Background and career
Emily O'Hara Ratajkowski ( RAT-ə-KOW-skee, Polish: [ratajˈkɔfskʲi]; born June 7, 1991), known occasionally as EmRata, is an American model and actress. Born in London to American parents and raised in Encinitas, California, she signed to Ford Models at a young age. Her modeling debut was on the cover of the March 2012 issue of the erotic magazine treats!, which led to her appearance 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 as a spokesperson for Planned Parenthood. As a self-identified feminist, Ratajkowski has received both support and criticism for her views on sexual expression. Her essay collection, My Body, was published by Metropolitan Books in November 2021 and was on the New York Times Bestseller list.
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 the San Diego suburb of Encinitas, 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 from Eastern Europe. She also has Irish ancestry. She spent her summers during her youth in Bantry, County Cork, Ireland and Sant Joan, Mallorca, Spain where the family vacationed.
Ratajkowski tried soccer, acting, and ballet before modeling. She participated in a few local theater productions as a child and young teen. During her formative years, Ratajkowski was introduced to works of art by her father and to the photography of Helmut Newton and Herb Ritts, much of which featured the female figure. This exposure prepared her for nude work later in her career. She has said, "We have this culture of men, especially, watching pornography, but then offended by a classic nude portrait or photograph, and I've never felt that way." She was also influenced by third-wave feminism and works such as The Beauty Myth and Promiscuities by Naomi Wolf.
How Emily Ratajkowski makes money
The NFT sold at auction at Christie's for $175,000.
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth, in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
