The Veronica Zemanova that is sitting with me and sipping pineapple juice is much different from the tall, startlingly beautiful young woman from southern Bohemia that arrived in Prague several years ago. She has slept only one hour and waltzes into this Prague 1 cafe like one of the fast moving clouds passing overheard on this stormy, beautiful Sunday in March.

The girl from Southern Bohemia is now a bonafide success with a following of devoted fans. A Google web search for her name yields over three thousand results with galleries of photos reading "I love Veronica Zemanova" and "Veronica Zemanova is one of the most beautiful women on earth".

Indeed, today Veronica is one of the world's most sought after soft-porn models. And anyone who has spent time in Prague, a city noted for its beautiful women knows this was no easy task.

When she came to Prague at 18 her ambitions were behind the camera, not in front, and she made a modest living as a photographer until one night in 1997 all her equipment was stolen out of her car.

The robbery left her not only broke but in debt, as not all the equipment was hers. When the calls for the equipment became threatening she took an offer from a make-up artist she worked with to take part in an "erotic" assignment.

Though the photographer assured her that it was a simple photo shoot she wound up at an S&M Castle in Cerna, Moravia. She spent three days there with the mainly German men who paid huge sums of money to be abused by Czech women (see their website at www.owk.cz).

Dressed in leather, tall and statuesque, Veronica whipped them constantly as the men acted out bizarre fantasies. "I would ash from my cigarette in their mouths. They would lick my shoes. They played like they were animals; like they were dogs or horses."

While it all went on she was photographed. Bewildered but with six thousand krowns, she was nevertheless still deeply in debt and she took another assignment where she was again misled.

Flown down to Rome she was taken right to the agency owner's apartment. "He was like maniac for sex, for women. I did not know English. I could just say 'yes' and 'no'". He gave her a camera and told her to shoot him. She began to shoot him as he undressed and began masturbating in front of the camera. "I just thought I have to do what he wants to get my money. And he paid me for that."

After these two awful experiences she wanted nothing to do with the business. But her name and image were out there. Other models and agents began contacting her, offering her big money and assuring her that it was professional. She went on a few assignments, continued to make more money than she ever thought she'd make and gradually it got easier. Still, this was not the life that she envisioned for herself. "Seeing myself with open legs in magazines. I felt very bad for that. But I felt good for to make money. It got to be more normal."

But the Veronica that came from Southern Bohemia was quickly morphing into the sleep deprived adult entertainment star that I was sipping juice with, hearing horror stories of money, beauty and necessity. Flown to Los Angeles, London, Los Cabos and Amsterdam, Veronica's brooding beauty began to strike a chord with men around the world.

Like many beautiful women from Eastern Europe she doesn't fully understand her beauty the way beautiful women from the west - weaned on a steady diet of Brittany Spears-producing pop culture - often do. She projects a naivety that suggests something carnal, almost atavistic; an all-natural departure from the pre-packaged Vivid Video Amazon queens of the porn world. She has a sense of what she does to men but, to this day, she doesn't fully understand the way she affects them. And this quality comes out through her photographs.

But no matter what I say about the metaphysical pull of her presence, it is her tangible physical beauty that makes her a hot commodity. A fantasy from the newly liberated East, with startlingly high cheek bones, huge pouty lips, long sculpted legs, a tiny waist, soft, full sloping breasts and entrancing caramel-brown eyes, Veronica has a quality in photos that represent an ideal for men that society both objectifies and shames them for wanting.

The legacy of Veronica's beauty is something that has colored her life in interesting ways. It has defined and cornered her existence. This is a woman who during her entire adult life has had every man she's met want to sleep with her and every woman eye her with suspicion at best. She talks of arriving in Prague with long, sultry black hair half-way down her back. Thin, with huge breasts and an aggressively sexual face, she couldn't walk down the streets of Prague without men stopping her.

A quiet, shy, almost melancholy girl, so troubled was she by these constant intrusions that she shaved her head. "I did not want to be so sexual object. I thought I will have my head like boy I will be not so sexy. I wish to be more normal".

