Sung Hi Lee

By Sara Templeton

Isn't it always the way with super models? They live these lives of decadence, driving flashy cars, wearing the most expensive clothes and dating race car drivers or pop singers.

Sung Hi Lee comes from this very same mould: she currently lives a very well-to-do life, but during her childhood things weren't always so rosy...

As she recounts of her teenage years in America: "... I would have liked to have gone to my senior prom! No one asked me... I used to be a pretty big nerd!"

Hard to believe, looking at here now, but the 32 year-old Korean says she still cherishes her childhood.

Born on April 1st 1970, in the democratic Southern region of Korea, Sung Hi Lee's parents separated when she was just two, her brother just a few months old. Both parents moved to America separately and Sung Hi and her brother were cared for by their grandparents.

While Sung Hi grew up quite poor in South Korea, she still cherishes her childhood. Recounting her first ten years, Sung Hi said: "Most of my days were filled with running around with the neighborhood boys, catching frogs, climbing trees and basically getting into every patch of mud I could find. Needless to say, I was a major tomboy."

From tomboy to top model - not bad in a days work. But alas, it wasn't as simple as this...

Sung Hi remembers when she moved from her home country in 1978, to the land of dreams - America: "A couple of months before I turned eight years old, my father sent for my brother and I.

"He had been back to Korea to visit us every couple of years or so. My brother and I didn't really know him. I was going to miss my grandparents... They were the only real parents I ever knew!

"My father had remarried and I barely knew him let alone my new stepmother! But, through an eye of an eight year old, it was an adventure. My brother and I were on the plane bound for the US of A on February 19, 1978."

Upon first arriving in the States, Sung Hi has vividly remembers that she didn't like it. "I used to hate it here in the States when I first got here. I spoke absolutely no English, hated the food, (give me spicy kimchi any day) and didn't know a soul except for my parents and brother. But eventually, I grew to love McDonald's, made friends and learned to pronounce my Rs and my Ls!"

Indeed, she must have enjoyed living in the USA, because after school, she was awarded a full four year scholarship at Ohio State University for Medicine. Having only completed three years of the course, she decided to follow her heart and pursue an acting career.

But as most will know, acting doesn't always offer the most concrete of salaries and, as such, things seemed to just happen for Sung Hi. "I guess I sort of got discovered," said Lee.

"I used to go to this particular nightclub a lot and eventually got to know all the owners. They were having a fashion show and had hired an agency to find all of the models. The owners wanted a lot of different ethnicities but didn't like any of the Asian models who were with the agency.

"So they asked me to do it. I thought it would be fun, so I did it. One of the agents saw me and asked if I would be interested in working with them. The rest is history!"

Sung Hi Lee has since done work for many magazines and advertising campaigns, but at present, her current goal is be a prominent actor - and she's well on the way having starred alongside the likes of Renee Zelleweger in the movie Nurse Betty.

She's also done plenty of TV work too, and it just goes to show that a little hard work and a lot of dedication is all you need to succeed. Along with all her charity work, the 32-year old model/actress is currently filming a new movie with James Woods and lives in Los Angeles.