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Petra Nemcova's Biography

 
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Petra Nemcova was born on June 24, 1979 in Karvina, Czech Republic.

Her father Oldrich Nemec was a bricklayer and her mother Bozenou, a teacher.

Petra Nemcova was spotted by a model agency whilst she was in the Czech Republic, and in 2002 she gained a major breakthrough as a model when she appeared in the 2002 Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit Issue.

She appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated in the following year, and further covers followed including the August 2004 issue of GQ in the UK.

Petra Nemcova was on holiday in Thailand with her partner Simon Atlee in December 2004 when a tsunami struck. Simon Atlee died in the disaster. Nemcova held on to a tree for hours and survived but suffered a broken pelvis.

In an interview with The Guardian, Petra Nemcova explained how meditation helped her survive:

"I was able to stay very calm and focused, aware very much of everything that was happening. I guess I was more prepared because of it."

She set up the Happy Hearts Fund, which aims to rebuild children's lives after natural disasters.

Nemcova has written an autobiography, Love Always, Petra.

In 2011, the Daily Mail reported that Petra Nemcova had got engaged to actor Jamie Belman, whose credits include playing Michael Conway in the UK soap Emmerdale.

Previously, she was reported to have dated James Blunt, Sean Penn and Peter Berg.

In 2011 Petra Nemcova was paired with Dmitry Chaplin in Dancing with the Stars season 12. They were the fourth couple to be eliminated.

In 2019, she married Benjamin Larretche.



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