Helena Houdová
Encyclopedia
Helena Houdová is a model and humanitarian who has covered or appeared in countless fashion magazines including Elle
, Harper's Bazaar, Cosmopolitan
and Vogue
. According to FHM
, "Houdová is one of the 'Top 100 Most Beautiful Women' in the world - and is one of the most successful models in the competitive fashion model industry." She is known for donating almost all of her earnings to charities for orphans and disadvantaged children. She is President and Founder of a charity devoted to these causes called Sunflower Children which she started in 2000 after being crowned Miss Czech Republic
. Her pronounced hoh-daw-vah:.
competition in 1999, and she went on to become a finalist in the Miss World supermodel contest and later established a place in fashion's elite by modeling on the New York, Milano, London and Paris runway circuit. Houdová's popularity in the fashion industry sky-rocketed when she appeared on the cover the May 2005 edition of Elle, which dedicated the entire issue to her.
Houdová has been seen on the covers of Italian, Japanese, American, French and Spanish Elle
, V
, Flair, i-D
and Time
s Style & Design. Houdová has been featured in ad campaigns including those for Gap, Yves Saint-Laurent, Victoria's Secret
, Emanuel Ungaro
, Tommy Hilfiger
, Revlon
, Dolce & Gabbana
, Escada
and Louis Vuitton
.
In 2005, Houdová was named a Goodwill Ambassador for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health. She also appeared in a group montage on a rare (as of recent years) group montage of up and coming supermodels.
In 2008, Houdová was featured on four covers including the Elle Italia and Czech Elle Motherhood Issue and was dubbed the "Czech Princess Diana" in recognition of her humanitarian work and her immense popularity in the Czech Republic and Central Europe. In 2009 Houdová and her newborn son, alongside Pavlína Pořízková and Miloš Forman
, appeared in a highly medialised Louis Vuitton
-campaign photographed by Lucie Robinson
for the benefit of her Sunflower Children charity foundation.
.
Elle (magazine)
Elle is a worldwide magazine of French origin that focuses on women's fashion, beauty, health, and entertainment. Elle is also the world's largest fashion magazine. It was founded by Pierre Lazareff and his wife Hélène Gordon in 1945. The title, in French, means "she".-History:Elle was founded in...
, Harper's Bazaar, Cosmopolitan
Cosmopolitan (magazine)
Cosmopolitan is an international magazine for women. It was first published in 1886 in the United States as a family magazine, was later transformed into a literary magazine and eventually became a women's magazine in the late 1960s...
and Vogue
Vogue (magazine)
Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 18 national and one regional edition by Condé Nast.-History:In 1892 Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly publication in the United States. When he died in 1909, Condé Montrose Nast picked up the magazine and slowly began...
. According to FHM
FHM
FHM, originally published as For Him Magazine, is an international monthly men's lifestyle magazine.- History :The magazine began publication in 1985 in the United Kingdom under the name For Him and changed its title to FHM in 1994 when Emap Consumer Media bought the magazine, although the full For...
, "Houdová is one of the 'Top 100 Most Beautiful Women' in the world - and is one of the most successful models in the competitive fashion model industry." She is known for donating almost all of her earnings to charities for orphans and disadvantaged children. She is President and Founder of a charity devoted to these causes called Sunflower Children which she started in 2000 after being crowned Miss Czech Republic
Miss Czech Republic
Miss České republiky was a national beauty pageant from the Czech Republic.-History:Before Miss Czech Republic existed, there was a similar pageant that took place between 1966 and 1979, known as Girl of the Year. Alžběta Štrkulová, a popular TV presenter in the Czech Republic, won in 1967. At...
. Her pronounced hoh-daw-vah:.
Biography
Houdová was born and raised in Plzeň, Czech Republic. She has been working in orphanages since the age of 15 and learned sign language in order to communicate with handicapped orphans in Plzeň. She adopted 4 young girls on a part time basis and her family tends to them in Plzeň. While besieged by modelling agencies hoping to sign her as a teenager, her father refused to let her model until she completed her university degree. She majored in Anthropology. After completing her studies, she moved abroad to pursue work through a Parisian agency. Houdová later relocated to New York City.Modeling career
Houdová won the Miss Czech RepublicMiss Czech Republic
Miss České republiky was a national beauty pageant from the Czech Republic.-History:Before Miss Czech Republic existed, there was a similar pageant that took place between 1966 and 1979, known as Girl of the Year. Alžběta Štrkulová, a popular TV presenter in the Czech Republic, won in 1967. At...
competition in 1999, and she went on to become a finalist in the Miss World supermodel contest and later established a place in fashion's elite by modeling on the New York, Milano, London and Paris runway circuit. Houdová's popularity in the fashion industry sky-rocketed when she appeared on the cover the May 2005 edition of Elle, which dedicated the entire issue to her.
