Who

The green-eyed Kurkova is a magazine covergirl best known for her gig as a Victoria's Secret Angel.

Backstory

Kurkova was born in the Czech Republic, the daughter of a local basketball star. She picked up local modeling gigs in regional magazines and catalogs as a pre-teen, but didn't hit it big until she was discovered by modeling scout Alessandro Bazzoni—who is now her boyfriend—and moved to Milan at age 15. In Milan she met Miuccia Prada, who hired her for the Prada show in 1999. Not long after, Vogue's Anna Wintour encouraged her to move to New York and eventually put her on the cover of Vogue in February 2001, dubbing her "the next supermodel." After landing a series of high profile contracts with Oscar de la Renta, Ralph Lauren, and Balenciaga, and walking in two nationally televised Victoria's Secret shows, she hit the modeling jackpot with a contract to become a Victoria's Secret Angel alongside Heidi Klum and Gisele Bundchen.

Of note

Still in her early 20s, Kurkova has already appeared on more than 60 magazine covers and starred in print ads for Louis Vuitton, La Perla, Yves Saint Laurent, Celine, Express, and Furla; she's also walked the runways for Michael Kors, Christian Dior, Bill Blass, Anna Sui, and Proenza Schouler. Known in the industry as a workhorse who rarely turns down a well-paying job—she raked in more than $3.5 million in 2006—Kurkova's now looking to break into acting. She recently appeared as a supermodel in My Sexiest Year, a dramedy featuring Frankie Muniz and Harvey Keitel.

Personal

Kurkova, who answers to the nicknames "Kinka" and "KK," lives with her boyfriend Alessandro in a $2.3 million, three-bedroom condo in Tribeca's River Lofts building. Other residents of the building include Jason Binn, Meryl Streep and Hilary Duff.