Just who is Elin Nordegren? We have 20 facts you didn't know about Tiger Woods' very private wife.
Elin Maria Pernilla Nordegren was born on New Year's Day in 1980.
Elin was born and raised in Sweden.
Elin is a former swimsuit model.
According to Golf.com, Jesper Parnevik's wife, Mia, hired Nordegren in 2001 to work as one of her nannies — and later served as something of a matchmaker for Woods and Nordegren.
Elin was born 10 minutes ahead of her identical twin, Josefine.
Elin also has an older brother named Axel.
Elin grew up in a small town 50 miles north of Stockholm.
Her parents, Thomas Nordegren and Barbro Holmberg, divorced when Elin was six years old.
Elin's Mother is a Minister for Migration with the Swedish government.
Elin's father, Thomas Nordegren, has been one of Sweden's leading journalists. Presently based in Washington, D.C., he's a White House correspondent for Swedish Broadcasting.
Elin and her twin sister attended Sweden's prestigious John F. Kennedy School.
The girls did not lead a life of luxury. “Elin and Josefine had to find jobs every summer to buy what they wanted,” her father told Britain's Sunday Mirror in 2002. “They worked as cashiers in the supermarket to finance their studies and held other odd jobs.”
One of Sweden's leading fashion photographers, Bingo Rimer, ran across a candid photo of her and immediately recognized her star quality. Rimer looked up Nordegren's phone number and talked her into a couple of photo shoots, which took place in early 2000.
Nordegren landed on the cover of Cafe Sport magazine in the summer of 2000.
Instead of pursuing modeling full time, Elin and Josefine enrolled at Lund University, one of the top colleges in Sweden.
Elin was working at the clothing boutique Champagne, in Stockholm, where she met Mia Parnevik, and was offered a job a Mia's family nanny.
According to golf.com, “She had no interest in golf or golfers,” says Mia. “She thought they were so silly and was always making fun of them.”
Elin was a competitive soccer player well into her teens.
Elin and Tiger have two children together. Son Charlie Axel and daughter Sam Alexis.
Tiger and Elin Nordegren were married October 5, 2004 on the island of Barbados. It was a lavish yet intimate affair, and they tried desperately to keep it private.
