Who is Princess Sofia of Sweden? The colorful life of the model turned royal as she celebrates her 38th birthday
Sofia was born in Danderyd in 1984 and was one of three girls born to a Swedish marketing manager mother and a Danish-Swedish father. After completing an art program at Vansbro Education Centre, Sofia’s natural good looks – she’s known for her piercing blue eyes and cascading brunette locks – led her to a modeling career in her early 20s.
She famously posed on the pages of one of Slits, a now-defunct Swedish men’s magazine, wearing only a pair of bikini bottoms and a snake wrapped around her torso. The photoshoot led to her winning a readers’ vote and eventually landing her on a reality show. Paradise Hotel (a predecessor to Love Island), although she left her entertainment career behind to pursue a life in New York.
In 2005, Sofia enrolled in an accounting program in the Big Apple, where she worked as a yoga instructor while specializing in business development. She also took a course at Stockholm University.
Her relationship with Prince Carl Philip, whose eldest sister, Crown Princess Victoria, is heir to the throne, was confirmed by the palace in July 2010. It is believed the pair crossed paths in a nightclub. Nine months later it was announced that the couple had moved in together in Djurgården in Stockholm, where they continue to live today in Villa Solbacken.