Nives Zeljković (Croatian pronunciation:[zěːʎkoʋit͡ɕ]; born 18 December 1981), known by her stage name Nives Celzijus or Nives Celsius, is a Croatian model, singer and writer.
Personal and media life
Nives was born in Zagreb, at the time part of Yugoslavia. Her biological, estranged, father Spaso Čanković (known as Anej Sam) was born in Sanski Most, Bosnia and Herzegovina and works as a writer in Slovenia.[1] Her mother is named Mira. Her parents separated prior to her birth.[2] During the Croatian War of Independence, she was abused due to her surname.[2][clarification needed] She has stated that she was raped at the age of 16 by a Dinamo Zagreb player, though she did no go on to reveal his name.[2] She lived in Belgrade for a couple of years before returning to Zagreb, where she released the song "Na koljena" (On Your Knees) which became a hit.[2]
Zeljković was married to Croatian football player Dino Drpić,[3] with whom she has two children, Leone and Taiša.[3] The couple has been named "David and Victoria Beckham of Baden" in Germany.[4] As a guest of Serbian RTV Pink show Ami G Show on 22 January 2009, Zeljković stated she and her husband had sex in an empty Stadion Maksimir,[5] a statement which attracted a lot of media attention. In October 2009 she was sentenced by the Municipal Criminal Court for defamation, after she stated in an interview for Serbian Playboy magazine that her father molested her.[6]
In 2008, Zeljković and husband Dino made headlines across Europe in a bizarre story. While vacationing on the Croatian island of Krk, their son Leone was mistakenly identified as the abducted English girl Madeleine McCann, who was last seen in Portugal.
In 2014, Zeljković amicably divorced her husband.[7]
