We asked how her life has been changed by modeling. "I was on my way to the theatre in Prague and before I knew it I was in Paris," she explains. Her English is perfect. It's hard to believe that just a few years ago she didn't know a word. There's a slig ht accent, but she's mastered it. Does she find her career challenging? "Yes," she says, it's very challenging and exciting but, she's quick to point out it's not her entire life. Her husband, Tomasso Buti -- a co-owner of Fashion Cafe -- their family, in cluding a newborn son and two Jack Russell terriers -- Tino and Soda -- play the more crucial roles in her life. She has a strong sense of family as well as where it gets tucked into her priorities.

Does she spend much time in Europe? "Yes. I'm married to an Italian," she grins. So she goes back to Europe often. Sometimes she meets her parents in Rome. And sometimes she spends time in the old country, which has changed so dramatically since the evapo ration of Communism. She's not convinced that that change is for the better. "How is your family reacting to the new political order?" we ask.

She is the progeny of a family considered better off than some other Czechs. She looks surprised, then smiles and nods as if to thank us for asking a question that didn't involve her bust size. "It's very difficult," she says, leveling her eyes at ours t o emphasize how serious the issue is to her. She becomes animated, moving her arms. "When you're used to having free health care and the other programs, it's difficult to adjust to this kind of change." She's not entirely comfortable discussing it. But he r parents, still in Czechoslovakia, are managing, she says. Her voice trails off, so we quickly go in a different direction.

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