But rather than feeling normal she was miserable and not able to look in the mirror at her own visage. Perhaps for the first time, now that she was in the big city, the legacy of her genes, of who she is as a person, like it or not, really dawned on her as she grappled with her own image.

Her image is now a valuable commodity. Pictured in the pages of hard-core mags like Hustler (She was the centerfold in the first Czech issue) she suggests shots in Perfect 10 and Penthouse as better records of her beauty Playboy expressed serious interest in her and she'll be posed for the lingerie edition with a shot at becoming a Playmate, which, in her business, is something of a pinnacle.

No longer does she take six thousand crowns to ash in the mouths of demented Germans. Veronica will not work for less then five hundred U.S. Dollars a day and is often paid much more.

The Veronica Zemanova in front of me is a woman in her mid-twenties who has accepted her beauty and is now trying to cash in on it while maintaining a sense of what is right and wrong. We talk about girls in her business who've taken the money for granted, who have made the wrong decisions and wound up prostitutes or addicted to drugs.

This model is questioning me on how much I'm making on this piece, if I want contacts to other models and if maybe she would get a cut from something I'll write. This model means business.

And when I ask her what she'll do when the beauty begins to fade she says that she wants to get more into the business-side of things, perhaps rediscover her photography. But here is that melancholy again. She hides it well but I wonder what she will be when the beauty goes and I'm thinking about those dark hours again where, despite the devotion to diet and exercise, she realizes she is defined by something so fleeting.

I'm thinking about all the news about women from Eastern Europe being seduced by offers of working as waitresses and dancers in the West and winding up human slaves. I talk to Veronica about this and she says she is always on guard and lives with a certain degree of fear constantly.

She is leaving next week for a shoot in Canada and she's nervous. These people contacted her through her website and though they had a reference from another model she knows she has no idea what to expect from them other than the promise of a thousand dollars a day. What if she's offered a glass of wine and it's drugged?

She wakes up in a situation that she can't get out of in a foreign place. It's better now that she speaks some English and knows the business but for a moment I'm stricken by how vulnerable this woman is. She's just trying to have a career and not make a huge mistake. "They use Czech girls cause they are in bad financial situations" she says, "many girls only learn how to say 'Yes' and not enough 'No'."

"They told me I was too serious."

And maybe she is. Brooding, full of a sexuality that she doesn't necessarily want, she lets the photographer put her in a pose. Sometimes it's a coy finger in her mouth suggesting a rapacious sexual appetite awakened. Sometimes it's a sleepy stare that conjures a mirage in the desert, a scene in slow motion. The more artless shots that don't take advantage of Veronica's powerful ability to project her sexuality have her posed with her legs spread as if the voyeur is now gynecologist.

For her admirers maybe it's a desperate search to locate the core of this mercurial and captivating woman. The core, I want to tell them, is elsewhere. I see it in some of her photos. In one she is bent over an antique chair, offering herself to the camera. Many people might miss the look on Veronica's face, which is smiling almost resolutely while staring in a way that shows sadness, a longing to be something else.

When did you first realize you were beautiful?

When I was 18

What´s means to you be a physical phenomenon?

Satisfaction

How you start in the world of photography?

As I was 18, and I started to go to photo school

How's your love life?

Finally it's great.

How many boyfriends you had?

About 6

Ever you think in get married?

Yes

How is your ideal man?

He must have a character which makes me feel good with him, which is : he must be tolerant, give me a lot of freedom, he must be loving, gentlemen-like, intelligent. And he must treat people good, in general.

How do you see yourself a year from now?

I hope I will be a well balanced woman, happy in my relationship, and finally doing work I always wanted to do. This concretely means to become photographer again.

What kind of philosophy you have to live life?

Live and let live

What kind of music you like?

I have no particular preference. It depends on my mood.

Your favorite band?

I don't have really a favorite band. Chris Isaac is one of my favorite musicians.

Your favorite drink?

I like all kinds of drink, including red wine, and beer, and typical Czech liquors, like 'Becherice'. However, I do not really drink a lot.

What kind of car you drive?

