Emily Ratajkowski facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Emily Ratajkowski
Ratajkowski in 2016
Born	Emily O'Hara Ratajkowski (1991-06-07) June 7, 1991 (age 33) London, England
Nationality	American
Occupation	Model actress
Years active	2004–present
Spouse(s)	Sebastian Bear-McClard ​ ​ (m. 2018; separated 2022)​
Children	1
Modeling information
Height	170 cm (5 ft 7 in)
Hair color	Brown
Eye color	Brown
Agency	DNA Model Management (New York) VIVA Model Management (Paris, London, Barcelona)

Emily O'Hara Ratajkowski (/ˌrætəˈkaʊski/, Polish: [ratajˈkɔfskʲi]; born June 7, 1991) is an American model and former actress. Born in London to American parents and raised in Encinitas, California, she signed to Ford Models at a young age. She appeared in several music videos, including Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines", which catapulted her to global fame.

Ratajkowski's feature film debut was a supporting role as the mistress of Ben Affleck's character in the film Gone Girl (2014). She appeared in the 2014 and 2015 Sports Illustrated swimsuit issues, and made her professional catwalk modeling debut for Marc Jacobs at New York Fashion Week in 2015. She has also walked on the runways of Paris Fashion Week and Milan Fashion Week. For her international Vogue covers and high fashion campaigns, Models.com ranks her as one of the new generation of supermodels.

Ratajkowski is an advocate for women's health issues. She identifies herself as a feminist. Her essay collection, My Body, was published by Metropolitan Books in November 2021 and was on the New York Times Bestseller list.

Early life

Emily O'Hara Ratajkowski was born June 7, 1991 in Westminster, London, the only child of American school teachers Kathleen Anne Balgley and John David "J.D." Ratajkowski. She was raised in Encinitas near San Diego, California. She attended UCLA for a year before dropping out to model full-time. Her father was raised Roman Catholic, whereas her mother is Jewish. Ratajkowski has stated that she ethnically identifies herself as "Polish-Israeli", as her ancestors made aliyah to Israel from Eastern Europe. She also has Irish ancestry.

Ratajkowski tried soccer, acting, and ballet before modeling. She participated in a few local theater productions as a child and young teen. She was also influenced by third-wave feminism and works such as The Beauty Myth and Promiscuities by Naomi Wolf.

Career

Early acting and music video performances

With encouragement from an acting coach, Ratajkowski met and signed with a talent agent who contacted Ford Models. That same day, she signed with Ford at age 14 and went on to do teen print catalog modeling for Kohl's and Nordstrom. At 15, Ratajkowski began auditioning for Disney and iCarly roles, but she was often typecast as a bully or cheerleader and bigger roles did not materialize. She attended San Dieguito Academy, a high school in Encinitas, while modeling and acting in Los Angeles. After two nondescript movie roles, she appeared as Gibby's girlfriend, Tasha, in two episodes of the third season of Nickelodeon's iCarly (2009–2010). Her manager discouraged her from pursuing many acting engagements until she could be more selective.

Ratajkowski attended UCLA for one year in 2009, and dropped out, deciding to model full-time. She later said that she found the fine art education at the UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture arbitrary and in conflict with her artistic concepts, and that she did not enjoy going to fraternities. After campaigns and editorials with photographer Tony Duran, Ratajkowski began shooting more fashion editorials. Ratajkowski later filmed commercials for Nikon and Carl's Jr., including multiple versions of a 2012 Carl's Jr. commercial with Sara Jean Underwood. She also did art modeling for magazines, including a May 2012 shoot with Jonathan Leder, as well as work for Frederick's of Hollywood; a 2012 holiday video and a 2011 Valentine's video in which Ratajkowski appeared for the company are among the most popular videos on the company's YouTube channel. Ratajkowski worked with photographer Tony Kelly for the March 2013 GQ Turkey cover.

Ratajkowski appeared in Robin Thicke, T.I., and Pharrell Williams's 2013 video, "Blurred Lines". Previously, Ratajkowski had been cast in two other music videos: "Fast Car" by Taio Cruz, which was released on November 5, 2012, and Maroon 5's "Love Somebody", which was released two months after "Blurred Lines". "Love Somebody", shot on January 16, and "Blurred Lines" were both produced in 2013. The video for "Love Somebody" was released on May 21, 2013. Directed by Rich Lee, it shows bare-chested Adam Levine using inverse green screen technology to rub paint onto Ratajkowski with his hands. As they touch, they reveal each other.

