Helena Houdová

Helena Houdová (born December 27, 1979) is a Czech model and humanitarian who has covered or appeared in countless fashion magazines including Elle, Harper's Bazaar, Cosmopolitan and Vogue. According to FHM, "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." She is known for donating almost all of her earnings to charities for orphans and disadvantaged children. She is President and Founder of a charity devoted to these causes called Sunflower Children which she started in 2000 after being crowned Miss Czech Republic. Her pronounced hoh-daw-vah:.

Houdová was born and raised in Plzeň, Czech Republic.

Houdová won the Miss Czech Republic competition in 1999, and she went on to compete at Miss World 1999 where she did not place. She later established a place in fashion's elite by modeling on the New York, Milano, London and Paris runway circuit. Houdová's popularity in the fashion industry skyrocketed when she appeared on the cover the May 2005 edition of Elle, which dedicated the entire issue to her.

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

In 2005, Houdová was named a Goodwill Ambassador for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health. She also appeared in a group montage on a rare (as of recent years) group montage of up and coming supermodels.

In 2008, Houdová was featured on four covers including the Elle Italia and Czech Elle Motherhood Issue and was dubbed the "Czech Princess Diana" in recognition of her humanitarian work and her immense popularity in the Czech Republic and Central Europe. 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.

Houdová runs Sunflower Children which operates in 15 countries supporting 11,000 disadvantaged children. Sunflower Children's mission is to work in different cultures to "move people from indifference to compassion," she says.

She has three children with husband Omar Amanat, an American entrepreneur and investor. She is a vegetarian.