Paulina Porizkova's house burned down just hours after she was told she would be on the cover of Sports Illustrated.
Paulina Porizkova lost everything in a house fire
The 57-year-old model graced the cover of the long-running magazine in 1984 but recalled that shortly after getting the call to confirm the job, she "lost everything" in a house fire but had to go on promoting her photoshoot as if everything was fine.
She said: "I was told that I got the Sports Illustrated [swimsuit issue] cover. And that night, or the night right after that, my house burned down to the ground and I lost everything I owned.
"I only had an overcoat, dog and a cat, and a passport. I don't recall even having underwear, actually. From there I had to go on to Johnny Carson and all these talk shows, and be like 'Yay, Hi! I'm this Sports Illustrated vixen!' So..interesting balance there."
The former 'America's Next Top Model' judge - who was married to singer Ric Ocasek from 1989 until his death in 2019 and has children Jonathan, 29, and 24-year-old Oliver with him - went on to add that although she was able to "get away" with certain things in her youth and still maintain a slim figure, these days it takes "a lot of freaking work" to maintain a svelte physique.
She told Deadspin: "I started modelling as a 15 year old, and so well into my 20s I smoked, drank, did whatever the hell I wanted. It was pretty easy. That's the privilege of youth. You can do that kind of stuff and get away with it. I can't get away with it anymore.
"To be in shape, to be slim and all that, takes a lot of freaking work! But I spend more time maintaining my outer self than I'm happy with, but at the same time it's still who I am, it's still my job. It's still what I identify as...Kind of like an athlete. Gotta keep training!"
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