The most beautiful girl in the world? Paulina Porizkova was a natural from the moment she stepped in front of the camera at the age of 15. 

Despite her glamorous career, Paulina did not have an easy start in life. Born on April 9, 1965, in Prostejov, Czechoslovakia, Paulina was left in the care of her grandmother when her parents fled the Soviet invasion in 1968 and moved to Lund, in southern Sweden. The authorities would not allow her parents to bring her with them, and the ensuing battle for Paulina was widely publicized in the Swedish press, making her a cause célèbre. After a failed rescue attempt, international political pressure led the Communist government to allow the Porizkova family to be reunited after seven years.

Paulina's life changed dramatically when a photographer friend took pictures of her and sent them to the Elite modeling agency in 1980. Elite head John Casablancas was struck by Porizkova’s beauty and offered the 15-year-old a ticket to Paris. She quickly became a top model in Paris during the early 1980s, and her modeling career flew into high gear after she was the youngest-ever model to appear on the cover of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition in 1984, at just 19. She followed up this appearance with a second cover of the coveted magazine in 1985. During her career, Paulina has appeared in numerous magazines, including Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, Us, Self, and Elle.

Paulina appeared on the cover of Playboy in August 1987 to preview her new swimsuit calendar, photographed by Marco Glaviano. The calendars (1988 and 1989) sold hundreds of thousands of copies, setting a standard that paved the way for other models to do their own pictorial calendars. In 1988, in another groundbreaking move, Paulina won what was then the highest-paying modeling contract: a $6-million-per-year contract with Estée Lauder cosmetics, replacing the model Willow Bay. The Estée Lauder makeover transformed Paulina's public image from swimsuit model to European sophisticate. 

Paulina was chosen twice by People as one of its 50 Most Beautiful People, in 1990 and 1992. Harper's Bazaar named her one of its 10 Most Beautiful Women in 1992. American Photo, in its first issue, declared her to be the model of the 1980s.

After appearing in a spoof documentary about modeling called Portfolio, Paulina pursued an acting career. She was cast in Covergirl in 1984 and Anna in 1987, but it was in 1989 that she landed her biggest and best-known role to date, costarring with Tom Selleck in the film Her Alibi. She appeared in several more films, and also wrote and directed the 2001 film Roommates. She also has done various television appearances, include hosting a show on the E! Network’s Style Channel, being a guest on The Colbert Report, and judging alongside Tyra Banks on America's Next Top Model in 2008 and 2009.

On August 23, 1989, Paulina married the lead singer of the Cars, Ric Ocasek, and has since described their relationship as "perfect." She attributes this perfection to ensuring that they always put each other before their respective careers. The couple met in 1984, when Paulina was just 19, during the filming of the Cars' music video, "Drive." They have two children, Jonathan Raven and Oliver Orion Ocasek.

Is it any wonder the lady is so often photographed smiling?