By Suzy Buckley, Photos: Spicer

ife is good for Veronica Varekova, the 26-year-old, six-foot-tall Czech beauty fashion's top dogs are dubbing the modeling world's next big thing. Talk about a charmed existence: A mere 10 days after moving from her native city of Olomouc to New York City, she was discovered while dining at Cipriani's. Six years and multiple high-profile campaigns (Victoria's Secret, Nivea, Patek Philippe, Chanel, Gap, Chopard and Guess, et al.) later, a boyfriend of three months, New York Rangers hockey player Petr Nedved, proposed to her on bended knee…on her birthday.

"I didn't think I was ready to be in a relationship when we first met," says Varekova, who loves tennis, painting and "traveling for pleasure" and counts Rachel Roberts and Molly Sims among her best friends. "But little by little, the idea of being with this very funny, great guy really grew on me. One day, I was on a road trip somewhere and we were talking on the phone. He sang me this Czech lullaby I hadn't heard since I was a child. I guess that's what really made it sort of ultimate." And there's more: Her elegant, blonde, princess-like good looks just landed her the industry's ultimate coup, gracing this year's cover of Sports Illustrated's swimsuit issue.

"I was completely in shock," gushes Varekova, who admits to indulging in junk food-everything from chips to Gummi Bears-and steering clear of the carb-prohibitive Atkins diet. "Although I was excited, I am not yet comfortable with the media. I'm afraid of the unknown. I'm shy and am trying to overcome my fears." So she's virtuous, too. In fact, one of her greatest joys was calling her father after scoring that first big paycheck. "I thanked him for all his support but said 'it's no longer needed.' It felt absolutely amazing to be paying my own bills." At 19, Varekova had moved to New York with an ex-boyfriend, initially intending to study fashion at Parsons School of Design. Although she immediately signed with Next and watched her career explode, their relationship soured. It wasn't until she was introduced to fellow Czech Nedved at a hockey game and later ran into him again at (her lucky spot) Cipriani's that she was willing to put her heart on the line again. They're planning a June wedding-the perfect segue to the next chapter of the Varekova fairy tale.

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