Posted in Pics on June 26th, 2011 by Jody – Be the first to comment
Whitney Chen is a half-Chinese, half-Swedish chef (and former nuclear engineer) competing on the current season of the Food Network reality competition series The Next Food Network Star.
I’ve watched the first few episodes so far, and I dare say that Whitney is looking like one of the favorites to win the competition. She has the requisite cooking chops, having worked as a line chef at Per Se (one of the top restaurants in New York City, where she currently resides). And, she is a natural in front of the camera.
She reminds me a lot of another food TV personality, Rachael Ray. They look quite alike and share a certain perkiness on-camera (though Whitney doesn’t come off as obnoxious). And, if Whitney wins the competition, they’ll also share a line on their resume: host of their own show on Food Network.
The Next Food Network Star can be seen on Food Network every Sunday night at 9/8c. Whitney is writing a blog about it for her hometown paper (she grew up near Chicago) – the blog can be read here. You can also follow Whitney on Facebook and Twitter.
Pictures and video after the jump.
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Posted in Pics on June 6th, 2011 by Jody – 2 Comments
Kayleen Franklin is a half-Filipina, half-Caucasian model from British Columbia, Canada. Currently residing and working in Tokyo, she has actively modeled in Asia (including Hong Kong, Bangkok, Shanghai, and Tokyo) for the past three years, where she has become particularly popular as a beauty model in print ads and magazine spreads. Besides modeling, she is starting a fashion line and would also like to get into acting.
Kayleen is on Twitter, Facebook, and Model Mayhem. Check out her modeling blog and her fashion blog, as well as her modeling agency portfolio and this article about her.
Pictures after the jump.
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Posted in Pics on May 25th, 2011 by Jody – 5 Comments
Tia Tanaka is a model of three-fourths Vietnamese and one-fourth French descent (same mix as Kim Lee). She is best known for her past work as a pornographic actress.
Despite (or because of?) her adult film background, she is enjoying some modeling success. Most recently, Tia was featured in Clout Magazine (shot by John Agcaoili) and Inked Girls (shot by Rey Trajano).
To learn more about Tia, check out her entries on Wikipedia, FamousWhy, and GameLink, as well as her interviews with Asian Sirens (warning: nudity), ModFX, and Amped Asia.
Pictures and video after the jump.
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Posted in Pics on May 20th, 2011 by Jody – 3 Comments
Kylee Saunders is a half-Japanese, half-Caucasian teenager (turning 17 next week) from Arizona. She has been called the real-life Hannah Montana because, like the Disney character played by Miley Cyrus, Kylee lives a dual life as a popstar and as a regular kid. Her story might also remind you of another American teen who has attained stardom as a popstar in Asia, Chloé Wang.
Kylee spends the majority of her time as a high school student in Chandler, AZ, but during school breaks she travels to Japan, where she is an up-and-coming pop singer known simply by her first name, Kylee.
Her big break came when she was eleven years old, when she performed a rousing rendition of the national anthem before the start of a Portland Trailblazers NBA game. Her performance piqued the interest of music producers and she signed with RX-Records. She released her first single “Vacancy” in 2008, and in 2010 she released three singles under Sony Music Japan’s label DefStar Records: “Kimi ga Iru Kara” (“Because You Are Here”), “Missing/It’s You”, and “Everlasting”.
She has just now attracted attention here in the U.S. as well after performing last Friday for the Today show on NBC. So perhaps she might not be living the Hannah Montana life for much longer – everyone will know she’s a star!
Kylee is on Twitter and Facebook and has an official website. To learn more about her, check out Wikipedia, LiveJournal, and these three articles from local print media. And finally, check out these great photos (including the above photo) taken by Jack Kurtz at a Kylee performance in Phoenix last Friday night.
Pictures and video after the jump.
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Posted in Pics on May 18th, 2011 by Jody – Be the first to comment
Angela Anela Iokia Byrd is Hawaii’s representative in this year’s Miss USA pageant, which will take place on June 19. She is considered to be one of the frontrunners to win the title of Miss USA 2011, which would earn her the right to compete in the Miss Universe pageant later this year. She is of English, Scottish, and Korean descent.
