Paulina Porizkova

Paulina Porizkova

Paulina Porizkova (Czech: Pavlína Pořízková, pronounced [ˈpavliːna ˈpor̝iːskovaː]; born April 9, 1965) is a Czech model and actress.


Paulina Porizkova early life
Born in Prostějov, Czechoslovakia, Pořízková was still a toddler when her parents left Czechoslovakia, fleeing the Warsaw Pact invasion in 1968, and moved to Lund in southern Sweden. They left the young Pořízková under the care of her grandmother in Czechoslovakia, believing that their daughter could be brought out later.

However, the Czechoslovakian authorities would not allow this, and the ensuing battle for Pořízková was widely publicized in the Swedish press, making her a cause célèbre. After a failed rescue attempt, in which her mother was detained by the national police, international political pressure led by Olof Palme caused the communist government to allow the Pořízek family to be reunited after seven years. The reunion was soon ended when Pořízková's father left the family, and her parents filed for divorce.[citation needed] Pořízková and her father have been estranged since.

This left Pořízková's mother to fund her own medical education, and Pořízková and her brother Jáchym Pořízek (who was born in Czechoslovakia during her mother's house arrest) to look after themselves, including having to steal bread to have something to eat.



Paulina Porizkova Personal life
On August 23, 1989, Pořízková married Ric Ocasek, lead singer for the rock band The Cars. They had first met in 1984 during the filming of The Cars' music video, "Drive", which was directed by Timothy Hutton and in which she stars. Pořízková was only 19 and Ocasek was already married at that time. The couple have two children.

Later, Pořízková was 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, also a former member of the Ocasek-produced Weezer and the song "Paulina" on No Doubt's first album.

Pavlína became a naturalized U.S. citizen under the name Pavlína Pořízková-Ocasek.