I will continue to be intelligent, I vowed, no matter how beautiful I become.

Porizkova acquired Swedish citizenship. Harper's Bazaar named her one of its ten most beautiful women in 1992. Porizkova's photos appeared in the books Models and Sirens by Marco Glaviano and in Fashion Photography by Patrick Demarchelier.

At the age of eighteen years Paulina Porizkova became the first woman from Central Europe to be on the cover of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. She was the second woman (after Christie Brinkley) to be featured on the swimsuit issue's front cover consecutive times (1984 and 1985).