Accoring to her Facebook bio, Angela was born in Kentucky, but she and her family moved fourteen times before she graduated high school (her father was a U.S. Army officer). She was a talented musician growing up (excelling at piano, flute, and guitar) and was an honor Thespian in high school. She earned a full-ride Army ROTC scholarship to Seattle University, where she studied pre-med, but she decided to leave the ROTC program due to sports-related injuries, and she moved to Honolulu to finish her degree at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. She is currently a model, and her future goal is to become a physician’s assistant and work with Doctors Without Borders.
Angela is on Facebook. You can also follow the official Miss Hawaii USA Facebook and Twitter. And make sure to vote for her HERE – the winner of the Miss USA online vote will automatically qualify as a semifinalist in the pageant.
Pictures after the jump.
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Posted in Pics on May 5th, 2011 by Jody – 2 Comments
Earlier this week, Maxim posted their Hot 100 list for 2011. Included in the list are seven ladies who are of partial Asian descent:
100. Melanie Iglesias – part Filipina (view Maxim gallery) (view Half-Asians gallery)
81. Gabrielle Union – part Filipina (view Maxim gallery) (view Half-Asians gallery)
75. Nicki Minaj – quarter Indian
70. Arianny Celeste – quarter Filipina (view Maxim gallery) (view Half-Asians gallery)
54. Vanessa Hudgens – half Filipina (view Maxim gallery) (view Half-Asians gallery)
51. Nicole Scherzinger – half Filipina (view Maxim gallery) (view Half-Asians gallery)
2. Olivia Munn – half Chinese (view Maxim gallery) (view Half-Asians gallery)
A couple of thoughts:
One, how is Melanie Iglesias all the way at the bottom at #100? My guess is they lowballed her because they didn’t want to over-rate one of their own (she is the reigning Maxim Hometown Hotties champion), but really she should be ranked much higher – and I’m not the only one who thinks so.
And two, how is there only one half-Asian in the top 50? At least they have Olivia Munn all the way up at #2, though I would have put her in the #1 slot ahead of Rosie Huntington-Whiteley (i.e. the naked girl on the cover depicted above). Oh well, Olivia, maybe next year!
Pictures of these seven ladies from various Maxim photoshoots, after the jump.
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Posted in Pics on May 4th, 2011 by Jody – Be the first to comment
It turns out that Dia Frampton is not the only half-Asian contestant who is competing on NBC’s The Voice.
Julia Eason Harriman is an 18 year old singer/songwriter from Palos Verdes, CA, who (according to her introduction on the show) was a soccer player growing up. That’s pretty much all that I know about her at this point, other than that her voice is beautiful and she is too!
Julia is on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Reverb Nation.
UPDATE: More biographical details, courtesy of NBC.com: “18-year-old Julia from Palos Verdes, California is of Scottish, Korean and Japanese ancestry. But music runs in her family too. Her father, a professional composer, noticed natural talent in Julia as a child, and she soon was singing and performing on the piano, guitar and ukulele. The young singer is a life-long Christina fan – and is ready to do what it takes to win it all. ”
Pictures and video (including her blind audition on The Voice, and some other videos she posted on YouTube) after the jump.
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Posted in Links on May 3rd, 2011 by Jody – Be the first to comment
Dia Frampton, lead singer of the band Meg & Dia, will be appearing as a contestant on tonight’s episode of The Voice, airing at 9pm (8pm Central) on NBC.
The show is a singing competition that features four musician coaches: Christina Aguilera, Cee Lo Green, Adam Levine, and Blake Shelton. Currently the show is in the “blind audition” phase: Contestants perform while the coaches have their backs turned. If a coach likes what they hear, they push a button and their chair turns around so they can see the contestant. The contestant then gets to choose their coach from amongst the ones that turned around, and they’ll work with that coach for the rest of the competition.
If you haven’t seen the show yet, you should definitely check it out. Only one episode has aired as of yet, but it looks pretty sweet so far, and the presence of Dia Frampton on the show can only make it more awesome.
NBC released a preview of Dia’s blind audition that you can view on NBC.com. Also, check out the links I’ve posted below to learn more about Dia, her sister Meg, and their band Meg & Dia.
Dia Frampton – The Voice audition [NBC.com]
Dia Frampton on Twitter
Dia Frampton on Facebook
Meg & Dia official website
Interview with Meg & Dia Frampton [HalfKorean.com]
Meg and Dia [Half-Asians]
UPDATE: Dia made it all the way to the final episode and finished in second place! Check out my favorite performance from the show (Dia singing R.E.M.’s “Losing My Religion”) here.
