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Outlook: The political poster child who became a million dollar model

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Paulina Porizkova

18/01/2023 GMT

The political poster child who became a million dollar model

BBC World Service - Outlook, The political poster child who became a million dollar model

Paulina Porizkova's face was used to show the hardships of Communist Czechoslovakia

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)

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