Famous Living.
Many famous expats are of Czech origin. They are singers, sport pros, big in politics or are known for being exceptionally beautiful. Maybe the following celebrities are a bit of everything mentioned above, who knows.
Anyways, read more about these famous Czechs and be surprised if you might have attributed them to a whole other country in the first place.
Madeleine Albright.
Madeleine Albright, former US Secretary of State, née Marie Jana Korbelová was born May 15, 1937 in Prague. Her family, being of Jewish origin, first fled Czechoslovakia when the Nazis gained power and a second time in 1948 when the Communists seized the country.
Albright for the most part grew up in the United States where she would later start her successful political career that eventually made her Secretary of State under former President Bill Clinton.
Albright is the mother of three children; while raising them the political scientist obtained a PhD in Public Law and Government. She is also multilingual, fluent in French and Russian in addition to Czech and English.
Today Madeleine Albright Albright serves as a top advisor to Barack Obama in a working group on national security.
David Cerny.
David Cerny is a contemporary artist whose works have led to some degree of uproar in the past. Internationally even.
For instance did he ‘freeze’ a Saddam Hussein look-alike figure in a block of formaldehyde and called it ‘Shark’ or designed a fountain consisting of a figure urinating on a map of the Czech Republic. Cerny was also the one to paint a Soviet relict, namely a famous tank, pink.
On the tame side in comparison is his up-side-down horse sculpture to be seen in Prague which is an ironic tribute to the famous Saint Wenceslas statue. David Cerny was born on December 15, 1967 in Prague.
Eva Herzigová.
When you opened a fashion magazine in the 1990s she was there. Top model Eva Herzigová was born March 10 1973 in Litvínov.
The blonde beauty began her modeling career when she was sixteen having just won a beauty contest in Prague. She soon became famous internationally as ‘Miss Wonderbra’ due to a shoot for namely that brand which spread her image across the billboards in New York. Today she is in her thirties, mother of a baby boy and sometimes appears as an actress. Also, she likes to do pottery as a creative stress relieve.
Ivana Trump.
The ex-wife of building tycoon Donald Trump was born Ivana Marie Zelníčková on Febraury 20, 1949 in Zlín. Today mostly known for being a society lady, she started out as a ski wunderkind, later Olympic athlete and model.
She holds a master’s degree in physical education from Charles University of Prague. Ivana and Donald Trump tied the knots in 1977 in a lavish society wedding; their marriage lasted 15 years and they have three children. Today Ivana Trump is active in many projects such as having a name brand line of clothing, fashion jewelry and beauty products sold through television shopping channels.
Karel Gott.
Nicknamed the ‘Golden Voice of Prague’ the learned mechanic Karel Gott became famous as a singer in 1962 with his interpretation of “Moon River” in Czech language.
He has also become a figure in German folk music ever since he left his home country in to live in Germany. And German children might or might not know him as the singer of Maya the Bee’s opening tune.
Gott was born on July 14, 1939 in Plzen but grew up in Prague. His career led the singer on concerts around the world releasing about 120 albums.
Ivan Lendl.
Do you still remember the golden days of tennis; when Czech-born Lendl and John McEnroe went to war on the court?
Ivan Lendl became US citizen in 1992 and subsequently played tennis for the States but his roots are in the Czech town of Ostrava where he was born on March 7, 1960.
With winning the most Grand Slam singles finals – nineteen – in tennis history, his professional attitude and scientific training approach, Lendl became one of the most prominent figures in tennis. He ended his professional career in 1994. Today he passionately supports his daughters’ golf careers.
If you want a bit of trivia you might never get to use, even though Lendl played tennis right-handed, he plays golf with the left. We leave you with that.
Martina Navratilova.
She has got to be one of the most successful female tennis players ever; Martina Navratilova earned 167 career titles during her active time.
Born October 18, 1956 in Prague she migrated to the United States of America in 1975 in order to play tennis professionally in an environment of freedom. In 1975 she gave up her Czech citizenship and obtained an American one in 1981, however, in 2008 she had her Czech citizenship restored and now holds a dual citizenship. The ex tennis pro states that this step was not for political reasons but due to a never lost affection to her birth country and its people.
The tennis player successfully ended her professional career in 2006 at the age of 50 and now dedicates her time mainly to social and charitable work and to being a sports commentator.
Martina Navratilova has definitely made it into pop culture. Maybe you remember, Chandler saying to Monica on Friends “Easy there, Martina!” on the occasion of a friendly game of tennis? Good times.