Maria
Sharapova was born April 19, 1987 in Nyagan,
a town in western Siberia, where
her parents, Yuri and Yelena, had fled from Belarus a year earlier
to avoid radiation from Chernobyl. Still too close to the disaster
site, her family left their home as refugees again when she was
two-years-old. The Sharapovs (Maria uses the feminine Sharapova)
settled for a while in the Black Sea town of Sochi, known then
as a resort village and home of Russian tennis light, Yevgeny Kafelnikov.
Yuri had been an engineer in Nyagan. But as the family bounced
from on home to the next, he did anything he could just to keep
them together.
An only child, Maria Sharapova was encouraged by
her parents to try everything, from dancing and music to athletics.
She discovered tennis after
her fourth birthday, when a family friend—Kafelnikov’s
father—gave her one of his son’s old Dunlop tennis racquets.
The die was cast. Maria hardly ever let that cut-down, cracked, destrung
racquet out of her hand from the moment she picked it up. Every day
she hit balls against the side of the house.
By the time Maria Sharapova was six, local tennis
coaches encouraged Yuri to take her to Moscow to be considered for
the Russian
Tennis Federation.
There, she wowed RTF head coach Yuri Udkin, who felt she was the
best tennis player he had ever seen.
After her Wimbledon title, Maria—who vaulted into the Top 10,
and surpassed $1 million in earnings for 2004—began the adjustment
to life as a superstar. Citing a need for rest and recuperation,
she cancelled her plans to play the JPMorgan Chase Open and Newport
Beach Breakers, but kept her word and appeared at a children’s
clinic with the New Haven Parks & Recreation summer camps. She
also posted a couple of questionable losses, and is feeling the wrath
of her compatriots, who have attacked her for being a Russian in
American clothing.
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Model
Heidi Klum
18 years old and still in high school,
Heidi Klum came across an ad for a model competition in her area
while reading a magazine. While she was intrigued by the idea,
she never even dreamed of the possibility of entering, much less
of winning. Heidi
Klum Bio and Pictures |
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Supermodel
Adriana Lima
Adriana Lima was discovered while shopping at a local mall at the age of
13. At the age of 15, she entered and finished in first place in Brazil's
Ford Supermodel of the World Search. Adriana
Lima Bio and Photos |
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Swimsuit
Model Marisa Miller
Marisa Miller ( full name Marisa Lee Miller
) was born on August 6, 1978 in Santa Cruz, California and she
is a buxom American supermodel who first gained attention when
she appeared in the 1997 premiere issue of Perfect 10 magazine. Marisa
Miller Photo Gallery |
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Sexy Model
Carmen Electra
Perhaps more famous for her physical attributes
than for her talent, Carmen Electra managed to parlay a stint as
an MTV game show hostess into a career as a TV and movie actress.
Carmen left her performing arts high school with plans to become
a singer. Carmen
Elecra Bio and Photos |
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Swimsuit
and Spokesmodel Brooke Burke
After signing with prestigious model and
talent agencies, Brooke Burke graced the covers of several magazines
and appeared in a few commercials. But her big break occurred in
1997 when she landed the coveted spot as host of E! Entertainment
Television's travel show Wild On. Brooke
Burke Pictures |
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Danielle
Lloyd Model
From the age of 16 Danielle loved modelling, frequently entering
competitions in and around Liverpool so upon finishing her academic studies,
she decided to pursue a career in modelling and also train as a beautician. Danielle
Lloyd Bio and Photo Gallery |
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Swimsuit
and Fashion Model Petra Nemcova
Her first American TV appearance was on
the Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn, where the smitten host (who
announced his love for her and British singer Dido) predicted that
she would make the cover of Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit Issue
in 2003 and he was right. Petra
Nemcova Bio and Photos |
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