Thicke convinced director Diane Martel to cast her in the "Blurred Lines" music video. Martel felt that "she looked smart and stunningly beautiful" in the photo. Ratajkowski initially declined the role, fearing being classified as a music video model, but Martel persuaded her. The video was released on March 20, 2013.

Ratajkowski's assessment of her involvement in "Blurred Lines" as an unequivocal and properly feminist moment were reconsidered in her 2021 memoir, My Body.

"Blurred Lines", and Ratajkowski's associated video performance, was prominent beyond the sociopolitical controversies. The song became the number-one song of 2013 on music charts in many countries, including Canada, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. Although second on the year-end US Billboard Hot 100 chart, the song's twelve consecutive weeks at number one made it the longest-running number-one song of the decade until "Uptown Funk" spent fourteen consecutive weeks at number one in 2015. The song also remained in the news due to a copyright infringement lawsuit and appeal.

Breakthrough and rise to prominence

The "Blurred Lines" video garnered Ratajkowski notoriety. In October 2013, Esquire magazine named Ratajkowski "Woman of the Year", over online fan vote finalist Jennifer Lawrence. In February 2014, Sports Illustrated magazine named Ratajkowski as one of twelve 50th anniversary swimsuit issue rookies.

Ratajkowski was on the July 2013 cover of CR Fashion Book.

Ratajkowski photographed for Day 16 of LOVE's Advent 2014

Days after Gone Girl's September 26, 2014, New York Film Festival premiere, Ratajkowski became the cover model for the November 2014 issue of Cosmopolitan. On October 30, 2014, she appeared with Taylor Kitsch in the Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare live-action trailer.

Ratajkowski co-starred in the 2015 film Entourage as a fictionalized version of herself, playing the love interest of Adrian Grenier's character, Vincent Chase. Her performance received critical commentary ranging from "less than compelling", by The Hollywood Reporter's Sheri Linden, to "uncanny realism", by The Philadelphia Inquirer's Steven Rea. Grantland's Morris described her role and performance with scathing sarcasm. She was also cast in the 2015 miniseries The Spoils Before Dying as Agent Day, appearing late in the series. Her performance was favorably reviewed by Emily L. Stephens of The A.V. Club, while other critics commented that she was part of a solid supporting cast.

Ratajkowski earned her first leading role, opposite Zac Efron, in We Are Your Friends, a musical drama released in August 2015, and was part of the film's promotional tour to Europe and North America. Starting with the August 11 London premiere, this tour marked her ascension as a style icon as she earned multiple best dressed citations from various sources. She played Stanford University dropout Sophie, the love interest of Efron's character and girlfriend/personal assistant of Wes Bentley's character. Her performance received mixed reviews. Alonso Duralde of TheWrap described the role as thin, as did Ty Burr of The Boston Globe. Burr said that Ratajkowski's performance was "surpassingly dull", while Nell Minow of Beliefnet stated that she "does more posing than acting". Jordan Hoffman of the Daily News described Ratajkowski's performance as "stunning and sweet". Robbie Collin of The Daily Telegraph and Grantland's Morris noted Ratajkowski's rhythmic dancing skills, as previously seen in "Blurred Lines".

Around the time of the release of We Are Your Friends, Ratajkowski appeared on the covers of Grazia France, British GQ, harper by Harper's Bazaar, InStyle UK, and InStyle Australia, as well as a role as a 2015 MTV Video Music Awards presenter. The British GQ cover story was photographed by Mario Testino, who produced a short film featuring Ratajkowski for the magazine's website. Soon after, on September 17, 2015, she made her runway debut for Marc Jacobs at the spring/summer 2016 New York Fashion Week finale. This appearance contributed to her number-one listing among Vogue's 12 Breakout Beauty Stars of 2015. For fall/winter 2016 fashions, Ratajkowski walked the Paris Fashion Week runway for Miu Miu on March 9, 2016. She has expressed the desire to break barriers for shorter and more curvaceous models, commenting: "You don't have to be 5'9" and an A-cup to be a successful model."

