M.A.R.A.

Sonia Dara in Rajasthan for Sports Illustrated Swimsuit 2010

Sonia Daria is of Indian origin, focuses her undergraduate studies in Human Evolution Biology at Harvard University (Class of 2012), and plans to pursue a career in Medicine specializing in Orthodontistry.

Through her hard work and dedication to modeling while at AMTC in 2005, Dara impressed Elite modeling agency and was signed in Atlanta which then evolved into a contract with Elite in New York. Sonia has worked for dozens of designers, magazines and clients like Oscar De La Renta, Valentino, Versace, Balenciaga, Bill Blass, Neiman Marcus, Macy’s, Saks, Juicy Couture, Cosmo Girl, Seventeen, WWD, and Allure.

Photographed by Riccardo Tinelli in Rajasthan, India. Swimsuit by Vicky Moreinis.

Photographed by Riccardo Tinelli in Rajasthan, India. Swimsuit by Sauvage.

Photographed by Riccardo Tinelli in Rajasthan, India. Swimsuit by Oye Swimwear.

Photographed by Riccardo Tinelli in Rajasthan, India. Swimsuit by Vix Swimwear.

Photographed by Riccardo Tinelli in Rajasthan, India. Swimsuit top by Debbie Wilson for Maui Girl, bottom by Lisa Curran Swim.

Other Sports Illustrated 2010 Swimsuit models of Asian descent:

Jessica Gomes

Chrissy Teigen

More about Dara: AMTC, Harvard Crimson, Fashion Model Directory
Other Keywords: famous asians, famous asian, indian models, sports illustrated indian models, indian descent

Christine Teigen holds her own in the Sports Illustrated 2010 Swimsuit Edition

The 24-year-old, Utah-born, Seattle-raised beauty of Thai and Norwegian descent has risen to the top modeling ranks by landing one of the most coveted jobs in the industry. The Sports Illustrated 2010 Swimsuit Edition will be unveiled Tuesday, Feb 9th.

Chrissy, as she calls herself on her twitter, has modeled for Victoria’s Secret Pink, has been on the cover of Maxim mag (2007), and has done campaigns for Rock and Republic, Billabong, and Fredericks of Hollywood lingerie. She’s also been seen around town on the arm of her boyfriend, singer-songwriter, John Legend.

52nd Annual Grammy Awards, January 31, 2010
[Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images North America]

81st Annual Academy Awards, March 2009

Time’s 100 Most Influential People in the World Gala at the Frederick P. Rose Hall at Jazz at Lincoln Center on May 5, 2009 in New York City. [Photo by Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images]

Show Me Campaign benefit at the Soho House on May 19, 2009 in New York City. [Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images]

Victoria’s Secret Revealed: Asian models on the runway

Chrissy Teigen PHOTOS in Sports Illustrated 2010 Swimsuit

See videos of Teigen on Huffpost
Other photos via bellazon and fashionmodeldirectory
Other keywords: famous asian, famous asians, famous asian models, hapa, mixed asian model, hot fox, beautiful asians, beautiful asian model, asian model in alloy, hispanic looking model in alloy catalog, gorgeous, hot mixed asian, foxy laydeh, john legend girlfriend

Liu Wen

Most recently became the first Chinese (or non-mixed Asian) model to strut the Victoria’s Secret catwalk. This Victoria’s Secret 2009 Fashion Show airs on CBS tonight Dec 1st @ 10pmET/9c. (A total of 3 mixed and non-mixed Asians heat up the runway tonight…post coming up!)

Per Wiki:

Liu Wen was born January 27, 1988, in Yongzhou, a city in the Hunan Province of China.

Wen started her modeling career in 2005,^[3] when she entered the New Silk Road World Model Contest, a contest previously won by international covergirl Du Juan. Though she didn’t win, she began working after the contest. She became a national success when she landed the cover of Chinese FHM in the beginning her career.^[3] She then started working for top Chinese fashion magazines like Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar.^[3]

In September 2007, Liu caught the eye of the international fashion industry when she shot a Cosmo editorial styled as designer like Karl Lagerfeld and Viktor and Rolf^[1]^[3], and later appeared on the cover. She then was ushered to Paris in 2008, and signed with Marilyn Agency.^[3]

In February of the same year, she appeared in four editorials for Chinese Vogue.^[3] She debuted on the international runways in the same month, closing the fall Trussardi show in Milan, and also walked for Chanel, Jean Paul Gaultier, and Hermès.^[2]

For the Spring 2009 season, she appeared in seven major campaigns^[4], including DKNY Jeans, The GAP, and cKone.^[4]

In 2009, Liu Wen became the first ever Chinese or non-mixed far east model to walk the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show.^[5]

More pics of Liu Wen in NYMag

Keywords: Asian Models, Famous asian models, chinese models, first asian chinese model in victoria’s secret runway
Other Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4

Chanel Iman

is an American fashion model of Korean and African American descent who graces the December 2009 cover of Prestige magazine (Indonesia).

