Ivana Gottová, the nightingale's fatal woman
Both Gott and Douglas adored her, as did all the photographers hungry for sensations from the Master's private life. However, she herself longed for peace, which she finally enjoys. Ivan Gottová also discreetly celebrates her birthday today.
Not just Gott's escort
She was written about and spoken about in various ways - as a former nurse, as the wife of the divine Kaja, or as the most famous Czech widow or "the one from Gott". Although her life paths are inextricably linked with the famous singer, for whom she was a fateful woman, the only one with whom he stood before the altar, it is often forgotten that she too achieved and experienced a lot. And it certainly wasn't always easy for her.
Childhood marked by tragedy
Ivana Gottová, née Macháčková, is from Opava, and she still remembers how she used to listen to Karel Gott's songs on the radio as a little girl.
"When I was four years old, my brother, who is two years older than me, dreamed of having Karel Gott as our father after our parents divorced,"
recalled Gottová in an interview for iDNES.cz. Sadly, it was her elder brother Přemysl who died tragically a year later. He was hit by a car on his way home from school. It was a really dark time for young Ivana, as she was fixated on her sibling, in addition to dealing with the echo of her parents' divorce, solitude.
"My mother tried to put me into various music, art and dance circles, so that I could come into contact with other children and forget about my brother, but I cried everywhere," she revealed in an older interview.
It's hard to say whether she already had a desire to become an actress back then. In any case, she was trying to cope with a new life situation. Her mother found a new partner and they had a son together. Ivana managed to find a way to her stepfather, not so much to her biological one. She saw her father only a few times a year, he worked abroad, and it was only much later that she managed to get closer to him. Most likely, she lacked a true paternal role model in childhood and, even though she doesn't think so herself, it could have been the first impulse to what later drove her into the arms of mature men - those who had accomplished something.
American Dream
However, she didn't succeed at first. She was drawn to acting, but her parents, who worked in the healthcare industry, wanted her to become a doctor. She didn't get into the Conservatory and after two years of trying to get into JAMU or DAMU after high school, she gave up.
"I was disillusioned and disappointed, cried for a few nights and then announced to mom that I was going to America,"
she admitted in an interview. And that's what she did. But she didn't give up her desire there either, she worked as an au pair and while doing so, she attended various acting, singing and dancing courses. She was twenty-two when she returned to the Czech Republic, and in Prague she visited various radios and televisions trying to make a name for herself as an artist. She didn't succeed, but she spoke English well and thanks to this she got an interesting job - she became an assistant to foreign actors and directors. However, she had one more extraordinary experience, she dated the actor Michael Douglas in America. She had gone to see the shooting of his film and he picked her out of the crowd. This led to a two-year relationship, which only ended when she left to go home.
Coming home
It's hard to say what would have happened if she had stayed across the pond. However, she had a momentous meeting in the Czech Republic with Karel Gott, which is tied to a funny story. They met in 1998 at the TýTý Awards, where her friend Monika Žídková introduced her to the artist. He wanted her phone number, but since she was taken at the time, and so was he, she gave him a fake one. Fate, however, brought them together later, even though it was initially on a different basis.
"He courted me for a long time. I wasn't crazy, but of course I was flattered that we were friends," Gott said in one of the interviews with the fact that love came gradually. With Mr. then she was until his last days. She gave birth to his two daughters, by his side she turned into a real lady, which gradually even the biggest grumblers stopped blaming, that she is with the artist for selfish reasons.
Unnoticed Ivana
Many are wondering where she disappeared after Gott's death. She definitely moved away from the public eye. Gottová is devoted to managing her husband's legacy. Together with her daughters, she moved from Bertramka to an unknown place, to a new villa, trying to live mostly hidden. She rarely gives interviews and only appears in public if she wants to discuss new projects related to her husband. No wonder, she has already enjoyed enough attention and the old dream of becoming an actress has long evaporated.
Source: author's text, Zeny.iprima.cz, iDNES.cz