Ratajkowski in 2016

A Buick Super Bowl ad for its Cascada convertible during Super Bowl 50 on February 7, 2016, featured Ratajkowski and Odell Beckham Jr. The ad, in which she made a wedding bouquet catch reminiscent of Beckham's catch from 2014, received average ratings, according to USA Today's admeter. The ad was filmed with a stunt double making the catch. Los Angeles-based jewelry designer Jacquie Aiche featured Ratajkowski in a spring 2016 campaign wearing almost nothing but body chains, rings, bracelets, pendants, and chokers. In May, Ratajkowski appeared in the Russian-language music video "Inseparable" (sometimes translated as "Indivisible") with Russian entertainer Dima Bilan as a photographer and Ratajkowski as his muse.

Professional expansion

After seeing her in the "Blurred Lines" video Ben Affleck picked her to play the mistress of his character, in David Fincher's 2014 adaptation of Gillian Flynn's novel Gone Girl. San Diego Union-Tribune described Ratajkowski's performance as "nuanced", while Andrew O'Hehir of Salon and Wesley Morris of Grantland wrote that her small role as a "duplicitous and manipulative former student" was critical. Reflecting on the performance in 2016, Naomi Wolf described Ratajkowski's portrayal as sympathetic and compassionate.

In August 2015, Warner Bros. Pictures released We Are Your Friends, in which Ratajkowski played Sophie. In their respective reviews of the film, critics Richard Roeper and Wesley Morris said that Ratajkowski, again playing the attractive object of affection, failed to demonstrate acting prowess. In February 2016, Ratajkowski was cast in the film In Darkness, alongside Natalie Dormer, Ed Skrein, and Stacy Martin. That August, she became the spokesperson for the Australian swimwear brand Amore + Sorvete.

Ratajkowski was one of five models to appear on the August 2016 Vogue Germany alternate covers along with Stella Maxwell, Irina Shayk, Lily Aldridge, and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley. Along with Joan Smalls and Kate Upton, Ratajkowski was one of three models for the October Glamour cover. She appeared in a season 1 episode of Joe Swanberg's Netflix series, Easy that was released on September 22, 2016. Her episode, in which she is a lifecasting selfie artist, met with mixed reviews. She was a guest judge on the October 20, Project Runway season 15 episode. By November 2016, Ratajkowski was attached to Lying and Stealing, which also starred Theo James.

Ratajkowski began 2017 on the February Vogue España cover shot by Miguel Reveriego. Ratajkowski also made cover appearances on the March issue of U.S. InStyle, and the May covers of American Marie Claire (with alternate covers by Janelle Monáe, Aja Naomi King, Zoey Deutch, Alexandra Daddario, et al.) and the French L'Officiel.

Bags designed by Ratajkowski for The Kooples on display at Bloomingdale's at 900 North Michigan

In March 2017, Ratajkowski became the face of DKNY intimates. On June 27, she was announced as the cover model for the August 2017 Australian Harper's Bazaar, which had different newsstand and subscriber covers photographed by Pamela Hanson. That July, after modeling for the French fashion brand The Kooples's Fall 2017 collection, Ratajkowski was enlisted to design a 38-piece bag collection for the company. The initial version of the collection, named Emily By The Kooples, comes in six colors and features a leather carryall bag, The Emily Bag. The bags are Italian-made and represent The Kooples' first foray into bags. Later that month she was announced as the feature of cover stories in the August issues of Allure and British Glamour.

That August she became the face of DL1961 jeans, The Frye Company for its Fall 2017 ad campaign, and the entire DKNY brand for its Fall 2017 campaign.

On September 23, 2017, she walked the Milan Fashion Week runway for Bottega Veneta. Later that month, Ratajkowski revealed that she was working with a dialogue coach to learn the French and Italian languages for Lying and Stealing. On November 1, Tyga posted an unofficial 60-second video teaser for "Tequilla Kisses", which featured Ratajkowski. As a result, Ratajkowski was noted as the starring performer in Tyga's "Tequilla Kisses" bonus track music video. However, on November 4, Tyga removed the full video from various points of internet access including his own Instagram account, following complaints from Ratajkowski that the video was from a lookbook Ratajkowski did with Phillip Lopez in 2013. On November 9, Harper's Bazaar UK published a story about Ratajkowski's impending release of her own swimwear brand after Emrata Holdings LLC acquired the trademark to Inamorata in August and she left a trail of breadcrumbs on social media. Ratajkowski retweeted the story. The bathing suit line, Inamorata, went live on November 16, 2017, with three one-pieces.

