Grace Yu
Supermodel Grace Yu rose to fame in the 70s as the first Asian face of Dior. A homegrown Hong Konger from Sham Shui Po, she tells June Ng the story of her journey from an impoverished local neighborhood to the international runway.
I returned recently to Sham Shui Po, but everything I remember has been bulldozed. It was quite upsetting.
My dad died when I was 15. But I was not devastated. Although I loved him very much, he was the source of conflict in my family. My parents argued everyday. And anyway, I was joining the modeling industry—no time for sorrow.
My father worked as a secretary in an embassy, and he was supposed to be great, but he preferred to dwell in misery and complain that he deserved better. My mom could have earned a lot too, but she chose to work only when our family had no money for food.
I quit school when I was 14. My first job was in a factory. I was fired pretty quickly, though. I was pretty incompetent at putting things together.
Being tall was awkward, especially in my neighborhood. People were intimidated by my height. They’d make fun of me. I felt odd, inferior and ugly. It was like being tall and slender was a sin. It was only after becoming a model that I began to feel grateful for my appearance.
I didn’t have the guts to sign up for a beauty pageant, but I ended up in a modeling contest thanks to my sister. It was organized by a big department store—we trained in the function room at The Peninsula. After that, I knew the career I wanted.