Taiwan is full of beautiful women! I think that's clear to everyone who's ever visited that beautiful country. From young to old, most Taiwanese girls and young women are graceful and classy, but bold enough to be sexy when they feel like. Be it beautiful girls selling betel nuts on the countryside or sassy urban women in Taipei, who make streets look like catwalks, Taiwan is simply a pool of exceptional beauties like rarely seen in other countries. Why is that so, I'll leave it to someone else. What I want to do here is introduce to you the hottest Taiwanese models of 2010/11.
Interestingly, I only knew three models from Taiwan before (who are now over 30): The always labeled as number one model in Taiwan Chiling Lin (林志玲) and the the eternal runner-up Pace Wu (吳佩慈). These two dominated the model business few years ago, but are less active now. Even more famous is another model (turned actress) from Taiwan: Shu Qi (舒淇). She gained international fame by appearing in various popular movies. Who doesn't know her from the movie Transporter?
Today however, I want to show you, that the new generation of Taiwanese models are more than eager to grab that invisible crown from Chiling's head. The girls listed below were introduced to me by my girlfriend, who also helped me composing this post. However it was I, who picked and listed them in the order of my preference. So this may also be a list of Taiwanese beauties seen through a foreigner's eyes. These girls are pretty known, if not very famous in Taiwan. I'm sure most of them would land in the top ten of an average Taiwanese guy as well. They're not only models, who go to fashion shows or make photos for the magazines, they usually appear on TV in various Taiwanese talk shows, advertise beauty products and appear on various events. Some even act or sing. In Taiwan most celebrities have multiple talents and are usually engaged in a lot of projects at the same time. Many of them are also known in Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong and PR China. Beauty is very important in Taiwanese culture, especially for the women. And once you make it in the Taiwanese beauty business, wealth, fame and admiration are guaranteed.
The models on my list were all born in the 1980s, they're mostly tall, skinny and photogenic (which was the essential criteria to be on my list) and they're probably some of the hottest women in the country at this moment. Please vote on the poll at the end, I want to know your top ten. And be careful not to get blinded by all that beauty (wink).
Today however, I want to show you, that the new generation of Taiwanese models are more than eager to grab that invisible crown from Chiling's head. The girls listed below were introduced to me by my girlfriend, who also helped me composing this post. However it was I, who picked and listed them in the order of my preference. So this may also be a list of Taiwanese beauties seen through a foreigner's eyes. These girls are pretty known, if not very famous in Taiwan. I'm sure most of them would land in the top ten of an average Taiwanese guy as well. They're not only models, who go to fashion shows or make photos for the magazines, they usually appear on TV in various Taiwanese talk shows, advertise beauty products and appear on various events. Some even act or sing. In Taiwan most celebrities have multiple talents and are usually engaged in a lot of projects at the same time. Many of them are also known in Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong and PR China. Beauty is very important in Taiwanese culture, especially for the women. And once you make it in the Taiwanese beauty business, wealth, fame and admiration are guaranteed.
The models on my list were all born in the 1980s, they're mostly tall, skinny and photogenic (which was the essential criteria to be on my list) and they're probably some of the hottest women in the country at this moment. Please vote on the poll at the end, I want to know your top ten. And be careful not to get blinded by all that beauty (wink).
My list of Top 10 Taiwanese models (name first, family name last):
01 隋棠 Sonia Sui 1981, 173cm
Sonia Sui or 隋棠 (pronounced Suí Táng) was born 22. 10. 1981 in Jhongsing village. She is one of the most famous Taiwanese models of our times. She's part of the famous Taiwanese model agency Catwalk Production House. I chose her as my number one Taiwanese model, because she has the perfect body of a model as well as a perfectly beautiful face with a gorgeous smile. She always looks classy, but with a touch of a cute girl next door. She's certainly a dream woman, who just looks perfect on every photo. Check also the video on the left to see how good she looks in TV commercials. She's also an actress, starring in several Taiwanese drama.