I don’t have a car

Do you have some projects for this year?

Working on the new official website (www.veronika-zemanova.com) mainly

Any dream to get real this year?

All dreams are already gotten real for me.

Well, here are a lot a questions but they are quickly to answer, don´t worry ... Profession / study :

Photographer

What brings you in a good mood ?

Good news

What brings you in a bad mood ? Things you hate ?

Bad news

Favorite book ?

Books of John Irving

Best moment of your life ?

Too may to name one

Worst feeling in the world ?

To loose freedom

Best feeling in the world ?

To love myself, and to be in love with the man who loves me

What is the first thing you think of when you wake up in the morning ?

That differs every morning.

Fav. color ?

Blue

Future child's name ?

I don’t want have a child right now, so it's not something I'm bothering about now.

Roller coasters, scary or exciting ?

Exciting

Favorite foods ?

Japanese

Fav. actor ?

Nicolas Cage

Fav. actress :

Julia Roberts

Dream you want to become true:

To have less problems

Storms, cool or scary ?

Cool

In love ?

Yes

Is the glass half full or half empty ?

Unfortunately : Half empty, but I depends in which mood I am.

Favourite number :

None

Fav. sport to do?

Horeseback riding and kick boxing

Fav. sport to watch:

Boxing

Pets?

Yes, one big white fury loving dog.

Favourite day of the week ?

Saturday

Favourite movies ?

'Prisoner Of Love'. (This answer is not my own idea. My manager ordered me to say that, since he has produced that movie.)

Favourite place to be ?

On a hairy chest

How do you see yourself in 10 years ?

No idea

What do you do most often when you're bored ?

I am never bored

What is most important in life ?

Freedom

Describe your school years, were you a good student ?

Normal. Yes, I was a good student.

What's your biggest fear ?

Intolerance of people

Do you believe that there is a god ?

Not really

Do you like dancing ?

Yes, a lot.

Whats your opinion about war ?

I hate war more than anything

Do you like swimming ?

Yes

Do you like to cook ?

No, I only (like to) cook about once a month.

Biggest mistake ?

The day I met the partner of my last business relationship, CzechBeauty.com

What are you proud of ?

That I never give up

What makes you nervous ?

Almost anything unfortunately ..

Sea or mountain ?

Sea, but I love nature in general

Fav. fruit ?

Wild strawberry from forest

Do you like the past or the future ?

I love the present

If you could change something in your life right now, what would that be ?

I never would go again for a business partnership like I did with CzechBeauty.com

Brains or humor or a nice body, choose.

Brains and humor

Nicest country you visited ?

Italy

Hot or cold ?

Hot

Is there something else we should know about you?

I think it's great that so many people like and even adore me, because how I look, but for me it's a lot more important that people just respect me, as the person I am. I therefore like to answer questions like these, since this way my fans can find out a little bit more about me, as the person behind the model they know, and appreciate.

Excerpts from the first of a series of interviews with Veronika Zemanova.

The first few questions were the basic what's your favorite… and so forth (just to warm up). Here are some of her answers:

Favorite Cuisine: Japanese (specifically sushi). I absolutely love sushi! I also really enjoy fruits, vegetables, and other healthy foods.

Favorite Animal: A cat. Actually it's difficult to pick a favorite, because I love all animals, but cats are intelligent, beautiful, and love to be petted. Also, they have a strong sense of independence. Wait, I also want to include birds. It seems like magic every time I see one. It's beautiful just the way they soar and fly; it's elegant and somehow seems to represent danger and excitement to me at the same time.

What kind of men do you like least? Well it's pretty much the same with all people, not just men – I don't like arrogant, snobby people. Men who don't respect women as equals (in life, not in bed!) also really bother me.

Would you prefer a day of skydiving or a round of golf? Why? Skydiving! Golf looks like too much concentration. I prefer exciting and fast.

If you had the time and the money to pursue any of your interests which would you choose? I would love to go scuba diving. I also would like to take up boxing or some eastern martial art. I am also interested in Yoga. If I really had a lot of time I would also love to have the time to be around horses – raise them, go riding, and so forth. Being close to nature and having the time to be out in nature is something I really miss in my life right now.

