Liu Wen, The Chinese Supermodel Who Conquered The World
By Glenda Toma
Widely regarded as China’s first supermodel, Liu Wen, 29, has enjoyed a career littered with firsts: the first Chinese model to walk the runway at the Victoria Secret Fashion Show; the first Chinese model to appear on the cover of American Vogue; and the first Asian spokesperson for beauty giant Estée Lauder.
However, her journey to the catwalk was far from easy. She moved from southern China to Beijing at 18 to pursue her dream but found work wasn’t easy to come by. She chose to persevere, proudly crediting her roots in Hunan province as the reason for this resolve. “I told myself that bad things would only last for a day, not a month or a year,” she says.
And they didn’t. Liu’s big break came in 2008, when she landed a spot on Burberry’s runway show during Milan Fashion Week. The following year she appeared in more than 70 shows -- the most of any model that year.
Today, the almost 6-feet tall beauty spends less time treading the catwalks, appearing instead in more lucrative global campaigns for a host of major fashion and cosmetics brands. Forbes estimates Liu banked $7 million in earnings last year, making her the 8th highest-paid model in the world.
Liu’s likeable personality has earned her over 18 million followers on Chinese microblogging website Weibo and another 2.7 million on Instagram, also making her one the most-followed models on social media.