Ratajkowski for Vogue, 2019

In January 2018, Ratajkowski shot a fashion campaign with Inez and Vinoodh, as the new ambassador for Kérastase. British Vogue noted that the Kérastase endorsement was Ratajkowski's "first beauty campaign". That March, she landed her first fragrance campaign as the face of Paco Rabanne Parfum's women's line. That same month, she also earned the University of Southern California Inspire Award in at their inaugural ceremony. On April 8, 2018, Ratajkowski won the Model of the Year award from the Daily Front Row.

On March 29, 2018, she was cast as a series regular in the NBC pilot Bright Futures. The show was not included in NBC's 2018–19 schedule. The following month saw the release of the comedy film I Feel Pretty, in which Ratajkowski co-starred alongside Amy Schumer. Her role, which was described as "pivotal" by USA Today critic Bryan Alexander, included ad libbed improvisational comedy.

Ratajkowski was featured on the cover of the June 2018 issue of Marie Claire. She designed the mythology-themed "EmRata x Spinelli Kilcollin" jewelry collection with Spinelli Kilcollin that launched at Barneys New York on May 30, 2018, with prices starting at $6,000.

On September 21, 2018, Ratajkowski walked the Milan Fashion Week runway for Versace. That same weekend, she walked fashion week for Dolce & Gabbana. The following week, Vertical Entertainment released the film Cruise, which was written and directed by Robert Siegel, and in which Ratajkowski played the female lead opposite Spencer Boldman. That November, Ratajkowski appeared opposite Aaron Paul in Welcome Home.

In November 2021 a collection of essays by Ratajkowski with title My Body was published. Quercus described it as "a deeply honest investigation of what it means to be a woman and a commodity". Cleveland Review of Books said the book turns "the tenuous power of a woman's body into a voluntary disturbance."

In October 2022, Ratajkowski partnered with Sony Music Entertainment to launch a podcast entitled "High Low with EmRata". In January 2023, Ratajkowski became the face of Versace's Spring/Summer 2023 campaign.

Following an unsuccessful audition for Triangle of Sadness (2022), Ratajkowski quit acting. She explained that she fired her team, including her agents and manager, because she "didn't trust them".

In the media

Ratajkowski has been frequently named in lists and polls that rank beauty or fashion in the media. She is also praised for her fashion sense: Ratajkowski made Vogue Italia's Best Dressed List of 2015, and Harper's Bazaar placed her atop its best dressed list at the February 2016 New York Fashion Week.

In October 2017, American Vogue ran a feature article celebrating her "stylistic excellence".

Political views

Activism

Ratajkowski has raised funds and done public service announcements.

Ratajkowski expressed support for State of Palestine during the Gaza–Israel conflict.

On the eve of the February 2016 New Hampshire Democratic primary, Ratajkowski spoke at a Bernie Sanders rally in New Hampshire to endorse his campaign. One of the main points of her speech, and her social media activity surrounding it, was to counter Gloria Steinem's statement that young female Sanders supporters were involved in the campaign to meet potential male romantic partners. In 2020, she again endorsed Sanders for the Democratic nomination.

Personal life

In December 2014, Us Weekly confirmed she had begun dating Jeff Magid, a musician. By early 2018, they had reportedly broken up.

On February 23, 2018, Ratajkowski announced on Instagram that she had married actor and producer Sebastian Bear-McClard, her boyfriend of several weeks, in a New York City courthouse wedding. They lived in the NoHo neighborhood of Manhattan and in Los Angeles. On October 26, 2020, Ratajkowski confirmed she was pregnant. In one of her essays, she wrote about how both her husband and herself did not wish to discuss their child's sex until their child was born. She gave birth to their son on March 8, 2021. In July 2022, Ratajkowski and Bear-McClard separated.

Filmography

Film

Television

Music videos

See also

In Spanish: Emily Ratajkowski para niños