What's the sexiest part of a man's body? For me, the arms are most important; I particularly like big, muscular forearms. That's really sexy!! Dark eyes and dark skin are very sexy too...

If you were a dance, which one would you be, and why? I would be the Tango. I like the tango because it is mysterious, sexy, and intense.

Have you had any very embarrassing moments while working? I was doing a fashion show with traditional models (no nudity); I was in the common area with everyone else and I had to change quickly into another outfit. All the other models were using changing rooms for this purpose, but I was in a hurry and completely forgot where I was, so I just pulled off my entire outfit and didn't realize anything was wrong until I noticed no one else was nude and everyone was staring at me with their mouth hanging open. I kind of froze until some man came up to me and ushered me into a changing room. I was almost too embarrassed to come back out!

What's the sexiest thing about you? That's a very difficult question, because I really don't know. I think that different men see different things they consider sexy. For instance some men seem to prefer me really skinny, while others prefer some fat. But I think true sexiness comes from the inside – it's the way you think about sexuality and eroticism. It's much more cerebral than simply physical.

GW: So Veronika, what did you hope to get done in LA?

I went to California because I've got a good opportunity for work with very good photographers and web-sites. It was a lot of work, every day more shooting and posing and everything but the results were very good, and all of it will be available soon on Veronika-Zemanova.com.

GW: Were there any photographers there you were particularly interested in working with?

Suze Randall. I always enjoy working with her, and this time we did a set of shots where I had blonde hair for the first time ever. We went for the Brigitte Bardot look. All the rest of my time there was spent with web-sites.

GW: I suppose you hit the beaches on your off days?

Off days?? I was working the whole time! Actually I had one free day which I spent at the beach running.

GW: A newly single Veronika on the prowl in LA - sounds like a good chance to meet some interesting guys. Any luck?

Well, I met photographers and fans, but I was too busy for anything else.

GW: Not even running on the beach? You must have turned quite a few heads...

(Laughs) Well, maybe. But they didn't say anything to me.

GW: I heard you had at least one big date in LA...

(Thinks) Oh yes, I had dinner with the highest bidder from a dream date auction on Danni.com. It was a normal dinner at an amazing restaurant with another girl - a dancer - who he had also bid for. She was very funny and we all had a few too many drinks before I went home at 3am. He was very nice and a gentleman. The next day I had to wake up at 6am for another all day shoot! Luckily, that was my last day there. I still have jet-lag.

GW: If dinner and "a few too many drinks" with a guy and another beautiful girl in a lavish LA restaurant until 3am is a "normal dinner", I must be doing something wrong! Did you meet anyone famous in la-la land?

My first day, I had the opportunity to meet a lot of the famous models. For instance, Jenna Jameson and Sandy Westgate. Sandy helped me a lot when I went to Glamourcon. Oh yeah, Hugh Hefner showed up with a bunch of his "girl-friends".

GW: And how was Glamourcon?

I was not as prepared for it as the other girls were since I had come from Prague and had decided to go only at the last minute. I didn't have a big set-up with posters and other materials. But it was very nice to meet many of my fans. I was at the end of my trip so I was tired and a little nervous, but I still enjoyed it very much. It was very interesting to meet other famous models because everyone was there.

GW: So what did you think of the competition?

Of course they were beautiful. It was very stressful to be there when everyone knows you only from photos and maybe you don't feel you look so great that day. Sandy helped me a lot. Some of the models looked bored or not talking so much; I tried to give something of myself to everyone who came to talk with me.

G.Walker

Frodo’s questions:

1. What color was that Mercedes that you picked up and are you still enjoying the driving or has it just become a really convenient form of transportation? Oh and have you had any speeding tickets yet or are have you been lucky enough to avoid them?

   The color of my car is kind of green-grey. I do enjoy the driving itself; just parking the car is sometimes still difficult for me, and sometimes me drives me crazy. I love to drive with my dogs, while I have some nice background music on the radio.

