Karolina Kurkova

Karolína Kurková is a world-renowned model and entrepreneur whose hugely successful career has taken her from a city in northern Czechia all the way to Miami, Florida. During the late 2000s, she became one of the highest-paid models in the world and has walked runways and modelled in campaigns for a dizzying array of big names, including Alexander McQueen, Calvin Klein, Caroline Herrera, Christian Dior, Gucci, Hugo Boss, Karl Lagerfeld, Ralph Lauren, Stella McCartney, Versace, Luis Vuitton, and many others. As an entrepreneur, she co-founded the highly successful Gryph & IvyRose plant-based skincare brand and has also curated collections for the About You clothing brand. She is very popular on social media with over 960,000 followers on Instagram.

Kurková was born in the city of Děčín, not far from the border with Germany, in 1984. As a youth, she was mocked for her height (she is 5’,11”), but when a friend sent some photos of her to a modelling agency, she had the last laugh as she landed a contract and went to Prague to walk her first runway. She soon moved to Milan, signing a contract with Prada. By the time, she was 17, she had moved to New York City where she became a Victoria’s Secret Angel.

Kurková’s career truly took off in New York, and in 2004, she won the Model of the Year Award at the VH1/Vogue Fashion Awards. Legendary photographers such as Mario Testino have praised her consummate skill and beauty. Today, she lives in an exclusive area of Miami, Florida, with her young family, but remains firmly established as a major name in world fashion.