Petra Němcová born 24 June 1979 in Karviná, Czechoslovakia, now Czech Republic) is a Czech model, television host, author, and philanthropist. She is founder and chair of the Happy Hearts Fund. In December 2004, she was injured in Thailand by a tsunami resulting from the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake; her then-fiancé, photographer Simon Atlee, was killed in the tsunami. Her surname is pronounced nyehm-tsaw-va
Her father was a mason and her mother, a teacher. She has a sister named Olga. She became a model after being spotted at the age of 16 during a national talent search.[citation needed]
She was featured on the cover of the 2004 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue and appeared in the 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006 editions.In addition to working with world class photographers on her Sports Illustrated shoots, she was the object/subject of Joanne Gair's body painting work.
She has modeled for Victoria's Secret and been featured in advertising campaigns, including Cartier and Max Factor. On 3 June 2004, she was one of the telecast judges during the 53rd annual Miss Universe competition in Quito, Ecuador.
She speaks Czech, Slovak, Polish, English, French and Italian