2. Since you've had a year to be away from being a model what have you enjoyed the most about that (ie: not going all over the place, posing for photoshoots, etc)? What do you miss the most about being away from modelling?

   I did enjoy working with photographers who gave me the space for expressing myself. I also met many interesting people around the world. It was an adventurous way of life, but also very lonely in some way. I do miss modeling sometimes, but I have a husband and dogs; they all love me, and I love them so I am happy.

3. The same set of questions but regarding your photography career (any chance you'll be producing any wonderful new photographs in the near future - I really still want a nice original VZ landscape)?

   I’m afraid I can’t answer that question, since that’s still open. I’m not sure about that yet.

4. Any plans to diversify into rescuing other types of pets (cats, frogs, turtles, goldfish) or do you draw the line at dogs and the occasional bird? I'm afraid other species of animals might get jealous that you aren't paying them much attention after all. :)

   All animals (whether or not they are in need) are dear to me, but it just happened that these particular dogs and the occasional bird kind of required my help.

5. I'm also curious how you keep all those dogs under control during a walk so how do you manage it? Or are the dogs just always really well behaved because they are so happy to have such an amazing master?

   Well behaved of course

6. What do you really want for Christmas? (BTW Bob, I hope you are listening - you might get some ideas for some really good last minute shopping :)

   You – and Bob - will find the answer on my Christmas wallpaper which is my present for you members. I will post it soon.

7. Open ended question - Anything you'd like to tell all of your fans that hasn't been asked?

   I will think about that, and let you know later on.

Tallblondguy’s questions:

1. Are you still smoking cigs or have you FINALLY given them up?

   I guess I should be honest ... I still smoke, but only occasionally.

2. What'd you do to that Merc to cause it to be in the shop so much? (And, why'd you buy a Merc, when some very smart people recommended an Audi? I don't want to say "I told you so", but... :-)

   That was the only car that was available in automatic version at the time, in the part of the world I live.

   I need automatic…Guess why?:-)

3. When did you start taking an interest in F1? Did you see/hear the cars in London?

   I’m not interested in F1 at all. (I’m sorry if this is a disappointing answer; obviously.)

4. Do you walk all your dogs by yourself, or does the housekeeper? (Or maybe your make Bob do it…?)

   We have 5 dogs now. I walk them all together when I go into the nature. When I go to the city I take only one or two.

You were born on April 14th, 1975. (my generation :)), in the sign of Aries. Do you believe in astrology, and if you do, are you somewhat of a typical Aries - stubborn, etc?

I do not know much about astrology, but I do believe that is possible that astrology has an impact on us. The truth is that I am a fiery thing, I explode easily and I calm down quickly too.

You were born in Budejovice. We in Serbia know the Czech Republic mostly by its greatest exports - beautiful women and good beer. And, if I am not mistaken, Budejovice is the hometown of the most famous beer in the world. Do you enjoy Budweiser yourself? Have you ever been to the Budweiser factory? What do you think of beer bellies on men?

Yes I am from the beer town and I drank beer when I lived there like everybody else. My curves are the proof for it. J I visited the factory there - sure I wanted to see how the wonder happened.

You moved to Prague when you were eighteen. Did you attend university, and how did you get into photo-business? Were you a good photographer, judging from ten-year distance you now have?

After gymnasium I went to a school of photography for three years and then I opened my own photo studio in Prague with my partner at the time. We did commercial shoots and promotional photo shoots for models. I think that I was very good at the artistic elements and my partner was better in handling the technical part of the work. I never did like to deal with technical problems of the equipment.

What was it like for a teenager to become a part of a giant city? What did it take away from you, what did it give to you? What is the most impressive thing in Prague, for you?

I came to Prague when I was eighteen and it was very hard school since I had almost no financial support from my parents so I had to live in terrible conditions and work as a waitress or saleswoman to pay for the school expenses and for my living. At the same time I needed to save some money to start my business. In the historical and ancient areas, Prague is the most romantic and magical city I ever saw.

Do you often go to Budejovice? How are you treated there, as a local hero or as just another Budejowice girl? Do you have many friends from childhood you are still seeing?

