Fast confession – Taťána Gregor Brzobohatá: Don’t ask me about children
You cannot fail to notice her when she walks into the room. The Czech supermodel and winner of Miss World 2006 Taťána Gregor Brzobohatá is still one of the most beautiful women in the world. But she has also achieved other goals thanks to her successful career. She has been helping out for almost ten years in a field which is not all that attractive for most volunteers. This girl, originally from the Czech countryside, makes sure that senior citizens enjoy a dignified old age all over the country via her foundation “Krása pomoci”. Her work has been praised by the government and even the UN. Although Taťána’s diary is packed full of appointments and things to do, she still made time for Prague Luxury Life, talking to us among other things about the social problem of ageing and chauvinism, but also divulging a few things from her private life with the no-less-famous musician Ondřej Gregor Brzobohatý.
Taťána, you mentioned that you come across people’s prejudices about women who work in modelling. Does that not make you angry after so many years?
I was talking about prejudices about women in general, not meaning myself in particular, but I do see the prejudices which people in general have about anything and everything. About women or also about age and senior citizens. I am convinced that if we are to make any progress, we need to rid ourselves of this. People in our country are often still influenced by the post-communist mentality and these characteristics are still really evident here. At the same time, each and every one of us can contribute towards breaking down these stupid prejudices about various sectors or professions by being themselves. Those who are for example biased towards the modelling profession, well I understand that some people may have had bad experiences with certain people in this field. In the majority of cases, this could probably be true. But I was just talking about the fact that I still strongly perceive that society sees women in a sexist and chauvinist manner. When a woman is successful, independent, maybe even talented or good-looking, the majority of people tend to put her down, bad-mouth or criticise her. If it is a man, things are completely different. And the media for example supports this approach and the tabloids are especially good at this, when they objectively pick on women, setting people against each other the most. Not many people get behind successful women and even women don’t support each other very much. During my last stay in NYC, I went running in Central Park every morning and I made a point of noticing how women check each other out and immediately make a judgement. They watch to see whether they are running quickly or slowly, what they are wearing, whether this or that one has had a boob job... I in fact realised that that confrontation between women is much harsher. And that is a bad thing. I think we should be wishing each other well more, showing this and supporting each other. Without any inferiority complex and without prejudice. Because this prejudice holds us back most ourselves. And we should show people examples of how a person can be young, good-looking, successful and caring and that they can be a woman.
I still see absurd things in the 21st century such as women earning lower salaries for doing the same job. Huge demands are placed on women. They look after the family, are discriminated against at work and yet despite all of this, they also have to look good whatever the circumstances. Women’s topics and gender equality resonate strongly in society and in the UN. I recently gave a presentation at the Prague Student Summit for hundreds of students, or Leadership Prague 2017, where I talked about precisely this issue that we are lacking positive female role models, that it is important for women to support each other and for them to be this positive role model for others. I have the opportunity to talk about topics like this ever more frequently and it seems that people are becoming more and more interested in them. During Leadership, there were 400 people in the audience and thanks to live streaming, millions of people get to hear you at UN conferences abroad. Participation in Ted Talk awaits us or Forum 2000 and other events. These are great opportunities to pass on the message...
Doesn’t that terrify you?
I’m always nervous. Positive emotions also show on me physically and I blush. I am a naturally emotional person and I even blush when a good-looking guy smiles at me. I’ve always been like that, it’s in my genes. An acquaintance recently told me, "It’s so nice that some girls are still able to blush!" When I am standing in front of that crowd of people in the audience, there is an almost magical power in that and when you feel the feedback, it is an exceptional feeling. I try to use opportunities like that to motivate others.
Did you ever think, as that girl from the village, that you would one day be talking at the UN or running in Central Park? What else would you have been if not a model?
I have come a long way from being that girl from the Czech countryside, but I still like to return there. You gradually become who you are. I probably couldn’t have imagined all of that, but I always believed that I would make my dreams come true. But I was always willing to work hard to accomplish that and I do use my potential to the maximum. I wanted to go my own, original way and I am glad that I did not profile myself only as a model from the start, but that I do have overlap into other fields. That is also what I also wished for – to go my own original way and at the start, I didn’t know how things would turn out. I only knew that I wanted to do something which would provide me fulfilment and that there would be several of those activities because I have a wider potential. And I above all wanted freedom in what I do, to not be controlled by an agency, an agent or an institution. Of course, things had to be that way at a certain period of my life, during the Miss World competition, but I was able to put up with that for those 14 months and then things were down to me again and it was a challenge to capitalise on everything I had experienced and learned. I am able to embrace several roles in one person and I enjoy that.
I do slightly regret that my parents didn’t support me more in certain talents when I was young. I always enjoyed playing sports, dancing and playing... But I have absolutely no complaints as regards where fate has decided to take me! (laughs)
But your sister is a singer.
She is. My aunt used to sing and people assumed my sister would do so too from a very young age. My parents divorced when I was two and a half years old. But although childhood is never ideal, you must not let yourself be a victim and drag that with you for the rest of your life. You have to move on. As the oldest child, I had to be the one to understand everything and to adapt. I understand nowadays that my parents wanted the best for me. I am happy that this is something which is dealt with much more nowadays. There are meditation CDs for children, books for children and therapy… in the past nobody really asked how you felt as a child when your parents split up. Everything is changing and that is a good thing!
What currently awaits you over the next few days?
