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Background:
Poland-born, Sweden raised, cover model-turned pop diva-turned screen siren
Izabella Scorupco became famous for playing smart Bond girl Natalya Simonova in
the blockbuster smash hit GoldenEye (1995), opposite Pierce Brosnan. She is also
known by American as a French-Canadian mountain climber in the successful
Vertical Limit (2000) and a helicopter pilot in Reign of Fire (2002). In a more
recent film, she was the female lead in the horror film Exorcist: The Beginning
(2004), and had a guest role in the television series “Alias” (2005). Before
achieving popularity in Hollywood, Scorupco made a name for herself in the
Swedish cinematic industry with her debut film Only We Can Love Like This
(1988). This led to a brief but very successful modeling career in Europe. As
for a musician, big fan of Ricky Martin has scored successes with the gold
single “Substitute” and disco-themed gold album Iza, as well as the 1991 hit
“Shame, Shame, Shame.“
A former media representative of the renowned cosmetics company Oriflame and
Vogue model, Izabella Scorupco stands 5’ 6 ½” inch tall and has 34-23 1/2-33 1/2
(Ford modeling card 1990) measurements. As for her private life, the beauty
hailed from GoldenEye fame, Scorupco has been married twice. She first tied the
knot with hockey player Mariusz Czerkawski in 1996, but later divorced in 2000.
She married second husband Jeffrey Raymond in 2003 and they remains together
now. Scorupco has two children, daughter Julia (born in 1997, father Czerkawski)
and son Jacob Martin Raymond (born in 2003, father Jeffrey Raymond).
Lively Iza
Childhood and Family:
Born Izabella Dorota Scorupco, on June 4, 1970, in Bialystok, Poland, a
northeastern town near the Russian border, Izabella Scorupco is the daughter of
Madgelena, a doctor, and Lech Scorupco, a jazz musician. Her parents became
separated when Iza, Izabella’s nickname, just celebrated her first birthday.
Following the break up, she moved in with her mother, and in 1978, the two
relocated to Stockholm, Sweden. An active girl, Iza began taking acting and
music classes, as well as learning to speak Swedish and English, in addition to
her native Polish. From ages 12-13, she attended a Catholic convent to study
French. At age 17, while at school, Iza was discovered by a Swedish film
director who offered her a shot to stardom.
In 1991, Iza met and fell in love with Polish ice hockey player Mariusz
Czerskawski and they exchanged wedding vows on July 14, 1996. Unfortunately, the
marriage ended in split up in 2000. Iza and Czerskawski share a daughter named
Julia (born on September 1997). She now becomes the wife of American Jeffrey
Raymond, whom she married on December 30, 2003, and has one son named Jacob
Martin Raymond (born 24 July, 2003) with him.
Vertical Limit
Career:
Arriving in Sweden at age 8, Poland-born Izabella Scorupco was introduced to the
world of showbiz by Swedish filmmaker Staffan Hildebrand who spotted this
17-year-old girl on her school while the director was on a promotional tour.
Scorupco was so impressive that Hildebrand soon cast her in the starring role of
Annelie in the drama Only We Can Love Like This (1988), about a child of divorce
who wants to travel north to see her father. The film subsequently made Scorupco
a local teenage star and brought the fashion world to her door.
After graduation, Scorupco jetted throughout Europe, acting in several
television commercials and modeling. She even flew to Italy to be a cover model
for Italian Vogue. However, after a year of intensive modeling, she found
herself starting to hate the profession after discovering that models weren’t
respected and weren’t included enough in the creative process. Scorupco then
turned into music, one of her first loves, and released her first single, the
ABBA-inspired “Substitute” and an album titled Iza in 1989. Both the song and
the album were hits in Sweden and earned gold certifications. Her mounting
popularity as a singer further established with a 1991 sophomore album and the
pop hit “Shame, Shame, Shame.”
While her music career was in full swing, Scorupco returned to acting for
television miniseries “The Single Mother” (1991), and later guest starred in an
episode of “Bert” (1994). She eventually made the full hop back into acting with
the starring role of Carla in the Scandinavian medieval drama Petri tårar (1995)
before relocating with then-husband Czerskawski to Hollywood as he began playing
for the National Hockey League.
Soon after the movement, Scorupco broke Hollywood scene and made it big when
Martin Campbell cast her as brainy Bond girl Natalya Fyodorovna Simonova in
GoldenEye (1995). In Pierce Brosnan’s first outing as James Bond, Scorupco
portrayed a Russian computer whiz determined to save the world. The film was a
box office hit and it became Scorupco’s Hollywood calling card.
Following the success, however, the actress took some time off to enjoy her
personal life with husband Czerkawski and their daughter Julia. She made her way
back to film in 1999 to star in the Polish feature With Fire and Sword. The same
year, she was recruited by the very popular Swedish cosmetics company Oriflame
to be their spokesperson and took a firsthand role in charitable events. The
following year saw Scorupco starred in the Swedish film The Diver and returned
to Hollywood scene with the 2000 hit Vertical Limit, an action directed by
GoldenEye director Martin Campbell, in which Scorupco was cast as a French
Canadian mountain climber who helps Chris O’Donnell to save his sister after an
avalanche buries her in a crevasse. The film also starred Robin Tunney and Scott
Glenn.
Two years later, Scorupco costarred opposite Christian Bale and Matthew
McConaughey in the sci-fi thriller Reign of Fire (2002), playing dragon-slaying
helicopter pilot Alex Jensen. After the Rob Bowman-directed film, she ventured
into horror genre with the 2004 Exorcist: The Beginning, as Sarah, opposite
Stellan Skarsgård’s Father Merrin. 2005 saw Scorupco make a guest performance in
one episode of the popular series “Alias.”
Awards:
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