I hardly ever go Ceske Budejovice because I keep traveling around the world so there is not much time left to go there. If I manage to go to there I spend all that time just with my family, I have no contact with my old friends - maybe I am afraid what would they think of my career as a nude model.

Just about everyone knows your equipment was stolen from your car in 1997, and that’s one of the reasons you became a model. How exactly did this happen? What exactly was stolen? Were you all in tears about this or did you take it easy? Did they ever find the thief? In the end, was it a good thing for you (it kind of jumpstarted your modeling career)?

That incident was devastating for me since it took me so many years to put all that equipment together, you know, those things are very expensive and me and my partner were very stupid not to be insured. It happened in the middle of the day, they broke in to the car and took all the cameras, lights and other things. One of the very expensive cameras had been a present from my poor parents who did not have much money themselves. Many of the things were borrowed since we went to shoot a very difficult job and we needed a lot of technical stuff. The guy that we borrowed some of our gear from threatened my boyfriend that if he did not pay quickly, something will happened to him. My heart was broken and I did not care much about the way I had to make the money. I needed a lot of it and quickly, so I took my first nude modeling job.

You were just a young girl when Czechoslovakia ceased to exist. How do you feel about that? Was it a good country for you and for Czechs? Do you have many Slovak friends?

My generation was brought up in communistic regime and then after the revolution we were thrown in to capitalism the country was in very bad shape and people had to learnt to fight for survival.

Your pseudonym, when you started modeling, was Eva. Why did you choose that name?

I just liked that name; it represents femininity.

Are you religious? Could you share a few thoughts on religion with us? What is it to you?

I never was religious; you know communists did not allowed it, so I grew up as atheist. I just lately start to ask myself certain questions and I believe in soul and I try to take care of mine. I want to figure out what is wrong and what is right for myself - I do not want others to brainwash me.

Are you afraid or death? Or growing old? What is your greatest fear?

After my thirtieth birthday I started to be more and more afraid of that. Now I learn that fear is bad and takes the freedom and joy of living away, so I have to teach myself not to fear those things.

Did you ever visit ex-Yugoslavia, or Serbia? Do you know anyone from these parts of Europe?

I visited Yugoslavia as I was fourteen with my father and I loved it there.

Who do you cheer, Slavia or Sparta? Who’s your favorite footballer? Are you a big sports fan? Do you prefer hockey to football?

I really do not care for any of that.

A movie, Zemanovaload, was made about a man obsessed with you. Did you watch the movie and what did you make of it? Did you have any similar experiences in your personal life?

Sure I saw the movie. Similar experiences? Not in the personal life but in my model life yes, several.

When did you first fall in love? How would you define love?

I first felt in love as I was about thirteen, as a teen girl I was constantly crazy in love. As you get older it gets more and more difficult to fall for somebody. The definition of love, that is a very complex question and there are different kinds of love.

Are you a gentle girl, or a vixen, Amazon? How would you define yourself?

I can be both!

What is the one thing that men usually guess wrong about you?

As I was just so busy in my career around the people from the glamour modeling business I behaved and looked very much like that, so most of the time I probably gave a wrong impression that did not really reflected who I am inside. These days I often live privately in the countryside mainly with the animals and with people that do not know me as model but just as the real me, people who know nothing about the mad world of a glamour model.

There are a lot of beautiful Czech girls in the modeling business. My personal favorites are you, naturally, and Adriana Skleranikova. Who are your favorite Czech models?

There are so many incredibly beautiful Czech fashion and nude models - I have no favorite one.

What’s your dream man made of?

A combination of honesty, great heart, generosity, intelligence, faithfulness and tolerance…it took a hell of a long time for me to find him.

What is it about Slavic women? Are they really the most beautiful in the world? Can you define what sets them apart from the others?

I do not think they are the most beautiful in the world, but what separates them is the sweetness, sensuality and vulnerability that they have in their faces and they are naturally beautiful so they do not need so much of the plastic surgery.

