The Heroine · Model, Survivor
Klara Hajek
- From
- The Czech Republic
- New name
- Klara Smith
- New job
- A diner in New York’s financial district
- Trained in
- Jiu-jitsu, judo and boxing
Klara Hajek was a model at the top of the fashion world until the night it tried to kill her. Now she’s Klara Smith, starting over in New York with a short haircut and a waitress job at a diner across from a bank.
She says please to flight attendants. She tips fifty dollars on a twenty-dollar cab fare, offers to close on her very first shift, and can’t walk past a dog without asking to pet it. She grew up watching Stallone and Schwarzenegger movies with her dad, and she buys an Islanders shirt and a Mets shirt purely for the colors.
Her Uncle Dave, a painter and martial artist, taught her more than jiu-jitsu: “The world is not always kind to beauty, Klara. You must have iron within you.”