It has been over a decade since Shatina Chen (陳思璇) started modeling, but it wasn't always her looks that got her noticed. When she was at school she won trophies on the track and on the softball field.
At 176cm, Chen is now known as Taiwan's "Queen of the Catwalk." She can hardly believe how well things have worked out for her.
"In the beginning, it was all just a bit of a laugh, but now I realize how far I've come."
PHOTO: TAIPEI TIMES
Even so, Chen said does not have high expectations for her future career as a supermodel and all she wishes for, she said, is to live a simple, happy life with her family.
As for her love life, she says, "I don't fall for people just like that ... I am way too independent. I don't consider seeking a romantic relationship my top priority. My family is more important to me right now."
Despite this she confided to me, in front of her family, that there is in fact a new man on the scene. "At the moment, we're just sending SMS messages back and forth, we are not really boyfriend and girlfriend yet," she said.
Having been without a boyfriend for a while, Chen would only let on that they have hung out just once, though they have been messaging for three months. She said she is not ready to settle down yet.
To be her boyfriend, she said, the lucky man has to be mature, serious and understanding of her profession. More importantly, he cannot expect her to be with him all the time.
Growing up with longer legs than other children of her age, Chen said she seemed to be a "bit of a giant" as far as her schoolmates were concerned. That's also why she joined the school's track team and earned a reputation as "a galloping antelope."
Her speed and long legs caught the attention of the physical education teacher at her elementary school, who invited her to join the school's track team.
Chen's agility and her long strides impressed everyone. Having heard her speak about what she did during her schooldays, she is obviously proud of her achievements.
"The 200m sprint was my forte. I hardly ever lost any races, simply because I've got longer legs. I could go twice as far as anyone else with one stride."
She reckoned she won "at least a dozen" medals in those days. Other than leading the field as a sprinter, Chen was also a serious softball and dodgeball player.
At times, she said, "I rushed to the make-up rooms backstage still wearing the dirty jersey I wore for games and started putting on make-up for a show. The roles I played at school and after school were quite confusing, but it was very different and fulfilling experience."
No one dared bully her at school, after they'd seen what she could do on the playing field, she said. In fact, she liked to hang around with the boys, and was quite the tomboy. She said she even beat up a boy who didn't want to "play ball" with her in a game.
As she was always good at every-thing she turned her hand to, Chen was never much of a worry for her parents. Unlike many Taiwanese parents, they never hit her.
Sitting next to Chen, Chen's mom said, "I was never worried. She could always cope by herself. She studied hard and played hard. And she is now making a name for herself as a model."
With "model fever" sweeping the country for the last few years, Chen is right in the limelight and is always answering the phone.
Whenever she's longing for a break from all the media attention, she turns to the 12 cats she keeps at home, the truly indispensable friends of the super model and her family.
-- translated by Daniel Cheng
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