I read somewhere you wish to be a photographer again. Tell me, who would be your perfect model? And, do you sometimes give advice to some photographers you are working with? Are they sometimes surprised that you know a thing or two about photography?

I like to be creative and think about the picture together with the photographer some do allow me to be creative and some do not. I think that starting my career shooting models as a photographer helped me to be a good model.

I saw a beautiful pic of you and Aria Giovanni. How was it working with Aria? How do you like her looks and personality?

I absolutely adore her looks the body and the face…I do not know about the personality since she did not really talk to me much…

Would you ever consider doing a softcore scene with some hardcore star, like Jenna Jameson or Briana Banks?

Sure as long is soft core.

You look like a gentle person, easy to hurt. Did men hurt you many times in the past? Or am I just mistaken?

Yes I was heart broken very badly few times, but it happened because I allowed it to happen; I should have been more careful about whom am I giving my heart to.

I read you had a lot of trouble during your first years in Prague, and that poverty was your companion. How do you look upon those times now, when you have all the money in the world? Do you find some happy memories there? What’s the worst thing about being poor, and what could be the good side of it?

The good side of having nothing is that nobody takes advantage of you for money.

You are an object of every man’s desire, and yet you, as an intelligent woman, do not like being viewed just as an object. How do you connect those two extremes?

My way of dealing with this is that I separate totally my private and business life, I never talk about my work with people I meet in private life and I have a lot activities that have nothing to do with modeling so people I meet, get to know me as normal woman not as a dream woman from the photo. I do not think that I am something special because I was a model; on many occasions I still have feelings of low self-confidence.

Sometimes, on the photographs, you look kind of sad. Why is that so? Have you been sad a lot in your life?

I would say so.

I read somewhere that one of the richest men on the planet offered you virtually unlimited money for just a single night in his bed. Is this just a rumor, or is there any truth behind this?

Yes it is true, but I have lines that I do not cross and this is one of them. The money is important but not that important. I prefer to fall in love with some as?!?le and let him steal my money! It happened twice to me in my past but that is in past and now I am happily married to a great man.

I read that you still live in Prague, in small apartment. You still use public transport. Do you really ever want this to change?

That did change, I live in a different country in the countryside and I travel by my old Volkswagen beetle.

What’s the saddest thing you’ve ever seen?

Nature’s creatures tortured by ignorant humans.

Would you want to be a Bond girl?

If I would have acting talent, yes - why not…

You are often photographed with no clothes on, and with your legs spread wide apart, yet not one picture I’ve seen appears to be vulgar in any way. In fact, for me, and for many friends I’ve talked to, there’s something spiritual about these pictures. I haven’t heard anyone say “Veronika’s dirty photos.” I’ve never heard (and this is true) comments like “what would I do to her”; it's just “she is so angelic/beautiful” all the time. Is that the thing you have to thank for your success? Is that what sets you apart from the others?

I heard many dirty comments about me or my photos, I think that a dirty mind sees me as decadent only and those who are more spiritual and more sensitive can actually see my soul through the photo because no matter how revealing is the shot, I try to give also my soul into the picture and my soul is not dirty.

You share two things with beautiful Brigitte Bardot: angelic beauty and love for animals. Are you a fan of her, and how do you think you compare with her, as far as the looks go?

I think she is great in whatever she does, but to be honest, I do not know enough about her to be her fan. I do not want to compare myself to her, I am just a glamour model and she is a model and actress and real icon that people will always remember I do not reach there.

1. Veronika, when did you know that nude modeling was what you wanted to do with your life? How did you get started?

   I had my own photo studio in Prague and I was struggling financially for many years. When my business finally started to get better all of my photo stuff like lights and cameras and so on was stolen and I needed to quickly make the money back. I was also a make up artist, so I took every job that I possibly could. I sometimes worked on erotic photo shoots as a make up artist and when I met glamour models they seemed relaxed, rich, happy and fearless and they all told me that I looked good and that I could be a model. I could not believe them since they seemed to me sooo much more beautiful then me. But I was fed up with a hard life and I needed to make fast money so I took my first job…

2. What is your greatest accomplishment to date?

   I do not think that I did accomplished anything so great, I am more proud of the little achievements from time to time...

