Devon Aoki is the frontwoman of the new fashion wave that appreciates women of various ethnicities. Born August 10th, 1982, Devon Edwenna Aoki is the daughter of Japanese Olympic wrestler and Benihana steakhouse magnate Rocky Aoki and Anglo-Bavarian jewelry designer Pamela Hilburger. A New York native, she grew up in the swank 'burbs of Malibu, only to move back to her hometown in her early teens. It is rumored that she was discovered at a Rancid concert in NYC, where she gate-crashed. She was 13 when her godmother introduced her to Kate Moss, who later took Aoki as her apprentice. At 14, she moved to London with her mother, divorced from Rocky Aoki, and her siblings. There she joined Storm Model Management, which also represented her mentor Moss. Aoki spent most of her adolescence juggling modeling and school, always giving equal attention to both. Some of the high-profile designers on her resume include Chanel, Thierry Mugler, Balenciaga, Fendi, Jean Paul Gaultier, and Givenchy. She was also featured in ad campaigns for Chanel Couture by Karl Lagerfeld, Versace Atelier by Steven Meisel, and Junko Shimada by Bettina Kimenda. In 1998, the 5'6" model replaced Naomi Campbell as the face of Versace, after an alleged dispute between Campbell and Donatella Versace. Her most recent modeling contract is with Lancome, where she joins the ranks of beautiful women like Mena Suvari, Elizabeth Jagger and Uma Thurman. Aoki just recently forayed onto the big screen, starring in two films and working on her third. 2003's Death of a Dynasty, her first movie, was a musical-comedy about the hip-hop industry and was directed by rap mogul Damon Dash. That same year she played Suki, a speed-loving babe in 2 Fast 2 Furious, the sequel to the successful The Fast and the Furious. Not knowing how to drive, she received her first lessons from a stunt driver for the role. She will next be seen as Dominique in D.E.B.S., a spy flick slated for 2004 and co-starring Jordana Brewster. |
