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Model goes unscripted in the U.S.

Petra Němcová will star in a 'gritty' reality TV series on TLC

By Hilda Hoy
Staff Writer, The Prague Post
February 21st, 2007 issue

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Outside its borders, the Czech Republic is often best known for its most famous exports: beer and women. Now, pivo is about to take a back seat.
World-famous supermodel and homegrown darling Petra Němcová, who stimulated hearts and loins with appearances in Sports Illustrated (SI) swimsuit issues and Victoria’s Secret lingerie catalog, is slated to star in her own U.S. reality TV show.
Produced for now under the working title The Petra Němcová Project, the series positions Němcová as mentor and friend to six aspiring young models, says David Schaefer, spokesperson for The Learning Channel (TLC), the U.S. network that will air the show. As the young women attempt to break into the harsh fashion industry, the Moravian guardian angel is there to guide the way.
The project sets Němcová in the footsteps of past modeling legends and SI cover girls. Tyra Banks hosts America’s Next Top Model, a show that pits wannabe catwalk queens against each other, and Heidi Klum is host of Project Runway, a TV competition for fledgling fashion designers.
But Němcová’s show will be different because it shows the “gritty,” real-life world of fashion, the show’s producers say. And it’s not just about competition, Schaefer says. “Němcová works with the models throughout the series,” he says, but also encourages them “to be better people and realize the opportunities they have been afforded in life.”
The just-completed shooting of the show coincided with New York City’s Fashion Week earlier this month, Schaefer says. The eight-episode run is set to premiere this summer, likely in late June.
If the show is later picked up by a British network, viewers in the Czech Republic may be able to catch it via satellite.
Famous faces
For decades, Czech names have ranked among some of the world’s biggest models. Fellow Moravian Paulina Porizkova, as she was known in the United States, graced the glossies in the ’80s, followed by Eva Herzigová and, more recently, Karolína Kurková.
“I think Czech girls are natural performers,” says Marian Mrózek, the photographer and modeling agent who helped launch Němcová’s career. “They know how to pose, to smile — they just step onto the catwalk and suddenly the whole room shines.”
Their Slavic features — such as high cheekbones and clear skin — and generally creative, accommodating personalities make Czech women ideal models, says Iva Valová, a local fashion writer with Elle magazine.
However, it seems the producers at TLC didn’t get the memo: Of the six contestants featured on the show, none is Czech, Schaefer says, although one is Slovak.
Born in Karviná, north Moravia, Němcová started modeling in her teens.
“It’s not fair to say I discovered her,” says Mrózek, owner of the Boss modeling agency in Ostrava, north Moravia. “I might have helped, but Petra discovered herself, I would say.”
The leggy brunette broke into supermodel status in 2003, when her assets landed her the highly coveted title of cover girl for SI’s best-selling swimsuit issue.
Lucrative modeling work followed, but her fortunes changed Dec. 26, 2004, when Němcová and her British fiancé were struck by the Indian Ocean tsunami while vacationing in Thailand. She survived the disaster that left some 300,000 people dead by clinging to a tree for more than eight hours, despite a shattered pelvis and life-threatening internal injuries. Her fiancé was swept away and never seen again.
Tabloid fodder
Since that tragedy, Němcová has dialed down her modeling career in order to focus on philanthropy. Her charity, the Happy Hearts Fund, raises money for needy children in Thailand, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Pakistan.
Němcová’s story of loss and survival captured hearts around the world, and these days the media at home and abroad can’t get enough.
Locals adore her because she embodies the Czech dream, says Elle writer Valová. “People like seeing that someone who grew up in a small Czech town in a typical family found success and is living a life of luxury.”
When she came along with British pop-singer boyfriend James Blunt for his Prague concert last summer, the Czech tabloids went wild. And, as recently as Feb. 13, the daily Právo splashed a picture of Němcová and Blunt on its front page, simply because the pair showed up at the U.S. Grammy awards. On Valentine’s Day, gossip Web sites around the world buzzed with details of the pair’s lunch date: They were spotted canoodling over a plate of chicken ravioli at a West Hollywood café, People magazine gushed.
That kind of fame no doubt attracted the Hollywood producers of The Petra Němcová Project.
Regardless of what happens stateside, Němcová will continue to inspire young Czech hopefuls, Mrózek says. “When the girls at my agency find out I am Petra’s friend, they are very excited. She is a big idol for many of them.”
Hela Balínová contributed to this report.

Hilda Hoy can be reached at hhoy@praguepost.com


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