3. When did you discover your sexuality?

   I am not sure what you mean by that, I think I am still discovering new levels of my sexuality, but the first time? My god, I have no idea, I think sometime in my teenage years and then with each new lover and of course in the nude modeling I discovered myself again in a different way.

4. Do your photos convey a specific emotion or message?

   Yes, most of the time, but sometimes when I did too many jobs in a short time, I found that the work was so boring that I could not give anything more of myself, so it was just a case of posing without expression and passion.

5. How have the life events you have experienced influenced your creative style and ability?

   Naturally, each strong emotional event is forming your personality and that always mirrors in everything you create.

6. Is there a particular place where you feel most creative?

   In the peace of natural surroundings with no people around, where I can forget about the daily routine and stresses and be myself - or in the presence of something that I find beautiful.

7. How much does your body fit the image of what a perfect body should look like?

   Oh my god!!! It never did and it never will; that is one of my problems; I keep working on it.

8. Tell me about life in Czech.

   I do not live in the Czech Republic anymore but if I go back with the memories. I had a wonderful childhood and after the revolution when I started life on my own in Prague, it was hard. Czech people are not very nice to each other, they can envy each other a lot and many Czechs have bad manners, many of Czech men are especially rude and they are bad to women!

   Anyway, those kind of people are everywhere … I have a much better relationship with animals that is why most of my friends have four legs.

9. Tell me about a time you succeed in overcoming a major obstacle. How did it make you feel?

   How did it make me feel? Like a winner of course, stronger, proud and satisfied.

10. At certain times everyone has to work with a person where there is a serious clash of personalities. How do you handle a situation where there is mutual dislike?

    I think that first I try to be nice, if that does not work I try to ignore it and go my way, if that does not work I go for the confrontation and if that does not work I try to find the fastest way out of that relationship.

11. What skills do use when you need to influence the way other people think?

    I do not know if I actually have any skills, I think that I just present to them my point of view and explain why do I things that way and why they should reconsider their opinion.

12. Do you have some beauty secrets to share with women who want to be as beautiful and as dominating as you?

    I believe that beauty comes from the inside, so take care of your soul ladies - treat yourself and others who deserve it, as nicely as you can. Kick the ass of the ones that treat you badly right away!

13. So how does your day look like? What do you normally do?

    I work everyday a little on my website, I am helping my husband with the decorating and style of our house. I do a lot of sports like running, swimming, pilates, yoga. I take care of our dogs and I have two horses so I spend a lot of time riding with them. I love to paint when I have some time left and I travel a lot with my husband to many exotic places.

14. Do you think you being a nude model and helped or hurt your relationship with men? What have your past relationships with men been like?

    My work did not hurt my relationship with men, but it changed men’s relationship to me. Men did not see the real me, they saw in me just a trophy and they did not respect me, or they felt threatened and had problem with jealousy. I used to be very trusting, naïve and vulnerable. Today I am much wiser and stronger... and I keep my work completely out of my personal life. I never talk about my work with anybody who is not business related to me.

15. Would you like to have children? What sorts of ideas do you have about raising a child/children?

    I would like to have just one child probably soon, you know I am not that young anymore?

    I will try to raise my child in sort of balanced way; I want to be strict but not too strict, I will do everything so that she or he feels loved, but I will definitely not spoilt it. I hate when children are spoilt because the parents allow them everything and give them everything. But I do know that it is not going to be easy, it probably is the biggest challenge for all parents. I have a lot of practice with our nine dogs and I am with my husband for six years now so I think that we know each other long enough to go through the tough times.

16. If you could be any object or animal for one day, what would it be? Why?

    A large ornamental vase!?:-) Definitely not an object and also not an animal - they have to kill others to live or they are hunted, I would like to live on different planet with a different concept of life.

17. What are your current career objectives and what steps will you take to achieve them?

    I want to develop and nurture the artistic side of me.

18. How would you like to be regarded or remembered?

    I just hope not to be remembered for anything too bad.