Europe to be on the cover of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue.[3] She appeared again on the cover in 1985.[8] She was the second woman (after Christie Brinkley) to be featured on the swimsuit issue's front cover in consecutive years (1984 and 1985).[9] Her first appearance as a model in the magazine was in 1983.[4] She appeared on the cover and inside New York Magazine in July, 1985.[10] Harper's Bazaar named her one of its ten most beautiful women in 1992 and American Photo magazine in its first issue declared her to be the model of the 1980s.[11][12][13][14][15] Porizkova appeared on the covers of numerous magazines around the world during the 1980s and 1990s, including Vogue, Elle, Harper's Bazaar, Self, Cosmopolitan, and Glamour.[11][16][4]

She has been featured in advertising campaigns for Chanel, Versace, Hermes, Christian Dior, Oscar De La Renta, Mikimoto, Perry Ellis, Laura Biagiotti, Anne Klein, Ellen Tracy, Barneys New York, Ann Taylor, Guerlain, and Revlon and appeared on the runway for Calvin Klein.[17][18]

In 1988, Porizkova won what was then the highest-paying modeling contract: a $6,000,000 contract with Estée Lauder, replacing Willow Bay.[19][20][21] The black-and-white television and print advertising campaign won praise from critics. The Estée Lauder makeover transformed Porizkova's public image from a swimsuit model to that of European sophisticate and she remained the company's face until 1995.[22][23][24][25] She soon landed another multimillion-dollar contract, with Escada.[26][27] She was presented on the November 1999 Millennium cover of American Vogue as one of the "Modern Muses."[28]

Television work[]

Porizkova was part of the panel of judges on America's Next Top Model (ANTM), starting on Cycle 10, replacing fashion icon Twiggy.[29]

Porizkova continued to conduct regular weekly evaluations of ANTM participants on the show until she announced during a 12 May 2009, appearance on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson that she had been fired from the show.[30] Although Porizkova maintained she was told by producers that she had an "ego problem," especially when she "consistently complained" about Tyra Banks' reported lateness to the set, ANTM executive producer Ken Mok and Banks released a statement claiming Porizkova's firing was due to "the current state of the economy," forcing ANTM to "make major budget cuts…unfortunately, Paulina was a casualty of these cuts." When questioned by ABC news journalist Cynthia McFadden about the firing of Porizkova as well as former ANTM colleague, Janice Dickinson, both of whom had complained Banks was "difficult," Banks refused to address the issue.[31][32][33]

She appeared on Andy Warhol's Fifteen Minutes.[34]

Porizkova was a participant on Dancing with the Stars,[35] in spring 2007 but was voted off on the first results show which aired on 27 March 2007.[36]

In 2009 and 2010, she played Clarissa on about five episodes of the CBS Daytime soap opera As the World Turns.[37] Porizkova appeared in the fourth episode of Celebrity Ghost Stories' second season.[38]

Acting[]

Porizkova's film debut was in the 1983 modeling mockumentary, Portfolio.[39] She appeared in the 1987 film Anna. In 1989, she co-starred with Tom Selleck in the film Her Alibi. [40] However, she was nominated for a Golden Raspberry for worst actress for her appearance in the film.[41]

Porizkova appeared in Emir Kusturica's 1993 film Arizona Dream, with Johnny Depp and Jerry Lewis, in a minor role as Lewis's young Polish fiancée. She had the main female role in the 1998 film Thursday. Porizkova wrote and directed the 2001 film, Roommates.[42][43][44][45] She also starred in the 2001 thriller film "", alongside Judd Nelson.[46] In 2004, she starred in the romantic comedy Knots. She appeared in an episode of the Starz comedy series Head Case which aired on 24 April 2009. She appeared in a 6th-season episode of Desperate Housewives, "Chromolume No. 7", alongside model Heidi Klum. She appeared on the ABC Family drama-comedy series Jane by Design in an episode which aired on 6 March 2012, and made a guest appearance on The Mysteries of Laura in February 2015.[47][48][49]

Writing[]

