Today we’d like to introduce you to Aileen Chiu.
Hi Aileen, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Thank you for having me! My name is Aileen Chiu and I’m born and raised in Monterey Park, CA (home to the best Asian food in LA!). I was studying at USC when I was scouted and didn’t take it too seriously at first as I was focused on becoming a consultant/entrepreneur, but figured I’d give it a shot. It wasn’t until I was taking 6 classes, an internship, a part-time job, extracurriculars, and yet felt like the energizer bunny when it came time for my auditions/shoots that I realized this is what I wanted to do. After I graduated, I went all in with pursuing my dreams by shooting with as many photographers as I could to build my portfolio.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Yes and no. I definitely feel lucky to have parents that supported me despite likely not fully understanding what it was that I was pursuing. It’s especially meaningful as they come from humble beginnings as immigrants so it must not have been easy for their daughter to be like “yeah I want to be a model” when they, at my age, were traveling to some foreign country to learn a foreign language and culture to start a new life lol. Thank you Mom and Dad!
Modeling was definitely an unexpected path for me as I was always very introverted and shy (and in some ways, still am). At the same time, nothing made me feel more alive than being on set.
I’m eternally grateful for stumbling across this career path as it’s allowed me to develop a healthy relationship with failure. It’s easy to look at someone and only see their successes, turning a blind eye to all the rejections, failures, and hard work that contributed to their wins. I try to keep this in mind at my highest highs and lowest lows. Focus on the process, not the destination. Try something new that scares you — bonus if it makes you feel uncomfortable because overcoming that is where the magic happens.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m a model most known for working in fashion, beauty, runway, and commercials. In other words, I can be your high fashion queen one day and your commercial girl next door the next. I’ve thought about specializing in just one category, but found that shooting a variety of projects works best for me. Whether it’s bringing a bit of edge to my commercials or showing some vulnerability/relatability in my editorials, I love blending my experiences to create something uniquely me.
One of my favorite jobs ever was walking at EDC Las Vegas for Zhu. If you told 15-year-old me about this job, I probably would’ve thought you’ve mistakened me for someone else. I’ve had a blast attending the festival in the past and it was an absolute dream come true to return on the artist side. It’s hard to describe the energy I felt doing what I love at one of my favorite music festivals for such a dope artist in front of 60,000 people. The creativity, the art, the people — all of it.
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
Doing something you love that challenges you to become a better person. There’s so much more that I want to do, but I feel successful in that I get paid to essentially play make-believe with some seriously talented people.
I also love getting to work on the casting side as I get to help those around me get closer to their dreams. I remember how out of reach all of my dreams once felt and would love to work more in the casting/agency side in the future to help more girls and boys realize the potential that they have inside of them as well.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aileenchews
Image Credits
Damir K
Xperience Factory
David Anthony Reinhardt
Kenneth Rue Romani
Shan Benson
Belva Chan