Where should I start... My business is modelling. I work in the commercial and advertising sphere and am constantly collaborating with Czech and foreign clients from various fields, for whom I am continuously doing photo-shoots, filming and participating in their events. From each field, I collaborate with the top clients – mostly on a long-term basis and I really do appreciate long-term collaboration like that. It provides me with feedback showing that I am developing in the right direction and even eleven years after Miss World, I have more and more work and regular satisfied clients. I will be shooting a jubilee fifth calendar this year. That is a project which I don’t do every year and in this project, I will once again be completely different, in a different role. Two large fashion shows await me still this year, filming and an advertising photo-shoot for my new client HP. I will be flying to NY on work due to the Czech presidency of ECOSOCU and will also be visiting Cambodia due to work this year. I devote my free time to my non-profit organisation and senior citizens. I always find myself in good spirits, I am a hard-working person and I enjoy that.
How long do you think that can last?
I don’t know, but for the time being there is nothing to suggest that it couldn’t continue for years to come. That is above all up to me. And it might happen one day that I stop enjoying it, or maybe it won’t, but … I am Capricorn, I like long-term plans, and in part thanks to the work of my organisation, I believe that I will and would like to one day work for the UN.
At the beginning, I saw modelling as a way to earn a little extra money while I was studying, as a great experience, as a way to travel and get to see the world and I also wanted to gain my independence early. Thanks to the Miss World mission, and also work in my foundation I do get a little involved in diplomacy, a lot of meetings and conferences where there are ambassadors, officials, the UN, diplomats, politicians and representatives of NGOs or businesses and I do to a certain extent see that as a diplomatic mission. So who knows, maybe I will one day have the chance to do that full time. If not, I do think that over the course of the past eleven years, I have invested cleverly into other things which generate funds for me. So, if the moment were to come when I no longer enjoyed modelling and wanted to stop for good, I wouldn’t be sorry about that. In addition to that, even older women have their place in our business. And that is a good thing. I support that.
When I asked about diet, you said you didn’t know any. Do you remember when you took part in StarDance, all you did was eat.
Yes, that was great. I was able to have steak in creamy sauce for breakfast and I still lost weight!
And how do you do it now then?
I go running and horse riding. A wedding present from Ondřej. I find that extremely relaxing. I like doing activities which bear no relation to my appearance. I also love being active outdoors and in the countryside. Also, if possible, I run outdoors and I still dance – Argentinian tango and I wanted to learn something new which wasn’t in StarDance. So I have been meeting up with Eduard Zubák for two years now and he is managing to put up with me. It’s great. So passionate!
Will there be another StarDance?
Yes, I think so. They even contacted me asking whether I would support Paraple, so may I will be dancing there again after a long time away.
Let’s have a little look into your private life … I have to ask as it really does interest me …
Children? That is a question me and my husband are starting to become allergic to.
That is clear. I know the feeling.
I have no problem answering that. It is natural I suppose. My private life is fine, I am happy, nothing has changed. We will have been married for five years in the spring … we definitely want children, we both really do, but the time isn’t right for that yet because both me and Ondřej have really important positions and have so many work opportunities and on top of that, I am still travelling a lot with work. If it happened, we would handle it, but it probably wouldn’t be a very responsible thing to do at the moment. At the age of twenty-nine, I would nowadays have had a ten-year-old child if I had been like my mother, but things were just different in the past. To be honest, I don’t feel ready for it yet even mentally. When it does happen, we want to enjoy it and to devote our time to it and Ondřej will be a wonderful father too... Now isn’t the right time for it.
I understand, don’t worry about that question anymore. Nevertheless, I have noticed that you don’t wear any rings – neither your engagement nor your wedding ring.
Not always. I don’t feel the need to have to constantly display the fact that I am now married and in addition to that, they are such distinctive and magnificent items of jewellery that I tend rather to wear them only occasionally. It is true that Ondřej wears his all the time and sometimes moans at me about it. (laughs) I just wear them for special occasions.
You will be thirty in December. What would you like as a present and what are you planning?
I haven’t really even taken it on board that I will be turning thirty and it is not a big thing for me. Age really is only a number! And I know that nothing will change. I have no problem with ageing, I like how I am maturing. I feel better than when I was 18. We are planning a joint birthday party with Ondřej this year, my 30th and his 35th. We always have themed birthday parties so things are more fun. When Ondřej had his 33rd birthday, we had a biblical theme. It was the eighties last time. And because I am going to be thirty, it will be the 30s and once again we will be dispensing with all material gifts and supporting senior citizens with our friends via my foundation. That is the best birthday present for us! And anything I wish for … I always wish for the same thing – to be healthy and to have the people I love and who love me close and that I will be able to make all of my dreams come true. I have managed to do that so far.
Are you planning a holiday?
We plan those very sporadically. We aren’t always able to coordinate our dates. So, whenever we have the opportunity of jetting off somewhere together, we do it. We will be in New York for a couple of weeks now. We are usually less busy in the summer and January. We want to go skiing somewhere or to the seaside. But we love the Czech and Slovak countryside.
Who last made you happy and how did they do it?
People are always doing that. We had the premiere of the film “Alone” about the unforgettable Luba Skořepová, which we raised significant funds for with my foundation to ensure it could be finished. It is about precisely that situation when a person is left to deal with everything alone when they get old. One of our clients who is a senior citizen came up to me there and said: Taťána, thank you for what you do for me and others. I would like to give you something by way of thanks. Although I haven’t got anything to give you, could I pray for you? That sentiment was so powerful that I burst into tears. Moments and experiences like these are important for me. In addition to that, the man in my life makes me happy every day, so do my family, my sisters and I also make myself happy and try to do something for myself every day, be this exercise, running or having a bath or meditating. I sometimes like just being alone.