Photo and info sources: [WikiEN][WikiTW][FB Page][Nipic.com][MY POST]02 姚采穎 Yvonne Yao 1981, 173cm
Yvonne Yao or 姚采穎 (pronounced Yáo Cǎiyǐng) was born on 16. 11. 1981 in Taipei. She's probably the most photogenic of all the models and has the perfect model body and face. She's not the cute girl next door, but more of a femme fatale. She's famous for a life with many ups and downs. She grew up in poor circumstances and without a father. She became popular as a model in 2000 and her fame peaked in 2004. Being in the focus of the media, a photo of her smoking a cigarette spurred an outrage, because she was engaged in an anti smoking campaign. She publicly apologized. In 2008 she was arrested and suspected to be in possession of marijuana (someone used her name), but tests proved, that she did not use any drugs. But the negative press damaged her name again. In 2010 a video of her smoking was leaked on You-Tube.
Photo and info source: [WikiTW][Blog][FB Page][Flickr pics]
Photo and info source: [WikiTW][Blog][FB Page][Flickr pics]
03 王伊平 Vickey Wang 1983, 178cm
Vickey Wang or 王伊平 (pronounced Wáng Yīpíng) was born on 18.6.1983. She's famous for having a very nice curves and Taiwanese gave her the nickname "美胸名模", which means the "super model with a beautiful chest" (see a famous video of her walking). Besides these outstanding assets (no pun intended), she's one of the tallest models on the list and the one that probably has the most beautiful face. She's also one of these models that looks amazing in all types of clothes, especially in jeans. Besides being a supermodel, Vickey is a talented musician. She graduated in traditional music at TNUA. All that combined totally convinced me to put her in my top 3. Ain't she amazing? Photo and info sources: [Bio][Sohate.pixnet pics][Babe1616 pics]
04 王思平 Jenna Wang 1987, 173cm
Jenna Wang or 王思平 (pronounced Wáng Sīpíng) was born on 22. 5. 1987. She part of the younger generation of the current top Taiwanese models and proved herself to be a very versatile and photogenic model. She became popular in 2009 by being on the cover of FHM Taiwan (see the photo shoot in the video). She's not so famous like some other girls here, but I really like her photos, because she always looks good on them, especially when she's wearing elegant clothes, such as gowns. She's also amazing casual wear, such as shorts and tops. She's definitely the cute girl next door type and not a vamp like Yvonne Yao or Vickey Wang. I'm sure she'll be more famous in the future. Photo and info sources: [WikiTW][Blog][FB Page][Moko.cc][MY POST]
05 赖琳恩 Lene Lai 1989, 169cm
Lene Lai or 赖琳恩 (pronounced Lài Línēn) was born on 6. 6. 1989 in Taipei. She the youngest on the list. She has recently became popular and is known as a very versatile and talented young woman. She started her career with beauty pageants (2nd runner up in Miss Asia Pageant 2008) and continued to play in dramas, movies and music videos, as well as appearing on various TV channels either as a guest or as a co-host. She's said to be the younger version of another famous model named Ruru Lin (the girl below), because they look alike a little. I think she belongs on this list, because she extremely likable and cute, probably the cutest of all the girls on the list (check her video). In a couple of years, she'll probably be the number 1 model in Taiwan.