Porizkova co-authored a children's book, The Adventures of Ralphie the Roach (ISBN 978-0385424028) with British model Joanne Russell and illustrated by stepson Adam Ocasek, that was published in September 1992. She published her first novel, A Model Summer (ISBN 978-1401303266; Modellsommar in Swedish), in 2007, which is about a 15-year-old Swedish girl (Jirina) chosen by a modeling agent to spend a summer working in Paris in 1980. Porizkova is a blogger for Modelinia and The Huffington Post.[50]

Personal life[]

On 23 August 1989, Porizkova married Ric Ocasek, lead singer of the rock band The Cars.[51][4] They had met in 1984 during the filming of The Cars' music video "Drive". The couple have two sons, Jonathan Raven Ocasek (b. 4 November 1993),[52] and Oliver Ocasek (b. 1999).[53] In May 2018, Porizkova announced she and Ocasek had separated a year earlier.[54][55] In September 2019, while caring for Ocasek following an unspecified surgery, she found him dead in his home.[56]

Porizkova and Ocasek were still in the process of their divorce, but he had disinherited her in a new will, alleging that before his recent surgery she had abandoned him.[57] He also disinherited two of his six sons.[57] A probate judge will have to rule on the veracity of the abandonment claims, then on the remaining estate to be divided.[57] In 2021, Porizkova briefly dated director Aaron Sorkin.[58]

In popular culture[]

Porizkova is the subject of the song "Friends of P" by The Rentals on their 1995 album, Return of the Rentals, written by lead singer Matt Sharp.[59] She was the subject of "Paulina" on No Doubt's eponymous first album and "Dear Paulina", written and performed by Luna for the film Thursday, in which she appeared. She is one of several women referenced in Sonic Youth's song "Swimsuit Issue," from the 1992 album Dirty.[60][61] She was also the inspiration of the late transgender model and ballroom performer Octavia St. Laurent who spoke glowingly about her in the classic film documentary Paris is Burning.[62] Porizkova has said that St. Laurent's praise and idolization in the documentary was the favorite moment of her modeling career.[63]

Select filmography[]

Film
Year Film Role Notes
1987 Anna Krystyna
1989 Her Alibi Nina Lonescu
1993 Arizona Dream Millie
1996 Female Perversions Langley Flynn
1996 Wedding Bell Blues Tanya Touchev
1998 Long Time Since Diane Thwaite
1998 Thursday Dallas
2000 The Intern Herself Cameo
2001 Dark Asylum Dr. Maggie Bellum
2004 Knots Lily Kildear
2012 About Face: The Supermodels, Then and Now Herself Documentary
2017 Kevyn Aucoin Beauty & The Beast in Me Herself Documentary
Television
Year Title Role Notes
1987 Saturday Night Live Herself "Bronson Pinchot" (season 12: episode 11)
2008–2010 America's Next Top Model Judge Judge for cycles 10–12
2009–2010 As the World Turns Clarissa
2010 Desperate Housewives Herself
2015 The Mysteries of Laura Charlotte Bernice
2016 Nightcap Ana
2017 Bull Nella Wester Episode: "Dressed to Kill"
Music Videos
Year Title Role Notes
1984 "Drive" Herself

Select bibliography[]

