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Helena Houdová
Helena Houdová
Born	27 December 1979 (age 44); Plzeň, Czechoslovakia
Website	http://www.helenahoudova.com

Helena Houdová is a Czech model and charity worker and beauty pageant titleholder who won Miss Czech Republic 1999^[1] After winning Miss Czech Republic, she went on to appear on the cover of fashion magazines including Elle, Harper's Bazaar, Cosmopolitan and Vogue. She makes donations to charities for orphans and disadvantaged children, and is the president and founder of Sunflower Children, a charity devoted to these causes, which she founded in 2000.

Early life

Houdová was born and raised in Plzeň, Czechoslovakia (modern-day Czech Republic).^[2]

Modeling career

Houdová won the Miss Czech Republic competition in 1999, and went on to compete at Miss World 1999, where she did not place. She later became a fashion model, appearing on runways in New York, Milan, London and Paris.^[3] Houdová appeared on the cover the May 2005 edition of Elle, which dedicated the entire issue to her.^[3]

Houdová has appeared on the covers of Italian, Japanese, American, French and Spanish Elle, V, Flair, i-D and Time's Style & Design, and featured in advertising campaigns for Gap, Yves Saint Laurent,^[4] Victoria's Secret, Emanuel Ungaro, Tommy Hilfiger,^[4] Revlon,^[4] Dolce & Gabbana, Escada and Louis Vuitton.

In 2005, Houdová was named a Goodwill Ambassador for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health.^[5] In 2007, FHM magazine declared that "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."^[6]

In 2008, Houdová was featured on four covers, including the Elle Italia and Czech Elle Motherhood Issue. In 2009 Houdová and her newborn son, alongside Pavlína Pořízková and Miloš Forman, appeared in a Louis Vuitton-campaign photographed by Lucie Robinson for the benefit of her Sunflower Children charity foundation.^[7]

Charity work

Houdová runs Sunflower Children, a charity for disadvantaged children operating in 15 countries. According to Houdová, the mission of Sunflower Children is to work in different cultures to "move people from indifference to compassion".^[8]

Personal life

Houdová has three children with ex-husband Omar Amanat, an American entrepreneur and investor, who was convicted of investor fraud in 2017^[9]^[10]^[11]^[12]^[13] and sentenced in August 2021 to five years in federal prison and fined $175,000; the 44 months already served pre-sentencing would be credited toward this sentence.^[14]

References

^ "Supermodel Helena Houdova Reaches New Heights". 2009-05-15. Archived from the original on 2010-01-10. Retrieved 2010-01-03.
^ Wiltz, Teresa. "The Swan." Essence magazine (September 2004).
^ ^a ^b Liya Kebede Photos on Style.com
^ ^a ^b ^c Sterling, Wayne. "Model Citizen." Savoy Magazine, page 31.
^ Holgate, Mark. "Role Model". US Vogue (May 2005).
^ Forbes Top Fifteen Models. Retrieved on 2007-06-16.
^ "ŽENA-IN.cz – České celebrity pro Vuitton – Magazín". Zena-in.cz. Retrieved 2010-02-08.
^ "Liya Kebede Celebrity-Parent Profile - Cookiemag.com". Archived from the original on 2010-02-15. Retrieved 2009-08-10.
^ Bernard, Zoe (December 30, 2017). "Here's how two wildly successful tech entrepreneurs lost their status amid a case of convoluted fraud". Business Insider. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
^ "Helena Houdová: Jejího exmanžela zatkla policie pro rozsáhlé podvody" (in Czech). iHOT.cz. Retrieved 17 July 2016. Potkala ale bohatého podnikatele Omara Amanata, kterého si vzala, porodila mu tři děti, dala se na raw stravu a po rozpadu manželství se zhroutila.
^ Gaydos, Steven (10 July 2009). "Where was Quincy?". variety.com. Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic. Retrieved 17 July 2016. Houdova, wife of film producer Omar Amanat...
^ Perman, Stacy (4 September 2014). "The global battle for the ultimate luxury hotel chain". fortune.com. Retrieved 17 July 2016. ...in fact, he married one: Helena Houdová, his second wife, from whom he is separated.
^ Larson, Erik (October 30, 2017). "Tech Entrepreneur's Trial Is Biggest Battle of Career". Bloomberg. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
^ Stempel, Jonathan (19 August 2021). "'Twilight' investor sentenced to five years prison in fraud case". Reuters. Retrieved 26 September 2022.