Photo and info: [WikiEN][WikiTW][FB Page][RainDog pics][Purple gown pics][MY POST]06 林葦茹 Ruru Lin 1981, 175cm
Ruru Lin or 林葦茹 (pronounced Lín Wěirú) was born on 28. 11. 1981 in Taipei. She's a popular TV presenter and model. She also appeared in music videos and did several advertisements and promotions. She's one of the "oldest" on the list here, close to that dreaded 30 mark, but she looks way younger. If I didn't know she's born in 1981, I would think she's way below 24 years old. She does have an awesome body (like most girls on the list) and obviously she feels great doing shoots in bikini (it wasn't easy to find pics of her not in one), because that's where she looks the best. But she also has a face to remember, a cute girly face that is. She looks more like a hot girl next door than like a supermodel (compare to Yvonne Yao). She could've easily be in the top 3 here, but I gave other younger girls the chance to be higher on the list. Photo and info sources: [WikiTW][Blog][Album][FB Page][Osaki99 pics]
07 李毓芬 Yufen Li 1985, 163cm
Yufen Li or 李毓芬 (pronounced Lǐ Yùfēn) also known as Tia or Keiko, was born 11. 5. 1985. She's said to look a bit like the younger version of Vivian Xu, a popular Taiwanese singer. But that wouldn't do her justice, because she's much than just a lookalike of her. She's the shortest of all the girls on the list, but she's definitely a great model. She makes up for the lack of height with her charming persona and beautiful eyes. She really has great modeling skills and if you'd not know that she's so short, you wouldn't think she's any different than other girls here. She looks petite and cute, these are her biggest assets. But she's also very good in looking serious and seductive. She's definitely on the right list. Photo and info: [FB Page][Blog][Osaki99 pics][RainDog post]
08 馮媛甄 Abby Fung 1982, 164cm
Abby Fung or 馮媛甄 (pronounced Féng Yuànzhēn) was born on 30. 10. 1982 in Chiayi. She a famous model and TV persona in Taiwan. Her nickname is little cutie (小可愛) and many people say she's the small version of Taiwan's famous supermodel Chiling Lin. Abby is probably the cutest girl on the list. She's also not the tallest, but you'll forget about that completely, when you hear her speak. She has the cutest voice ever. You gotta see the video and hear her speak. I asked my girlfriend, if it's really her voice and she guaranteed me, that this is truly her voice. Amazing, huh? She's not the supermodel type, but she's definitely the cute girl next door type, the one you'd love to have as a friend, if not girlfriend. She has a very good figure and a smile you won't forget. And I'm not even gonna mention her voice again.
Photo and info: [WikiTW][Bio][Blog][Osaki99 pics]09 白歆惠 Bianca Bai 1982, 175cm
Bianca Bai or 白歆惠 (pronounced as Bái Xīnhuì) is born on 23. 10. 1982 in Taipei. She's born in a family of entertainers, her father used to work for a TV, her mother was a singer. She's a famous model and TV persona, who starred in dramas and music videos and also did a lot of TV ads and other promotions. She's famous for a large chest, which she cleverly uses to her advantage (just check the video on the left and you'll know what I mean). Once on a fashion show her nipple was exposed (see NSFW photo), the media gave her the nickname "pink nipples" (粉紅乳暈), because according to my girlfriend (*cough) that color is rare (*cough) for Taiwanese women. I have never even thought about it, and I guess you haven't, too. But well, now you know it :-P Anyway Bianca deserves to be on this list, because she's really a great model with a lot of grace. Maybe not the model type at first glance, but once you see her TV ads, you'll realize how talented she is. Photo and info sources: [WikiTW][FB Page][Baidu pics][Osaki99 pics]
10 劉伊心 Yihsin Liu 1984, 170cm
Liu Yihsin or 劉伊心 (pronounced Liú Yīxīn) was born on 30. 11. 1984. She became known in 2009, when she won few beauty pageants (Miss Asia Beauty Pageant) and ever since, she's doing photo shoots and appear in TV shows, but unlike most of the other girls here, she's not really famous. She has a curvaceous body and a beautiful chest, which she loves to display in various photos she makes. A photo of her nipple slip was leaked and people thought she did it on purpose, which garnered her some attention online. I put her on this list, because I thought she has a nice body and a very memorable face. She looks very sexy in most of her photos, but she's more like a photo model and less a fashion model, hence no 10 on my list. Photo and info sources: [WikiTW][Blog][Album][Yuan3652 pics][Iamayuan pics]
It took me a while to compose this post and I want to thank my girlfriend again, who provided me all the information I needed about the girls. I hope you have learned something more about Taiwan and about the Taiwanese idea of beauty. There are of course thousands of Taiwanese girls like them, who could be put on this list, but these girls, albeit seen everywhere on Taiwanese streets, are not famous. Many dream to be famous, only few succeed. And I've chosen the ones who have broken through and climbed all the way up to the top of the Taiwanese beauty industry. And believe me, it's not easy, because the competition is fierce. This post will be translated in Chinese and also I may do another list next year to see how much has changed in a year. For now, I want you to vote on the poll on the left and tell me which girl is currently your number one Taiwanese model.
If you can't vote on the poll, go and vote here>>