  • "America Made Me a Feminist." The New York Times, 10 June 2017[64]
  • "A Model Summer." Hyperion, 8 April 2008[65]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Profile of fashion model Paulina Pořízková". Fashion Model Directory. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
  2. ^ "Paulina Porizkova - Model". Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b "Paulina Porizkova: Husband Is No George Clooney". The Huffington Post. 25 October 2011.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g Rosman, Katherine (15 May 2021). "Paulina Porizkova, Full-Frontal Emotion". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f One on One – Paulina Porizkova. YouTube (22-minute video interview). Al Jazeera English. 2010.
  6. ^ Matsson, Katarina. "Hon ger en sann bild av modellvärlden". Metro International. Retrieved 5 March 2015.[permanent dead link]
  7. ^ Porizkova, Paulina (28 November 2017). "Login • Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 25 December 2020.
  8. ^ Nolasco, Stephanie (10 April 2019). "Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model Paulina Porizkova says she's '54 and proud of it' after sizzling snaps". Fox News. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  9. ^ "Paulina Porizkova Ends 'Love Affair' With Antidepressants". ABC News. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  10. ^ New York Magazine. 1 July 1985.
  11. ^ Jump up to: a b Phang, Jennifer (8 July 2019). "Paulina Porizkova — Exclusive Portraits Of The Model". Hollywood Life. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  12. ^ "Former supermodel Paulina Porizkova, 56, wows with VERY revealing fashion shoot". 7NEWS. 10 May 2021. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  13. ^ "Famous Fashion Model has Meltdown at San Jose Airport in Costa Rica". Costa Rica Star News. 13 November 2020. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  14. ^ Bain, Ellissa (14 April 2021). "12 young photos of Paulina Porizkova – Czech model covers Vogue at age 56!". HITC. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  15. ^ March 1, eric_brown on; AM, 2008 at 1:58 (29 February 2008). "America's Next Top Model: Get To Know Paulina Porizkova". BuddyTV: America's Next Top Model. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  16. ^ Marianne Garvey. "Paulina Porizkova didn't need photoshop to land on the cover of Vogue Czechoslovakia". CNN. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  17. ^ Samaha, Barry (25 March 2021). "The 20 Top Supermodels That Dominated Fashion in the '80s". Harper's BAZAAR. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  18. ^ "Inside the 'abandonment' that rocked Ric Ocasek and Paulina Porizkova's marriage". NewsComAu. 24 October 2020. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  19. ^ Calistro, Paddy (27 November 1988). "International Icons : The New Faces of Prestige Makeup Have World-Citizen Sophistication". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  20. ^ Buck, Genevieve (1 June 1988). "MORE THAN JUST A PERFECT FACE - Chicago Tribune". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on 15 May 2021. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  21. ^ Schiro, Anne-Marie (3 May 1988). "A New Model: Rethinking Estee Lauder". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  22. ^ News, C. B. S. "Supermodel Paulina Porizkova: "It's really freaking hard to be a woman over 50"". WBTV. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  23. ^ Buck, Genevieve. "MORE THAN JUST A PERFECT FACE". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  24. ^ "A Brief History of Estée Lauder Models". www.yahoo.com. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  25. ^ Pressler, Margaret Webb (17 September 1995). "THE UNBLEMISHED TRUTH". Washington Post.
  26. ^ Ginsberg, Merle; Kaplan, Michael (24 October 2020). "Inside the 'abandonment' that rocked Ric Ocasek and Paulina Porizkova's marriage". Page Six. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  27. ^ Attardo, Katie; Valenti, Lauren (7 April 2020). "The Most Iconic Supermodels of the '80s". Marie Claire. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  28. ^ Lee, Helen (11 April 2007). "Vogue's 'World's Next Top Models' cover". SassyBella.com. Retrieved 18 April 2011.
  29. ^ "Twiggy Replaced on 'America's Next Top Model' — Paulina Porizkova will be sitting next to Miss J". Zap2it.com. 26 November 2007. Archived from the original on 29 November 2007. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
  30. ^ "Fashion Statement: It's all-out war on America's Next Top Model". the Guardian. 28 May 2009. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  31. ^ Silverman, Stephen M. (18 May 2009). "Why Tyra Banks Fired Paulina Porizkova". People. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
