At the ripe age of 16, Asian supermodel Audrey Quock embarked on her modeling career. Born and raised in Chinatown in New York City, Audrey defies the stereotypes of being Asian and also a model. Pursuing her passion for the fashion industry, she went on to complete her degree in Fashion Design at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. From there, her hard work and dedication catapulted her to the top of her career in an unforgiving industry with very few spots for those who don't fit the typical mold. From her first discovery by a talent scout at a mall in Long Island to gracing the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue five times, this headstrong beauty has come a long way over the last decade. Audrey has co-starred alongside Richard Gere in Joan Chen's Autumn in New York and more recently, launched her own accessories line. What sets Audrey apart from the rest of her peers, is her level headedness, drive, down to earth attitude and sense of humor. As we sit in a crowded café in Soho, Audrey dishes on the ins and outs of modeling and acting, keeping fit, her ex-boyfriends and dating.

ASIANCE: How did you get started modeling?

Audrey: I entered into a modeling contest at a mall on Long Island when I was 16. My parents were against me being a model. They wanted me to go to college, marry a doctor or a lawyer, the typical path. I would never let my daughter model. You have to be really strong. You get criticized on every little thing, things you have no control over. I would never want my daughter to go through that. I've walked out on some jobs where the person was really mean, and I was like, "Ok, see ya..."

ASIANCE: What was it like growing up in the city?

Audrey: I live in the same flat I grew up in now in Chinatown. It's great there. All my neighbors speak Chinese, they're older and I can blast my music and they don't complain. I own a couple of other flats too that I rent out.

I have 2 sisters and a brother. My sister dyed her hair blonde and wears blue contacts.

Audrey (middle) and her sisters, all one year apart.

Guys love her. She's smaller than me. She moved to Long Island. She looks mixed or Hawaiian. I think I look mixed too. I used to wear colored contacts because guys would stop & stare at them and say your eyes are so beautiful. And I would say, "They're fake!"

ASIANCE: What do you do to keep fit?

Audrey: I tell it as it is. I'm honest. Before a shoot I don't eat, I have to. I know my body. When I work out, I get really huge and bulk up. For my job I have to remain small, so I don't really go to the gym. Before, I used to eat a lot like an animal. But in the last year I stopped eating so much because when I thought about it, I thought it's not good to eat a lot anymore. People don't need to eat that much. You just have to cut out the junk. I also go snowboarding a lot. I tried heliboarding. But I was so scared in the helicopter. I'm really scared of avalanches.

ASIANCE: Do you get a lot of fan mail?

Audrey: I love the fan mail that I get and they say "You're so talented." Let's see I was really talented from just posing on a rock! I've gotten some asking for a lock of hair but my favorite fan letter that I still have on my fridge came from a little boy asking for my thong. I love it, it's really funny. Also, what was funny were letters I've gotten with a picture of me for an escort service. But you know what the really funny thing is that I remember taking that picture and I was wearing something completely different. They put my head on someone else's body!

ASIANCE: Do you think you have been an active role model for Asian women?

Audrey: I try to be and I try to bring up awareness and issues. Sometimes it's really hard though.

ASIANCE: Do you think there are more opportunities for Asians as spokespeople in the media?

Audrey: It's so slow. There definitely aren't as many roles for Asian women. It's not even close to being there. We aren't accurately represented because Asians don't really fill out surveys, so I think that's why they have less of a presence. The numbers aren't right, look around at who is buying. But now I think it is progressing. There are more Asian models than before but still a lot of mainstream magazines won't put an Asian girl on the cover. What are you going to do? I'm not bitter about it. In a lot of ways it is easier because there is less competition.

ASIANCE: What are you working on now?

Audrey: I'm still modeling a lot even though I'm older now because now the Asian market is a little bit better. It's amazing how the industry has evolved and the market is a little different and I kind of grew with that.

Audrey and sisters in China.

I did more runway and body modeling. I changed because when I first started I was pale and skinny but my whole look changed. I've also acted in a couple of films, like Autumn in New York directed by Joan Chen. That was my first film and I was like Oh my God, here I am acting in my first film with Richard Gere. I played Richard Gere's girlfriend. But I prefer modeling- it's easier and I prefer New York over Los Angeles. I'm a New Yorker. You read about models saying that modeling is so difficult- its not, you show up, take some pictures and that's it!

Right now I'm launching my own line of designer Ipod cases called skellycase and that's my baby now. I put so much hard work into that and I just want it to grow. I'm working on getting a really huge store. I'm learning as I go, about the buyers, distributors. I've never done anything like that. All I did was call my agency before. After you've been modeling for so long, you don't know the etiquette of the business world. My business partner works in a law firm.

I also started my own lingerie line called "Sexy little things". Then I got a cease and desist letter from Limited Brands because they used the same name for a line of Victoria's Secret lingerie. Eventually I lost in court. And it's sad because it's so hard to beat big businesses. Even when you walk along Broadway all of the big chains and retailers are taking over small businesses.

ASIANCE: What was shooting for Sports Illustrated like?

Audrey: The first one was really fun. It was shot on Richard Branson's island in the Caribbean. I brought my boyfriend at the time, now my ex-boyfriend. He's really crazy and jealous. After the shoot, Richard Branson invited me to an opening party and I brought my ex. He (Ex) got really jealous and he pied Richard Branson with a pie! Security guards took him outside. But Richard was really cool about it. I was really embarrassed. I was like, "How could you do that?' this was my first year with Sports Illustrated. It was funny though.

Audrey on dating...

Audrey: I guess I like drama. I always seem to find these types of guys. It was horrible. I don't like conservative types. We had a really bad breakup and every time something happened, he would call The New York Post. When we first broke up, they wrote about it. He took something out of context that I said. We had this one conversation where he said, "Audrey, you're never going to find someone who loves you for you. They only love you because you're a model". And I was like, well then "I should date a celebrity." And The Post wrote, "Audrey Quock only wants to date a celebrity". I sounded like a snobby bitch. He even made a T-shirt of a girl giving a blowjob and it said "Audrey Quock sucks cock." I was like grow up. We used to be inseparable. We lived together but when we broke up he got crazy. He tried to get back together so many times.

Audrey on Vince Gallo...

Audrey: He is really good friends with my ex (designer of Yellow Fever). Vince was going around saying "Audrey is such a bitch. Audrey is such a bitch." I never met the guy. I swear if I ever meet him, I'm going to slap him in the face.

"This is a trip to China and those are my sisters. I am the one who my mother dressed like a boy. I yelled at her for that."

The funny thing is that all my ex boyfriends were broke, not just broke, but really broke, not a penny to their name. When I walk down the street with my friends and we see a bum, my friends are like this is Audrey's type! There is an innocence left to them when they don't have money. And that's what I like.

I love being in relationships and I love having someone there in my life. But it's so hard. I get so tired of just dating and dating and you feel disconnected. I don't like guys who just date models either. There are a lot of them out there. Just last night I met this guy who worked for a hedge fund and he thought I was going to be impressed because he had 3 model girlfriends before. That was the wrong thing to say to me. I'd like to date a normal guy with money but they all seem too conservative.

I like Christian Bale. He's a hottie.

I get really jealous too. I don't think I can date a photographer who is always around models. It would drive me mad. I couldn't do that. Men are men you know. They really are. I have a lot of guy friends. It's awful. I went on a trip with just 4 guy friends and after that trip, I was like men are all P-I-G-S.

I just need a man for sex! Ha!

For more information on Audrey's company visit: www.skellycase.com