about

Tanja was born in Zagreb, Croatia, then ex Yugoslavia in March 1980, living a happy childhood until the start of the civil war in 1991. With Serbian ancestry and Croatian citizenship, Tanja experienced bullying so when her father lost his job due to rising xenophobia, her parents relocated the family to Auckland, New Zealand at the end of 1994. 

She attended high school in Auckland, NZ before being discovered by a modelling agency while shopping for shoes. Soon after, she caught the eye of Australia’s Chic Management and moved to Sydney where she quickly became known as one of Australia’s top models and a regular on the runway during Sydney and Melbourne fashion weeks. She appeared in magazines such as Elle, Harper’s Bazaar, Marie Claire and Oyster as well as in a diverse number of fashion campaigns, TV commercials and runway shows for such clients as Cue, Levi’s, Jigsaw, Oroton, Colette Dinnigan,Gucci, Ksubi, Seafolly, Zambesi, David Jones , Myer, Zimmerman and others.

Tanja moved to New York at the age of 18 and lived there for 5 years appearing in magazines such as Japanese Vogue, V magazine, The Face and Spanish Vogue, shooting with photographers such as Jurgen Teller and Terry Richardson while regularly flying to London and LA for advertising work. 

Time in New York in the late 90s and early oughties was very special – Tanja lived a photogenic life filled with amazing people and incredible talents that influenced her aesthetic and attitude. Her boyfriend at the time, Australia’s renowned photographer Simon Lekias , introduced her to the magic of taking pictures, Zac Posen was her neighbour, she danced with Duran Duran till dawn and got catwalk tips from André Leon Talley. As she moved around the globe, seing the world for the first time , she understood change as an opportunity to create.

In 2004, Tanja met Stephen Pavlovic, owner of Australia’s Modular records and in 2007 they had a beautiful daughter, Coco Valentine. Despite the relationship ending in 2016, with Coco in her life Tanja became passionate about leading a holistic lifestyle, cooking with organic ingredients, yoga, meditation and natural skincare.

My Empirical Life was born as an outlet for her creative passion for writing and photography. Initially started as a hobby that utilised her love of travel, food and music, the site commercialised when Australian Vogue asked her to become a regular online contributor in 2012. Since then Tanja collaborated with such clients as, Alexander McQueen, Tiffany & Co, SK-II, Swarovski, Longines, Tommy Hilfiger, Thomas Saboo, Jets swimwear, Clinique, Witchery, Wella, Cartier, Woolmark, Seed, Gucci, Bec & Bridge, Maybelline, Dyson, Toyota, Magnum, Coach, Mugler,  Louis Vuitton and others.

She was the Australian ambassador for the global shopping site Farfetch for the entire duration of their Global Ambassadorship program 2014-2017 and celebrates 29 years in the fashion industry this year.

Tanja worked with several charities close to her heart , appearing in and supporting the Witchery Ovarian Cancer Campaign and endorsing initiatives for Plan For Girls , Greenpeace and WWF.

Tanja is a survivor of domestic abuse from a 2019 relationship. She received therapy for complex PTSD, after which she became an outspoken advocate for survivors, appearing in the Marie Claire magazine campaign against coercive control in relationships.

During the Covid 19 pandemic, Tanja publicly voiced concerns on lockdowns and mandates, becoming a strong voice for free speech and human rights.

She moved to working behind the scenes, becoming a producer on documentaries, learning about antiques and shooting pictures for fashion labels and the art scene.

A project in which she experiments with fabric and light is available for purchase in the myempiricallife.com shop, along with landscapes Tanja photographed around the world.

She remains obsessed with french champagne, natural wine, raw chocolate, perousing medical studies for fun, travelling, estate jewellery, nutrition, mid century modern interior design, debating politics and aging naturally but disgracefully while lamenting the fact she was born too late to audition for Dynasty.

Welcome to My Empirical Life, a blog catering modern editorial content to empirical women.