Devon Edwenna Aoki is an American actress and fashion model. Aoki's film roles include supporting roles in 2 Fast 2 Furious and Sin City and lead roles in and Mutant Chronicles. She is now widely considered an icon in the fashion industry.
Early life
Aoki was born in 1982 in New York City. She grew up in Malibu, California and attended high school at The American School in London. Her father is former Olympic wrestler and Benihana restaurant magnate Hiroaki Aoki and her mother is Pamela Hilburger, a jewelry designer. Her father is of Japanese descent and her mother is of German and English ancestry. She started modeling when she was 13, the same year her godmother introduced her to Kate Moss. She has an older sister and a younger brother, as well four half-siblings including Steve Aoki.
Career
Following her runway debut in 1997, Aoki walked for brands including Balenciaga, Comme des Garçons and Chanel. In 1998, at the age of 16, Aoki replaced Naomi Campbell as the face of Versace. She has also been featured in advertising campaigns for Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent, Kenzo, Hugo Boss, L'Oreal, Lancome and Tiffany & Co., and walked for designers including Versace, Chanel, Oscar de la Renta, Diane von Furstenberg, Jean Paul Gaultier, Celine, Baby Phat, and Marc Jacobs. Aoki has graced the covers of numerous international fashion magazines, including US' Ocean Drive, Vegas, Nylon, i-D, Interview, Elle Girl and UK's Wonderland; Korea's CosmoGirl; France's Jalouse; Australia's Russh and 10 Magazine; Japan's Voce and Harper's Bazaar; and Malaysia's Her World. Additionally, Aoki has appeared on the covers of Vogue and Numéro Tokyo. In 2006, she posed for Singaporean photographer Leslie Kee for charity photo-book "Super Stars", which was dedicated to the victims of the 2004 Asian tsunami disaster. In September 2007, she designed a capsule collection for Levi's Asian market called Levi's +D. Aoki described the collaboration by saying: "It's called Levi's + D, the D is for Devon. We're doing everything from denim to swimwear – you name it! I get inspired by vintage pieces you can't really get anymore." In 2017, she returned to the runway for Moschino's fashion show and appeared in advertising campaigns for "Sephora x Moschino" and Hugo Boss. In 2018, Aoki walked the runway for Jeremy Scott's eponymous brand, starred in an editorial for American Vogue and appeared in advertising campaigns for Moschino Fragrance, Nordstrom and Swarovski. In September 2019, she appeared in Harper's Bazaar magazine's "Bazaar Icons 2019" issue, photographed by Mario Sorrenti. As an actress she has appeared in films 2 Fast 2 Furious, D.E.B.S., Sin City, ', War,Mutant Chronicles and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Undead. She was cast as Tatsu Yamashiro in Arrow season 3, but was replaced by Rila Fukushima due to a scheduling conflict. She appeared briefly in documentary filmsI'll Sleep When I'm Dead and ' the former about her brother Steve Aoki.
Impact
She is considered as an icon in the fashion industry by models.com. In 2017, Dominic Cadogan of Dazed called Aoki a "cult model" and "one of the most recognisable alternative faces of the 90s". Cadogan continued by saying, "by the time she was 16, she was one of the most in-demand girls of the moment, with some of the industry's top photographers all transforming her in their images." In April 2019, Marie Claire listed her as one of the 15supermodels of the 2000s who changed the face of fashion. In February 2019, Wonderland magazine reported that singer Rihanna channeled Aoki's iconic look from the action film 2 Fast 2 Furious for her Fenty Beauty campaign. In the film, Aoki's car racing character Suki leans upon her custom pink Honda S2000 wearing a white top and pink jeans.
Personal life
Devon Aoki is married to James Bailey, and they have one son and two daughters: James Hunter, Alessandra Linville, and Eleanor Talitha. Her daughter Alessandra appeared in Guess Kids spring 2018 advertising campaign. She modeled during the third annual charity fashion show presented by General Motors on February 24, 2004. Aoki and her brother Steve Aoki co-chaired the 2018 Red Cross Gala in San Francisco in March 2018.
