Petra Nemcova

Born and raised in Karvina, in the Czech Republic, Petra Nemcova took the modeling world by storm after being discovered by a modeling scout on the streets of her native country. Petra has graced the pages and covers of magazines such as Elle, Harper's Bazaar, Shape, Cosmopolitan, Vanity Fair and the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition. In 2004 she suffered a broken pelvis and severe internal injuries while on vacation in Thailand during the devastating Tsunami. After her recovery, Petra created the "Happy Hearts Fund" (www.happyheartsfund.org), a charitable organization and campaign dedicated to improving children's lives through education and sustainable programs in natural disaster areas. Happy Hearts Fund, founded in 2006, has rebuilt 47 schools and kindergartens, with eight more on their way, and has presence in nine countries, including Thailand, Indonesia, Mexico, Peru, Sri Lanka, Haiti, India, Chile and Hurricane Katrina-affected areas of the United States. One-hundred percent of all donations received are directed to children's programming.