The political poster child who became a million dollar model
Aged four Paulina Porizkova's face was used to show the hardships of Communist Czechoslovakia.
Czech supermodel Paulina Porizkova has posed for countless magazine covers, and walked the catwalks of some of the world’s most fashionable cities. But her career behind the camera began far from the fashion world’s glamourous orbit when she was separated from her parents as a child and became the face of the hardships of Communist Czechoslovakia.
After leaving Czechoslovakia, Paulina was spotted by an agent and went to Paris at 15 to model. She became wildly successful, earning millions of dollars in the 1980s as one of the world’s highest paid supermodels. But after decades of success in an industry she’d first entered as a child, Paulina was greeted by an ugly reality: ageism.
The clip of Late Night with David Letterman came from Late Night with David Letterman, Carson Productions, NBC Productions and Space Age Meats Productions.
Get in touch: outlook@bbc.com
Presenter: India Rakusen
Producer: Olivia Lynch-Kelly
(Photo: Paulina Porizkova Credit: Jill Greenberg)
Last on
Broadcasts
- Wed 18 Jan 2023 12:06GMTÂ鶹ԼÅÄ World Service
- Wed 18 Jan 2023 18:06GMTÂ鶹ԼÅÄ World Service except East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa
- Wed 18 Jan 2023 23:06GMTÂ鶹ԼÅÄ World Service East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa only
- Thu 19 Jan 2023 00:06GMTÂ鶹ԼÅÄ World Service South Asia
- Thu 19 Jan 2023 03:06GMTÂ鶹ԼÅÄ World Service except South Asia