Eva Herzigova was planning to throw a party to celebrate her 50th birthday, but a few days before sending out the invitations she received a phone call that upended her plans. “Eva, you have to go to the Oscars in Los Angeles,” her agent told her. “But that weekend is my birthday,” she replied. “It would be nice if you went,” her agent insisted. “I don’t live in Los Angeles and I don’t go there very often. I have some friends there, but they were all out of town on those dates. So I spent my birthday alone in Los Angeles. I managed to organize a small dinner, but without my family. It was very strange,” he explains to “EL PAIS”.

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For almost 35 years, Herzigova had to change her personal plans in order to meet her professional obligations. At 16, she won a modeling competition in Prague and left her hometown of Litvínov, near the German border, to try her luck in Paris. She was the “model” of incredible beauty that all the famous brands were looking for at the time.

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In 1992, she became famous playing a modern-day Marilyn Monroe in an advertisement and in 1994, at the age of 21, she starred in a campaign for a well-known underwear company. The British press claimed that billboards featuring her were causing traffic congestion and accidents…

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However, this campaign changed Herzigova’s life and launched her into the supermodel elite, including Linda Evangelista, Naomi Campbell, Christy Turlington, Cindy Crawford, Claudia Schiffer and Kate Moss. Since then, she’s accomplished everything one can accomplish in fashion: she’s been one of the famous Victoria’s Secret Angels, graced the cover of every magazine – including Playboy – and starred in Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit issue.

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Today, she lives a quieter life in Turin, Italy with her husband, Italian businessman Gregorio Marsiaj, and their three children. She says she’s working less and studying every job offer more carefully, but there’s always a photo shoot or a fashion show somewhere…

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