Tsunami survivor models for retail store

LONDON, Aug. 30 (UPI) -- Czech supermodel Petra Nemcova, who was almost swept away by the Thailand tsunami in 2004, is starring in an ad campaign for a British retailer.

Nemcova, 27, and her fiance, fashion photographer Simon Atlee, were on vacation when a wave hit their bungalow, killing him while she clung to a palm tree. She was laid up several months with broken bones and internal injuries.

Two years later, Nemcova has been signed to represent John Lewis department store, one of Britain's 10 largest retailers, the Daily Mail reported Wednesday. The forest outside the French town of Chamonix is the backdrop for the campaign's ads, which feature Nemcova modeling the store's fall collection of women's clothing.

"We wanted someone with an ageless beauty who would appeal to women of all ages. She isn't edgy, she isn't going to scare anybody off," a John Lewis spokesman said.

Nemcova will model Seven For All Mankind jeans, Principles, Joseph and the store's own brand, JL, in ads appearing in magazines and on billboards next month.