Yahoo! Model of the Month

Yahoo!'s Model of the Month: Ling

If you were hoping to find Ingrid Seynhaeve, last month's Model of the Month, click here.

Brought to you by GUESS? Interactive.

Exotic and dynamic, Ling has brought a bright new quality to the covergirl face. Ling’s leap to fame came through dream-like circumstances. In her first week of modeling, Ling was spotted by an advertising executive when she walked in a small fashion show at a Kuala Lumpur hotel. The advertising executive was looking for a fresh new face for a new campaign.

Ling is ethnically Chinese as her grandparents come from southern China. However, like many Chinese people, Ling’s family migrated to Southeast Asia. Her family settled in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia where Ling was born and educated in classical Chinese. Ling now speaks four dialects of Chinese, as well as Malay and English.

A commercial for Tiger Beer propelled Ling to success as she soon became the hottest sensation in Malaysia. Ling also worked with a number of European and American designers who showed their collections in Malaysia. After only a year of modeling, Ling arrived in New York and was courted by the best New York modeling agencies before settling on IMG. At IMG, Ling joined a star studded roster of top models including Tyra Banks, Niki Taylor, Lauren Hutton as well as former GUESS? Girls Stephanie Seymour and Bridget Hall.

As IMG’s first internationally known Asian model, Ling was introduced to all of the top designers and photographers in the business. Ling has worked with Lagerfeld, Armani, Todd Oldham, Fendi, Gaultier, Donna Karan, Valentino, and Chanel among many others. She has been captured by the masters of fashion photography including Peter Linbergh, Mario Testino, Gilles Bensimon, Ellen von Unwerth, Patrick Demarchlier, Walter Chin, Irving Penn, Glen Luchford and Richard Avedon, who recently photographed Ling for the prestigious Pirelli Calendar 1997. Ling has appeared in editorial spreads around the world for Vogue (America, French, Italian, German, Spanish and Singapore), Harper’s Bazaar, Marie Claire (American, French, Italian, German and Malaysian), Elle (American, French, Japanese and Singapore), and many more.

Ling can also be seen in George Michael’s music video, “Fast Love.” In addition, she was featured on an episode on CNN’s “Style” with Elsa Klensch. Ling recently began a musical career and is training her voice professionally to expand her singing repertoire from Chinese to English. Look for Ling in the latest advertisements for Gucci, shot by Mario Testino and GUESS?, shot by Dah Len.

Past Models of the Month: Drew Barrymore, Laetitia Casta, Anna Nicole Smith, Eva Herzigova, Victoria Silvstedt, Claudia Schiffer, GUESS? Men , Valeria Mazza, Korina Longin, Diana Gartner, Julia Valet, Larissa Bonderenko, Bridget Hall, Karen Mulder, Shana Zadrick, Lonneke Engel, and Ingrid Seynhaeve

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