From Jung HoYeon to Kaia Gerber, these are the models-turned-actresses to know

This South Korean beauty begin modelling at the age of 16 and gained further popularity after appearing on Korea’s Next Top Model. She debuted internationally as a Louis Vuitton exclusive in 2016, and also walked the runway for fashion marquees like Chanel and Fendi. Of course, it was the 27 year-old’s debut in Netflix hit drama Squid Game that saw her garnering international fame, catapulting her status as Korea’s number one most followed actress on Instagram and Louis Vuitton ambassador.

(Read also “Who Knew: Blackpink’s Jennie And Squid Game’s Jung Ho-Yeon Are Close Friends“)

Being the daughter of supermodel Cindy Crawford, it’s no surprise that Gerber’s has had a successful modelling career herself. She debuted as the face of Versace’s Young Versace division at the wee age of 10 and landed her first fashion magazine cover at age 14. She expanded her CV with her first onscreen debut in 2016 for the Lifetime movie Sister Cities. This year, the 20-year-old has a bumper crop of acting gigs. Earlier this year, she made headlines for appearing in the first two episodes of American Horror Stories – the spinoff of the Ryan Murphy’s American Horror Story (AHS) franchise – as well as the current 10th season of American Horror Story. Up next is a starring role in Carissa Gallo’s upcoming short film The Palisades.

Her half-brother is famed DJ Steve Aoki, but this New York City-born model and actress has plenty of talent of her own. She has appeared in ad campaigns for labels like Chanel, Saint Laurent and Kenzo, and even created a capsule collection Levi’s for the brand’s Asian market. On the big screen, Aoki is best known for her role in 2001’s 2 Fast 2 Furious as Suki, who helms an all-female race crew She also appeared in Sin City (2005) as a mute Japanese assassin.

The American model started her career with Ford Models at the age of 12, and has graced the covers of major fashion titles. She became a Victoria’s Secret Angel in 2010, and also appeared in music videos like The Weeknd’s Can’t Feel My Face and Beyonce’s Yonce. The 30-year-old scored her first acting role in the 2015 Sundance film Dope, which also starred Forest Whitaker and Zoe Kravitz. In 2017, she also starred in the Crackle original movie Mad Families (incidentally Naya Rivera’s final film before her demise).

Russian model Sasha Luzz is quite the darling of fashion photographers, having been shot by Karl Lagerfeld, Steven Meisel and Steven Klein, amongst others. Her runway presence is impressive too – she walked in a staggering 58 shows during the Fall/Winter 2013 season. Luzz broke into acting in the 2017 film Valerian And The City Of A Thousand Planets, where she played a princess from another planet. In 2019, Luzz also scored the title role of Anna in the namesake action thriller, playing a Russian assassin.

Before achieved her action star status thanks to her role in the Resident Evil movie franchise, Jovovich was a supermodel. The 45-year-old has done it all − including walking for every well-known label you can think of, being the face of brands like L’Oreal and Balmain and topping Forbes‘ ‘Richest Supermodels of the World’ list in 2004. Her acting career is just as envious. She made her film debut at age 13 and has since starred in countless movies as a butt-kicking heroine, with her latest being Hellboy and Monster Hunter.

Delevingne is another big name on the big screen, having scored countless film roles since her acting debut back in the 2012 movie Anna Karenina. She is perhaps best known for her role in Suicide Squad, playing the supervillain ‘Enchantress’. Delevinge also showed her drama chops in the 2020 film Life In A Year, starring as a cancer-stricken patient opposite Jaden Smith. Of course, Delevingne is equally famous for her modelling career, having helmed ad campaigns for brands like Burberry, Chanel, Dior and Tag Heuer.

The 30 year-old turned heads for her appearance in Robin Thicke’s controversial 2013 music video Blurred Lines, and recently made news headlines for accusing Thicke of sexual assault in her upcoming book My Body. Ratajkowski made her professional runway debut in 2015 at New York Fashion Week, and has been the face of brands like DKNY and Paco Rabbane. Her acting career took off when she was cast in the 2014 crime thriller Gone Girl, playing Ben Affleck’s mistress. Since then, the UK-born actress has appeared in films like Lying And Stealing and Welcome Home opposite Breaking Bad’s Aaron Paul.

The 25-year-old Woods shot to fame in 2016 when she modelled for Kanye West’s Yeezy line. Since then, she has become one of Rihanna’s favourite models too, collaborating with her numerous times as the face of her Fenty collection. Despite being diagnosed with stage 3 cancer in 2019, the go-getter hasn’t let that stop her from seizing opportunities. She made her acting debut in the 2020 indie drama Goldie, playing the lead character from a low-income community in the Bronx. Much of the script was actually based on Woods’ own childhood, which involved a long period of homelessness and the imprisonment of her mother.

Born in London, Waterhouse’s first major campaign was at the age of 19, as a lingerie model for Marks and Spencer. Since then, she’s walked the runways for fashion houses like Balenciaga, and Alexander Wang and fronted campaigns for Burberry and Laura Mercier. Waterhouse also launched accessories brand Pop & Suki in 2016. Since 2012, she has pivoted to acting with roles in thrillers like Divergent and romantic dramas such as Love Rosie and The Girl Who Invented Kissing. Waterhouse’s upcoming films include the Dakota Johnson-led drama Persuasion and Daliland, a Salvador Dali biopic.

Australian- born Ward has enjoyed an impressive career as a model, debuting at the age of 15 at Australian Fashion Week. The following year, she became the youngest model to appear on the American Vogue cover. The 33-year-old saw further success when she became the face of Calvin Klein’s Obsession fragrance back in 2017. Acting has also been a long-held passion of hers, and Ward made her first big screen appearance in 2008’s The Black Balloon, which won numerous awards at film festivals around the world.

A ’90s fashion icon, this supermodel was a fixture in the runway and well-loved by top fashion photographers (she . Shalom also co-hosted MTV’s House Of Style and ranked 13th on the list of the ‘World’s 15 Top-Earning Supermodels’ by Forbes in 2007. She added acting to her resume in 1997, debuting in the Kevin Kline directed In And Out. Since then, she’s been part of films like the Tom Cruise-led Vanilla Sky and rom-com How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days.

Upton’s modelling career took flight when she appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit issue in 2011. The 29-year old became a mainstay of the magazine, appearing on the cover again for the 2012, 2013 and 2017 issues. After fronting countless ad campaigns and appearing in editorial spreads, the blonde beauty set her sights on acting. Her first role was as a supporting character in the 2011 comedy thriller Tower Heist, after which she graduated to lead roles in films like The Other Woman and The Layover.

Known for her trademark red hair and doll-like features, British model Cole has seen success from a young age, signing with Storm Models at 15 and working with prominent fashion photographers like Juergen Teller and Arthur Elgort. Cole is quite the entrepreneur too. In 2013, she founded Impossible People, an innovation group and incubator with a focus on sustainability. Her acting breakthrough came when starring opposite Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell in 2009’s The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. Other prominent films she has acted in include Snow White And The Huntsman and Star Wars: The Last Jedi.

This article was first published in Female.

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