Soo Joo Park
Soo Joo Park | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 26, 1986 Seoul, South Korea |
| Occupation(s) | Model, musician |
| Years active | 2010–present |
| Known for | First Asian-American woman to represent L'Oréal as a spokesmodel; Global Ambassador for Chanel |
Soo Joo Park (originally named Park Suju; born March 26, 1986) is an American model and musician prominent in the fashion industry. She holds the distinction of being the first Asian-American woman to represent L'Oréal as a spokesmodel and currently serves as a Global Ambassador for Chanel.
Early life
Park was born in Seoul, South Korea, and relocated to Anaheim, California when she was ten years old. She earned her Architecture degree from the University of California, Berkeley. Subsequently, she moved to San Francisco, where she was discovered by scouts while shopping in the Haight-Ashbury district.
Career
Park’s initial modeling experience came in 2010 with a campaign for BCBG Max Azria. After moving to New York, she transformed her look by bleaching her hair platinum blonde, which quickly drew interest from leading fashion houses like Chanel and Tom Ford, for whom she walked runway shows. During her debut season at fashion weeks, she modeled for prestigious brands including Chanel, Vivienne Westwood, Emporio Armani, Fendi, Rick Owens, Lanvin, and LOEWE.
In 2012, Park featured in editorials for Vogue Italia, Glamour, and Dazed. Her portfolio expanded to include appearances in W, i-D, CR Fashion Book, Vogue, Paper, and Teen Vogue.
She was ranked among Models.com’s “Top 50 Models” in 2014 and was added to their “The Money Girls” list in 2015. Park has fronted advertising campaigns for brands such as Michael Kors, MAC Cosmetics, Tom Ford, Redken, Gap Inc., DKNY, and Bvlgari.
In May 2015, Park had the honor of opening the Chanel 2015/16 Cruise show at Seoul’s Dongdaemun Design Plaza, handpicked by Karl Lagerfeld as Chanel’s muse from Asia.
Her career diversified in 2017 when she took on an acting role in Netflix’s drama series Sense8. By 2020, she was one of the 100 cover models featured on the September issue of Vogue Italia.
Park launched her music career in June 2021 under the stage name Ether with a rendition of "Haenim," a classic Korean rock track originally composed by Joong-Hyun Shin in 1968. She had been cultivating her music and DJ skills for several years before this debut. In December of that year, she performed "Haenim" live during the Chanel Métiers d’Art 2021/2022 presentation.
In 2022, Models.com honored Park with the title "Industry Icon." Later that September, she was selected by Chanel to be the ambassador for their Première Original Edition watch.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-2018 | Sense8 | Sutra | 2 episodes |
| 2024 | The Trainer |
| Year | Title | Artist | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | "Zeros" | Desire | |
| "Haenim" | Desire ft. Ether | ||
| 2025 | "Gabriela" | Katseye | Spill That Tea Host |