Paulina Porizkova & Alec Mazo - Season 4

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NAME:
Paulina Porizkova

PROFESSION:
Supermodel

PARTNER:
Alec Mazo

BACKGROUND:
As the former face of Estee Lauder, Porizkova was once the highest paid supermodel in the world of fashion. She was featured on the cover of several magazines, including the Sports Illustrated: Swimsuit Issue for two consecutive years. This spring Porizkova releases her first work of fiction, A Model Summer.


NAME:
Alec Mazo

ACHIEVEMENTS:

* Emerald Ball Latin Amateur Champion
* 1st Place - 2001 International Grand Ball (San Francisco)
* 1st Place - 2001 Holiday Ball (Las Vegas, Nevada)
* Six-time U.S. National Finalist

CELEBRITY PARTNER:
Paulina Porizkova

STATS:

Style: Latin
Nationality: American
Based in: Los Angeles
Status: Currently competing with Edyta Sliwinska

BACKGROUND:
Alec has been dancing since he was five years old. Alec moved to America from Russia with his family when he was 12. His mother ran a dance studio, and today Alec runs two ballroom dance schools, one in San Francisco Bay Area and another in Los Angeles.

Alec and his partner Edyta only turned Professional in 2005, having been successful amateur Latin competitors for the previous five years.

Alec has also studied acting at Playhouse West. He has appeared in the Vanessa Williams movie Dance With Me as well as numerous commercials. He has a BA in Cognitive Science from UC Berkeley.

[Google]

 

[Krom]

I will enjoy seeing Mrs. Ric Ocasek. I mean that situation gives hope to guys worldwide.

[chipnreichenfan]

Is she still married to Ric Ocasek?

[Krom]

Originally Posted by chipnreichenfan

Is she still married to Ric Ocasek?

According to these, yes...
Paulina Porizkova - Biography
Paulina Porizkova - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ric Ocasek - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Next step for model Porizkova: 'Dancing'
By RICHARD HUFF

Monday, February 26th, 2007

Let's get this out of the way upfront: Just because someone has strutted down the fashion runway doesn't mean he or she can handle the dance floor.

"Have you seen models on the runway?" asks Paulina Porizkova, one of the biggest models ever. "They clomp like horses, they're slouched over like they're going to die - it's an affected look."

For Porizkova, it's a way to say, don't expect her to be Ginger Rogers when she turns up as a competitor on ABC's "Dancing With the Stars."

"People assume I can dance," she said. "When they actually see me, they're going to go, 'Huh? Why is she on the show?'"

Part of the appeal of "Dancing" has been in featuring people who wouldn't normally be thought of as dancers, including, in past seasons, Jerry Springer, former WWE wrestler Stacey Kiebler and football great Jerry Rice.

In fact, former football star Emmitt Smith won the last edition of "Dancing With the Stars."

Porizkova will compete against the likes of boxer Laila Ali, Olympic speed skater Apolo Anton Ohno, actor Ian Ziering and Paul McCartney's soon-to-be ex-wife, Heather Mills.

Porizkova said she's been a fan of the show since the start and was encouraged by her brother to go on.

"My brother was just kidding," she said. "He knows I'm deeply unathletic. People look at me and see me as tall and thin and kind of elegant. I look like I should be able to dance. But I have zero dancing experience in my life, let alone athletic experience."

She's been teamed with Alec Mazo, who was former Playboy Playmate Kelly Monaco's championship partner in the first edition of "Dancing."

"I was laughing with my partner yesterday," she said. "He kept saying, 'Posture, posture, posture. Back straight, chest out.' In modeling, it's all about slouching."

They've been rehearsing since last week, and she's got the blisters on every toe to prove it. "My butt felt much firmer when I came up the stairs, too," she said.

"My poor partner, I feel bad for him," she said. "He's really good, and he's saddled with this older, unathletic chick."

Older, of course, is relative. Porizkova is 41.

Her husband, rocker Ric Ocasek, has been the "most 'supportive darling one could imagine," along with their sons.

Before signing on for the show, Porizkova had been largely out of the limelight for five years. She's been working on a novel, "A Model Summer," due out April 10.

As for "Dancing," Porizkova has no illusions of winning, though she'd surely like to be in contention.

"My first goal is not to be the first one kicked off," she said. "I would really like to dance the waltz before I get kicked off."

When the season starts March 19 at 9 p.m., she said, "I'll be puking in a wastebasket backstage."

Link

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When the season starts March 19 at 9 p.m., she said, "I'll be puking in a wastebasket backstage."

Okay, that one is just too easy to take and run with.

[jasmar]

She sounds like a cool woman. I like her ability to laugh at herself, and staying married in this day and age, for a celebrity, takes some real strength of character. Plus she's still as gorgeous as ever!

[Nemeses]

A supermodel who wants to dance. Okay, whatever. Sure, why not? Nothing exciting about her, but nothing to dislike, either. At least not yet. We'll see what she has to offer.

Her partner is Alec Mazo, the partner of Kelly Monaco from season 1. Hard to remember him that well, especially since anything to do with Kelly Monaco is something I try to get out of my head, but I seem to remember he did pretty well and had some interesting choreography. Paulina may have lucked out in the draw for pro partners -- not sure yet.

[aname]

These two should be beautiful together. Alex is Edyta's fiance so they will be in it together, but he got the better partner. Hopefully Paulina will be at least graceful and not just beautiful with no sense of rhythm or timing (like Sara Evans).

[~Lurker~]

I hope she can dance.. I want her to go far.