At a mere 19 years old (she turns 20 tomorrow, November 30…Happy Birthday!) Chanel Iman is propelled to top model status booking nine runways at the Spring 2010 Fashion Week in Milan (held September 2009) including Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana, and Versace. She also walked the Victoria’s Secret runway in November 2009.

Named after pioneer designer, Coco Chanel, the fiery 5’10”, size 2, cheeseburger lover struts by her own rules having her brother imprint a few tattoos on her neck and ring finger without informing her agency.

Since singing with her first and only agency Ford Models in 2006, she has booked with Issey Miyake, Marc Jacobs, Valentino, Dsquared, Hermès, Michael Kors, Oscar de la Renta, Ralph Lauren, Anna Sui, Diane von Fürstenberg, Vera Wang, Jean Paul Gaultier and Stella McCartney and has appeared in advertising campaigns for Bottega Veneta, GAP, Victoria’s Secret Pink, and United Colors of Benetton.

Keywords: Asian models, Asian African American models, blasian models, black, Victoria’s Secret models, VS runway, Victoria’s Secret 2009
Sources, info, & more photos can be found: Wiki, My Space, NYPost, JustJared, her Twitter
Photos: JustJared, MoeJ, BrownSista

Alexa Chung

is a British model, DJ, contributing editor at British Vogue, and host of MTV’s It’s On With Alexa Chung (airs weekdays @3:30pm/ET). Get the scoop on her interview and photo shoot at V Magazine here.

Chung was born on November 5, 1983 and raised in Privett, Hampshire, England by her English mother and 3/4 Chinese father.[via] More on Wiki.

Miranda Kerr

As of mid-2007, Kerr is the first Australian to be signed onto a Victoria’s Secret modeling contract. Australian “Current Affair” show, Today Tonight, reports in the video below that Kerr is of Serbian, Iranian, Turkish, and Filipino descent.

Born in Sydney, Australia on April 20, 1983, Kerr and her family moved to the Brisbane city life from Gunnedah, New South Wales where she rode motorbikes and horses as a child in her grandmother’s farm. Kerr planned to study nutrition in college before deciding to pursue modeling.

The dimpled beauty has been the face of major cosmetics and fashion campaigns such as Maybelline, Clinique, and Arden B. Forbes magazine listed Kerr as the 10th top-earning model with $3.5 million in 2008.

Kerr and her boyfriend, actor, Orlando Bloom, of the famed Pirates of the Caribbean and Lord of the Rings films, practice a Japanese branch of Buddhsim, called Nichirin Buddhism. More on Miranda Kerr on Wiki.

[photos via 1, 2, 3]

Padma Lakshmi at the 2009 Emmys

[above and more photos via]

Padma Lakshmi

October 1, 2009 - The gorgeous Indian model, turned actress, turned author and Emmy-nominated co-host of cooking show, Top Chef, confirmed today that she is pregnant with her first child. (The father has not been revealed.)

Read the jaw dropping story about how she got that 7 inch scar that runs between her elbow and shoulder here. All I’ll say is that it happened when she was 14 and involved being airborne, a tree, and the jaws of life…

Lakshmi was born in Madras, now Chennai (Tamil Nadu) on September 1, 1970, and married Salman Rushdie, the author of the controversial, Satanic Verses, in 2004 and divorced after 3 years. More on Lakshmi’s career and life on Wiki and IMDB.

famousfilipinos:

Du Juan

born September 15, 1982, in Shanghai, China, is a Chinese fashion model who is currently featured in campaigns for designer Giorgio Armani, jeweler David Yurman and Swedish fashion chain H&M. ^[4]

A former Miss China 2003, Du made her runway debut in Spring 2006, walking for prominent designers such as Valentino and Jean-Paul Gaultier. For the Fall 2006 season, Style.com, the online home of Vogue and W magazine, declared her one of the top ten models to watch.^[2] That same season she appeared in ad campaigns for Louis Vuitton, Gap, Roberto Cavalli, and Yves St. Laurent.

Du shared the cover of Paris Vogue with top model Gemma Ward in 2005 and graced the cover of the premier issue of Vogue China.^[3] She has also appeared on the cover of the 2006 TIME Style&Design with fellow model Coco Rocha, and is one of the models featured in the 2008 Pirelli Calendar, which was shot in her native Shanghai.

Du trained at the prestigious Shanghai Academy of Dance but eventually grew too tall to find a partner. (5’10”)