seanchai
08-09-2008, 07:05 PM
http://www.kennethcole.com/content/i...px&h=550&w=898
(see video at link above)
Born in 1975 in Saigon, Vietnam, the oldest son of traditional Chinese parents, Nina Poon, immigrated with her family in 1978 to Orlando, Florida at age four.
At age five she began showing prodigious talent with her childishly animated, Disney-inspired drawings. It was during this initial stage of childhood that Nina first remembers identifying as female and instinctively feeling that she was assigned to the wrong gender. Due to Nina's authentic, innate femininity she was alienated as a child by both her family and her peers, so she immersed herself in her sketchbook and looked to fashion icons like Coco Chanel, with whom she shares a birthday, for inspiration.
On the basis of her abilities as an illustrator, Nina gained entry into Miami's International Fine Arts College and at seventeen she left home to fulfill her dream of becoming a fashion designer.
While at college, Nina entered into the South Beach club scene and began performing with drag impresario, Kevin Aviance. During the day she went on castings, which led to an appearance on an international commercial for H&M with Marcus Schenkenberg and time on the runway for Hugo Boss' 1994 Spring Collection. Nina soon became a regular on the Miami club circuit, where she befriended many local celebrities, such as Gianni Versace and Madonna, whose brother, Christopher Ciccone, cast and directed her in the Lonnie Gordon video, If You Really Love Me.
Nina moved to New York in the summer of 1994 and expanded her social network to include party promoters Richie Rich and Michael Alig. It was at this time that she caught the eye of Lady Miss Kier, who cast her in the Deee-Lite video, Picnic In The Summertime.
In New York, Nina found her true element. Despite having lived as a woman for the majority of her life, she completed her full surgical transition. She became a muse to designers Thuy Pham of United Bamboo and Jack McCollough of Proenza Schouler, and lived briefly with both of them. While living with McCollough, Nina decided to try her hand at makeup, as a natural extension of her interest in fashion illustration. After assisting makeup artist Tracy Murphy during New York fashion week in 2000, Nina began honing her skills for the legendary Patricia Field at her signature Manhattan boutique, which led to work on music videos, celebrity appearances and a position as key makeup artist for the HBO short film, Betty La Flaca, winner of the 2006 Latin Film Festival Best Short Film.
Nina currently lives with her boyfriend, Robert Jason, an Emmy award-winning producer and filmmaker. Nina appears in Jason's forthcoming docu-series on the lives of transgender women in New York entitled, Being T. In addition to appearing on the Fuse Network's Pants-Off Dance-Off and Style Network's Split Ends, Nina has her first speaking role in a motion picture, director Dito Montiel's, Fighting, starring Terrence Howard and Channing Tatum. While casting agents have an ongoing interest in Nina, she also continues to enjoy her work as a makeup artist, fashion illustrator and has recently added photo retouching to her list of talents.
(see video at link above)
Born in 1975 in Saigon, Vietnam, the oldest son of traditional Chinese parents, Nina Poon, immigrated with her family in 1978 to Orlando, Florida at age four.
At age five she began showing prodigious talent with her childishly animated, Disney-inspired drawings. It was during this initial stage of childhood that Nina first remembers identifying as female and instinctively feeling that she was assigned to the wrong gender. Due to Nina's authentic, innate femininity she was alienated as a child by both her family and her peers, so she immersed herself in her sketchbook and looked to fashion icons like Coco Chanel, with whom she shares a birthday, for inspiration.
On the basis of her abilities as an illustrator, Nina gained entry into Miami's International Fine Arts College and at seventeen she left home to fulfill her dream of becoming a fashion designer.
While at college, Nina entered into the South Beach club scene and began performing with drag impresario, Kevin Aviance. During the day she went on castings, which led to an appearance on an international commercial for H&M with Marcus Schenkenberg and time on the runway for Hugo Boss' 1994 Spring Collection. Nina soon became a regular on the Miami club circuit, where she befriended many local celebrities, such as Gianni Versace and Madonna, whose brother, Christopher Ciccone, cast and directed her in the Lonnie Gordon video, If You Really Love Me.
Nina moved to New York in the summer of 1994 and expanded her social network to include party promoters Richie Rich and Michael Alig. It was at this time that she caught the eye of Lady Miss Kier, who cast her in the Deee-Lite video, Picnic In The Summertime.
In New York, Nina found her true element. Despite having lived as a woman for the majority of her life, she completed her full surgical transition. She became a muse to designers Thuy Pham of United Bamboo and Jack McCollough of Proenza Schouler, and lived briefly with both of them. While living with McCollough, Nina decided to try her hand at makeup, as a natural extension of her interest in fashion illustration. After assisting makeup artist Tracy Murphy during New York fashion week in 2000, Nina began honing her skills for the legendary Patricia Field at her signature Manhattan boutique, which led to work on music videos, celebrity appearances and a position as key makeup artist for the HBO short film, Betty La Flaca, winner of the 2006 Latin Film Festival Best Short Film.
Nina currently lives with her boyfriend, Robert Jason, an Emmy award-winning producer and filmmaker. Nina appears in Jason's forthcoming docu-series on the lives of transgender women in New York entitled, Being T. In addition to appearing on the Fuse Network's Pants-Off Dance-Off and Style Network's Split Ends, Nina has her first speaking role in a motion picture, director Dito Montiel's, Fighting, starring Terrence Howard and Channing Tatum. While casting agents have an ongoing interest in Nina, she also continues to enjoy her work as a makeup artist, fashion illustrator and has recently added photo retouching to her list of talents.