Porizkova, Paulina 1965–

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Porizkova, Paulina 1965–

PERSONAL:

Born April 9 1965, in Prostejov, Czechoslovakia; became a U.S. citizen; married Rick Ocasek (a musician and record producer), August 23, 1989; children: Jonathan Raven, Oliver Orion; Eron, Christopher, Derek (stepchildren). Hobbies and other interests: Classical piano and art.

ADDRESSES:

Home—New York, NY.

CAREER:

Writer, model, and actress. Former supermodel whose work included a six-million-dollar-a-year contract with Estée Lauder. Has appeared in films and on television. Films include Portfolio, 1983, Covergirl, 1984, Anna, 1987, Her Alibi, 1989, Arizona Dream, 1993, Female Perversions, 1996, Wedding Bell Blues, 1996, Long Time Since, 1997, Thursday, 1998, After the Rain, 2000, The Intern, 2000, Partners in Crime, 2000, Roommates, 2001, Dark Asylum, 2001, Au plus près du paradis, 2002, People I Know, 2002, Second Best, 2004, and Knots, 2004. Television work includes appearances on Saturday Night Live and Ned and Stacey.

WRITINGS:

(With Joanne Russell) The Adventures of Ralphie the Roach, illustrated by Adam Otcasek, Doubleday (New York, NY), 1992.

(And director) Roommates (screenplay), 2001.

A Model Summer (novel), Hyperion (New York, NY), 2007.

Contributor to Travelers' Tales Prague and the Czech Republic: True Stories.

SIDELIGHTS:

Onetime supermodel Paulina Porizkova has expanded her career to include acting and writing. Her first writing effort was the children's book The Adventures of Ralphie the Roach, which Porizkova wrote with her friend and fellow model Joanne Russell. The story focuses on Ralphie and his family, who live in a place called Roachtown behind a shelf in an empty house. However, someone is moving into the house, and Ralphie and the other residents of Roachtown face extermination.

It would be more than a decade before Poirzkova's next book was published, this time an adult novel titled A Model Summer. While the novel's protagonist, Jirina, bears many resemblances to the author, Porizkova told Carla Hay in an interview posted on the Lifetime Television Web site that the events are not necessarily all true, noting: "Kind of everything and kind of nothing [is based on real events]. I lent [the Jirina character] some of my experiences, but it's not me and it's not my life. When I first went to Paris, I had a slightly different personality from my protagonist. I was much tougher than the girl I created, and I have a much better sense of humor. So I was much better prepared for that world than she is. The book is not a memoir; it's a memory."

The novel features a Swedish-Czechoslovakian teenager name Jirina who, despite being tall and skinny and no classical beauty, attracts the attention of a Parisian owner of a modeling agency. As the young girl enters the world of modeling, she goes from being very naive to a seasoned veteran who understands all too well the ups and downs of the high-fashion and modeling industries. As time goes on, Jirina comes to realize that being a model is not her ideal career. She comes to find it degrading and boring. Nevertheless, she meets a host of interesting people, including a gentleman who rescues her from a bad situation and an Australian photographer who captures her heart. Commenting on the protagonist, a Publishers Weekly contributor noted that her "drive is palpable and her voice believable." A reviewer writing on BellaOnline commented: "Porizkova gives us front row seats to witness the ugly side of beauty." Several other reviewers also noted the insights into the modeling world provided by the author. "For anyone looking for a unique read that offers an insider's look into the world of modeling, A Model Summer is a fantastic read," wrote Tracy Farnsworth in a review posted on Roundtable Reviews. Front Street Reviews contributor Sarra Borne noted: "Paulina Porizkova clearly expresses her creativity in her debut novel. It is a fascinating subject that she describes vividly and quite expertly."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, March 1, 2007, Carolyn Kubisz, review of A Model Summer, p. 64.

Entertainment Weekly, August 18, 1995, Laura C. Smith, "My Husband the Car," profile of author and husband, p. 68; April 6, 2007, Tina Jordan, "8 Things You Don't Know about Paulina Porizkova," p. 19.

Marie Claire, May, 2007, review of A Model Summer, p. 126.

Newsweek, November 23, 1992, review of The Adventures of Ralphie the Roach, p. 72.

New York Times, April 1, 2007, Winter Miller, "Pampering Two Left Feet," p. 4.

New York Times Book Review, April 8, 2007, Alex Kuczynski, "In Her Fashion," review of A Model Summer, p. 9.

People, July 1, 1985, "Don't Be Catty: At 20, Is Paulina Porizkova the World's Most Beautiful Model or Isn't She?," p. 95; February 6, 1989, Peter Travers, "Her Alibi," p. 15.

Publishers Weekly, October 19, 1992, review of The Adventures of Ralphie the Roach, p. 78; January 29, 2007, review of A Model Summer, p. 41.

Redbook, October, 1992, Stephanie Mansfield, "Paulina Porizkova: Starting Over at 27," p. 104.

School Library Journal, February, 1993, JoAnn Rees, review of The Adventures of Ralphie the Roach, p. 77.

Sports Illustrated, February, 1989, Douglas S. Looney, "1984, 1985: The Pearls of Paulina," p. 191.

Vogue, April, 2007, Eve MacSweeney, "Long Tall Stories; Eighties Supermodel Paulina Porizkova Has Lived Several Lives Already," p. 352.