For a 21-year-old supermodel with a famous dad, Anne Watanabe is refreshingly down to earth. In town for only one day last week to attend a fashion magazine gala, the Japan-born daughter of movie star Ken Watanabe is far from a diva.
In fact, the only time she showed any reticence was when she was asked about her father.
'He is just a normal father to me. We have a normal father and daughter relationship,' she said. 'Honestly, I haven't really seen many of his movies.'
Watanabe told us that when she started modelling at age 15, she didn't tell the agency who her father was. Since then she has consistently played down the family connection so as not to take advantage of his fame. With her parents separated and Ken remarrying in 2005, Watanabe confessed she only sees her dad about twice a year because they're both so busy.
The fact is, celebrity status is not one of her life pursuits. Despite having graced catwalks in New York, Milan, Paris and Japan, the young beauty's main goal for the immediate future is to improve her language skills.
'Maybe next year I will go to an English school in the US [and] only concentrate on studying English. No modelling, no shoots. Just study for one month and hope my English will be better after that.'