Houdová has been seen on the covers of Italian, Japanese, American, French and Spanish Elle
Elle (magazine)
Elle is a worldwide magazine of French origin that focuses on women's fashion, beauty, health, and entertainment. Elle is also the world's largest fashion magazine. It was founded by Pierre Lazareff and his wife Hélène Gordon in 1945. The title, in French, means "she".-History:Elle was founded in...
, V
V (American magazine)
V magazine is an American fashion magazine published since 1999. The magazine is printed seasonally and highlights trends in fashion, film music and art. A men's fashion quarterly entitled VMAN started as an offshoot in 2003.-History:...
, Flair, i-D
I-D
i-D is a British magazine dedicated to fashion, music, art and youth culture. i-D was founded by designer and former Vogue art director Terry Jones in 1980. The first issue was published in the form of a hand-stapled fanzine with text produced on a typewriter...
and Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
s Style & Design. Houdová has been featured in ad campaigns including those for Gap, Yves Saint-Laurent, Victoria's Secret
Victoria's Secret
Victoria's Secret is an American retailer of women's wear, lingerie and beauty products. It is the largest segment of publicly-traded Limited Brands with sales of over US$5 billion and an operating income of $1 billion in 2006...
, Emanuel Ungaro
Emanuel Ungaro
Emanuel Ungaro is a French fashion designer.-Early life:Ungaro's Italian father fled to France from Francavilla Fontana of Brindisi province because of the fascist uprising in Italy...
, Tommy Hilfiger
Tommy Hilfiger
Thomas Jacob "Tommy" Hilfiger is an American fashion designer and founder of the premium lifestyle brand Tommy Hilfiger.-Early life:...
, Revlon
Revlon
Revlon is an American cosmetics, skin care, fragrance, and personal care company founded in 1932.-History:Revlon was founded in the midst of the Great Depression, 1932, by Charles Revson and his brother Joseph, along with a chemist, Charles Lachman, who contributed the "L" in the Revlon name...
, Dolce & Gabbana
Dolce & Gabbana
Dolce & Gabbana is an Italian luxury industry fashion house. The company was started by the Italian designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana in Milan, Italy. By 2005 their turnover was €597 million....
, Escada
Escada
Escada is an international luxury fashion group in women's designer clothing. The company has a presence in about 60 different countries. Its main sales markets are North America, western and eastern Europe and Asia. It filed bankruptcy in August 2009, and was acquired by Megha Mittal, in November...
and Louis Vuitton
Louis Vuitton
Louis Vuitton Malletier – commonly referred to as Louis Vuitton , or shortened to LV – is a French fashion house founded in 1854 by Louis Vuitton. The label is well known for its LV monogram, which is featured on most products, ranging from luxury trunks and leather goods to ready-to-wear, shoes,...
.
In 2005, Houdová was named a Goodwill Ambassador for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health. She also appeared in a group montage on a rare (as of recent years) group montage of up and coming supermodels.
In 2008, Houdová was featured on four covers including the Elle Italia and Czech Elle Motherhood Issue and was dubbed the "Czech Princess Diana" in recognition of her humanitarian work and her immense popularity in the Czech Republic and Central Europe. In 2009 Houdová and her newborn son, alongside Pavlína Pořízková and Miloš Forman
Miloš Forman
Jan Tomáš Forman , better known as Miloš Forman , is a Czech-American director, screenwriter, professor, and an emigrant from Czechoslovakia. Two of his films, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and Amadeus, are among the most celebrated in the history of film, both gaining him the Academy Award for...
, appeared in a highly medialised Louis Vuitton
Louis Vuitton
Louis Vuitton Malletier – commonly referred to as Louis Vuitton , or shortened to LV – is a French fashion house founded in 1854 by Louis Vuitton. The label is well known for its LV monogram, which is featured on most products, ranging from luxury trunks and leather goods to ready-to-wear, shoes,...
-campaign photographed by Lucie Robinson
Lucie Robinson
Lucie Robinson is a portrait, art and fashion photographer.Robinson was born in Jablonec nad Nisou in the former Czechoslovakia into a family with roots in Austria and Imperial Russia. She studied joaillerie in her hometown and design at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague...
for the benefit of her Sunflower Children charity foundation.
Personal life
Aside from being a mother, a model, a humanitarian and a goodwill ambassador, Houdová' spends most of her free time running Sunflower Children operations in 15 countries supporting 11,000 disdavantaged children. Sunflower Children's mission is to work in different cultures to "move people from indifference to compassion," she says. She has been vegetarian since the age of 15 and continues to look after her 4 part time adopted girls. She has two children (Darien, Daveed Jakub) with U.S. businessman and entrepreneur Omar AmanatOmar Amanat
Omar S. Amanat is an American who has worked as an entrepreneur in the online trading industry and in the media industry.After graduating from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania in 1995, he worked for a year at the online trading firm Datek Online...
.
External links
- http://www.sunflowerchildren.org/
- http://supermodels.nl/helenahoudova
- http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118005779.html?categoryid=3667&cs=1&nid=2597