Silvestedt claims as a sports person she was a bit of a tom-boy who supposedly had never worn high heels, but after a shoulder injury ended her skiing career at 16, her mother and sister secretly entered her into the 1993 Miss Sweden Beauty Pageant. Silvstedt was the first runner-up in Miss Sweden, and went on to represent Sweden in the Miss World contest in South Africa, reaching the final eight contestants. She was then signed by a Parisian modeling agent and began a career in high fashion, working for various companies including Chanel, Christian Dior, Loris Azzaro, Givenchy, Valentino, and Giorgio Armani.