  32. ^ "'America's Next Top Model's' Paulina Porizkova: 'I was fired'". LA Times Blogs - Staging1. 13 May 2009. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  33. ^ VENA, JOCELYN (22 May 2009). "JANICE DICKINSON SLAMS TYRA BANKS OVER PAULINA PORIZKOVA FIRING". MTV.
  34. ^ Warhol, Andy (30 July 2016). "Andy Warhol's Fifteen Minutes". Retrieved 6 April 2019.
  35. ^ "Meet the New Cast of 'Dancing With the Stars". ABC. 20 February 2007. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
  36. ^ McDonald, Ray (28 March 2007). "Former Supermodel Pavlína Pořízková Eliminated From 'Dancing with the Stars'". VOA News. Archived from the original on 17 November 2008. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
  37. ^ "Paulina Porizkova Joins The Cast Of As The World Turns". Soaps.com. 2 November 2009. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  38. ^ "Celebrity Ghost Stories: Paulina Porizkova – Web Exclusive". Biography.com. Archived from the original on 14 August 2013. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
  39. ^ "Portfolio (1983) – IMDb". IMDb.
  40. ^ Simon, Jeff (3 February 1989). ""HER ALIBI": THERE'S NO EXCUSE FOR IT". Buffalo News. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  41. ^ Golden Raspberry Nominees 1989 Archived 4 January 2016 at the Wayback Machine, razzies.com, from Golden Raspberry website (archive); accessed 5 March 2015.
  42. ^ Smith, Ethan (2 February 2003). "MUSIC; A Band Just Now Recovering From Success". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  43. ^ "A nyolcvanas évek legszebb cseh nője 53 évesen meztelenül állt modellt". Origo (in Hungarian). Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  44. ^ ""Po przekroczeniu 50-tki słyszę: 'ubierz się babciu', 'jesteś spragniona uwagi, zdesperowana i żałosna'"". HelloZdrowie (in Polish). 27 February 2021. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  45. ^ "Paulina Porizkova - Czech/Model/Actress/Author". www.brspecial.com. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  46. ^ "Watch Dark Asylum (2001) Movie Online: Full Movie Streaming - MSN.com". www.msn.com. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  47. ^ "Photos from Supermodels: Then and Now". E! Online. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  48. ^ "Betsey Johnson, Paulina Porizkova Add Authenticity to ABC Family's Jane By Design". TVGuide.com. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  49. ^ "Jane by Design's Dasher: Jane's Double Life Comes In Between Her Relationship With Nick". www.yahoo.com. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  50. ^ "Paulina Porizkova Is a Blogger Now". The Cut. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
  51. ^ Smith, Laura C. (18 August 1995). "Ric Ocasek gets married". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 22 August 2017. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
  52. ^ Brozan, Nadine (17 November 1993). "Chronicle". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
  53. ^ "Paulina Porizkova: Model Profile". NYMag.com. Archived from the original on 19 July 2017. Retrieved 3 May 2018. Children: Jonathan (Born 93), Oliver (Born 99)
  54. ^ Porizkova, Paulina (2 May 2018). "Our family always has been – and still is – a well-built car..." Paulina Porizkova verified Instagram. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
  55. ^ Haas, Mariah (3 May 2018). "The Cars' Ric Ocasek and Wife Paulina Porizkova Announce Split After 28 Years of Marriage". People. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
  56. ^ Pareles, Jon (15 September 2019). "Ric Ocasek, New Wave Rock Visionary and Cars Co-Founder, Dies at 75". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 18 September 2019.
  57. ^ Jump up to: a b c Mayoras, Danielle and Andy. "An Estate Fight May Be Coming Over Ric Ocasek's Estate". Forbes. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  58. ^ "Paulina Porizkova Addresses Split from Boyfriend Aaron Sorkin: 'He Helped Heal Me'". PEOPLE.com. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  59. ^ Luerssen, John D. Rivers' Edge: The Weezer Story. ECW Press, 2004, p. 163; ISBN 1-55022-619-3
  60. ^ "Sonic Youth Site Menu". www.sonicyouth.com. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  61. ^ "Paulina Porizkova". LezWatch.TV. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  62. ^ SILVA, HORACIO (19 May 2009). "R.I.P. Octavia Saint Laurent". The New York Times Style Magazine.
  63. ^ Five Questions for Paulina
  64. ^ Porizkova, Paulina (10 June 2017). "Opinion | America Made Me a Feminist". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331.
  65. ^ A Model Summer Amazon. Retrieved 1 March 2020.

External links[]

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