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.


Early lifePetra 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.

Career Modeling 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 Pro-V, Passport, Playtex, Rampage, Schwarzkopf, Victoria's Secret, and Wild Orchid. Additionally, she has appeared on the covers of Madame Figaro, Elle, Shape, Cosmopolitan, Flare, Vegas, Glamour, FHM, and Sports Illustrated. From 2000 to 2004, she has walked for designers Lolita Lempicka, Gai Mattiolo Erreuno, Matthew Williamson, Custo Barceloa, Blunauta, Dirk Bikkembergs, Gugliemo Cappone, Luciano soprani, Marina Babini,Yumi Katsura, Akadius, and Michino Koshino.

Němcová was featured on the cover of the 2003 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue and appeared in the 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006 editions. In addition to working with world class photographers on her Sports Illustrated shoots, she was the object/subject of Joanne Gair's body painting work.

Petra is currently signed to Mikas in Stockholm, View Management in Barcelona, Unique One in Prague, and "Next Model Management" in London, Paris, Milan, New York, Miami, and Los Angeles.

TelevisionIn 2001, the up-and-coming model appeared on British television series Absolutely Fabulous. On 3 June 2004, she was one of the telecast judges during the 53rd annual Miss Universe competition in Quito, Ecuador. In 2007, she was the host of TLC's A Model Life. On 7 July 2007 she was a presenter at the American leg of Live Earth and appeared in the music video "Misfit" by American indie group Elefant. She is currently working with HP computers to produce a multi-million dollar TV and web campaign.

She was a contestant on season 12 of Dancing with the Stars and her professional dance partner was Dmitry Chaplin. She was voted off in the 5th week of the competition and came in 8th place. "Dancing with the stars" performances :

Week # Dance Style/Song Judges' score Result
Inaba Goodman Tonioli
1 Foxtrot/"Don't Know Why" 6 6 6 No Elimination
2 Jive/"Crazy Little Thing Called Love" 6 6 6 Safe
3 Waltz/"You Raise Me Up" 8 9 8 Safe
4 Paso Doble/"Les Voici! Voici La Quadrille!" 8 7 8 Safe
5 Quickstep/"Viva Las Vegas" 7 7 8 Eliminated

Other VenturesIn 2005, Němcová released her autobiography Love Always, Petra (ISBN 0446579130) published December 2005, which tells of her early life under Communist rule in Czechoslovakia, her entrance into the field of fashion and modeling, and her breakthrough into Sports Illustrated, which was her springboard to becoming a supermodel. She also tells of her life with Simon Atlee and how they fell in love and became engaged to marry.

In July 2007, Němcová partnered with New York City power broker Ron Schnackenberg to form a luxury boutique real estate firm Aglow Properties, which specializes in representing high net worth and high-profile clients in a very discreet manner.

Personal lifeNěmcová speaks Czech, Slovak, Polish, English, French and Italian. In December 2010, she became engaged to English actor Jamie Belman. In April, 2011 she confirmed on The Wendy Williams Show that she is currently married.

In February 2007, Němcová became a vegan and gave up meat and dairy in order to 'help save ocean life.'