Elin Nordegren biography

Synopsis

Young Model

Model. Born Elin Maria Pernilla Nordegren on January 1, 1980, in Stockholm, Sweden. Nordegren is only moments older than her twin sister, Josfin. The two grew up in Vaxholm, Sweden, a small town outside of Stockholm, with their parents and older brother, Axel. Their father, Thomas Nordegren, is one of Sweden's best-known journalists. Their mother, Barbro Holmberg, has had a distinguished career in public service. The couple divorced when Elin was 6 years old.

Smart and active, Nordegren played soccer for many years. She spent some time living in Berlin with her father after he landed a job there in 1997. Returning to Sweden, Nordegren was soon discovered by a famous photographer named Bingo Rimer. She appeared on the cover of a Swedish magazine in 2000, wearing a bikini. Nordegren, however, had no great ambitions about becoming a model. She enrolled at Lund University to pursue her dream of becoming a child psychologist.

During her first year of university, Nordegren worked at a popular clothing store in Stockholm. She was no stranger to hard work, having taken numerous summer jobs in the past to support herself. One day Nordegren met Mia Parnevik, wife of Swedish pro golfer Jesper Parnevik, at the store. Parnevik liked Nordegren, and eventually hired her to be as one of the nannies for the couple's four children. In 2001, Nordegren moved to Florida to work for the Parneviks.

Marriage to Tiger Woods

Initially Nordegren had no interest in golf, or golfers. She had a boyfriend back home when she first met Tiger Woods at the 2001 British Open. Even after that relationship dissolved, Nordegren was slow to warm to Woods. She turned him down the first time he asked her out, but he eventually won her over.

In 2002, Nordegren made her first public appearance as Woods' girlfriend during the Bay Hill Invitational in Orlando, Florida. The couple also spent Christmas together in Sweden that year. During their courtship, Nordegren kept out of the limelight, refusing to answer any questions from reporters. Even to those on the professional golf tour she remained an enigma. "When she started dating Tiger, it was like there was an unwritten agreement she wouldn't say anything to anyone. She's still nice, but when you talk to her, you don't get anything out of her," one golfer told Sports Illustrated.

During a trip to a South African game reserve in November of 2003, Nordegren accepted Woods' marriage proposal. They married the following year at the Sandy Lane resort in Barbados. Approximately 200 friends and family members attended the sunset ceremony, including basketball greats Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley.

In 2006, Nordegren became the subject of a false story in an Irish publication.