Emily Ratajkowski

Emily Ratajkowski identifies as “Polish-Israeli”.

Born in London and raised in California, Emily’s paternal grandparents were Polish.

Her artist father John Ratajkowski's Polish roots are very important to him and he has passed on that pride in Poland to his famous daughter.

Speaking to First News, he said: "In my 20s a musician friend met and married a Polish artist, Natalia Witkowska. Natalia was the finest painter that I’ve ever known. We worked and had exhibitions together for a few years when she sent photographs of my work to a friend of hers in Warsaw. I had no idea that she had done this but an invitation came for me to exhibit in 1981 (a very interesting time in Poland). I took the invitation as an adventure but when I arrived all of my father’s and grandparent’s ways came back to me. I felt a genuine connection. For the first time I thought of myself as Polish – I still do. I’ve returned to Poland many times."