Du Juan is a Chinese

People's Republic of China

China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...

 fashion

Fashion

Fashion, a general term for a currently popular style or practice, especially in clothing, foot wear, or accessories. Fashion references to anything that is the current trend in look and dress up of a person...

 model

Model (person)

A model , sometimes called a mannequin, is a person who is employed to display, advertise and promote commercial products or to serve as a subject of works of art....

 and former ballerina

Ballerina

A ballerina is a title used to describe a principal female professional ballet dancer in a large company; the male equivalent to this title is danseur or ballerino...

. She has been touted as the world's first international Chinese supermodel

Supermodel

The term supermodel refers to a highly-paid fashion model who usually has a worldwide reputation and often a background in haute couture and commercial modeling. The term became prominent in the popular culture of the 1980s. Supermodels usually work for top fashion designers and labels...

.

Early life

The only child of architect

Architect

An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...

 parents, Du had originally pursued a career in classical ballet

Classical ballet

Classical Ballet is the most formal of the ballet styles, it adheres to traditional ballet technique. There are variations relating to area of origin, such as Russian ballet, French ballet, British ballet and Italian ballet...

, training at the prestigious Shanghai Academy of Dance for nine years. She eventually grew too tall to find a suitable dance partner, being over six feet while en pointe

En pointe

En pointe means "on the tip" and is a part of classical ballet technique, usually practised using specially reinforced shoes called pointe shoes or toe shoes. The technique developed from the desire for dancers to appear weightless and sylph-like and has evolved to enable dancers to dance on the...

.

Career

A former Ford Supermodel of the World runner-up, Du made her runway debut in Spring 2006, walking for prominent designers such as Valentino (opening and closing his bridal show), Jean-Paul Gaultier

Jean-Paul Gaultier

Jean Paul Gaultier , born 24 April 1952 in Arcueil, Val-de-Marne, France) is a French haute couture fashion designer. Gaultier was the creative director of Hermès from 2003 to 2010. In the past, he has hosted the television series Eurotrash....

, Shiatzy Chen

Shiatzy Chen

Shiatzy Chen is a Taiwanese fashion house, whose founder and brand innovator Wang Chen Tsai-Hsia is often referred to as the Chanel of Taiwan,and is the eponym of her luxury goods brand. She was born in 1951 in Changhua, Taiwan and founded the company in 1978...

, Roberto Cavalli

Roberto Cavalli

Roberto Cavalli is an Italian fashion designer from Florence.-Biography:Roberto Cavalli was born in Florence, Tuscany. His grandfather, Giuseppe Rossi, was a member of the Macchiaioli Movement, whose work is exhibited in the Uffizi Gallery. Cavalli decided to enroll at the local Art Institute,...

 and Chanel

Chanel

Chanel S.A. is a French fashion house founded by the couturier Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel, well established in haute couture, specializing in luxury goods . She gained the name "Coco" while maintaining a career as a singer at a café in France...

.

In 2005 Mario Testino

Mario Testino

-Early Life:Testino grew up in Lima, the eldest son of a businessman. When he was young he wanted to be a priest. Testino recalls being unpopular at school because of his flamboyance. He was good at math and went on to study economics at Universidad del Pacífico, where his insistence on wearing...

 photographed her for the cover of Vogue Paris

Vogue Paris

The French edition of Vogue magazine, Vogue Paris, is a fashion magazine that has been published since 1920.-1920–1954:The French edition of Vogue was first issued on June 15, 1920. More information about French Vogue in the 1920s is available in Mary E. Davis's book Classic Chic: Music, Fashion,...

 with Australian model Gemma Ward

Gemma Ward

Gemma Louise Ward is an Australian fashion model turned actress.-Early life:Gemma Ward was born on 3 November 1987 in Perth, Western Australia, the second of four children of Gary Ward, a doctor, and Claire, a nurse. She has an older sister, Sophie , and younger twin brothers, Oscar and Henry...

 becoming the first ever Asian cover-model. This led to a flurry of advertising campaigns for Louis Vuitton

Louis Vuitton

Louis Vuitton Malletier – commonly referred to as Louis Vuitton , or shortened to LV – is a French fashion house founded in 1854 by Louis Vuitton. The label is well known for its LV monogram, which is featured on most products, ranging from luxury trunks and leather goods to ready-to-wear, shoes,...

, Roberto Cavalli

Roberto Cavalli

Roberto Cavalli is an Italian fashion designer from Florence.-Biography:Roberto Cavalli was born in Florence, Tuscany. His grandfather, Giuseppe Rossi, was a member of the Macchiaioli Movement, whose work is exhibited in the Uffizi Gallery. Cavalli decided to enroll at the local Art Institute,...

, Gap

Gap (clothing retailer)

The Gap, Inc. is an American clothing and accessories retailer based in San Francisco, California, and founded in 1969 by Donald G. Fisher and Doris F. Fisher. The company has five primary brands: the namesake Gap banner, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Piperlime and Athleta. As of September 2008,...

, Swarovski

Swarovski

Swarovski is the brand name for a range of precisely-cut crystal and related luxury products produced by Swarovski AG of Wattens, Austria...

, United Colors of Benetton

Benetton Group

Benetton Group S.p.A. is a global luxury fashion brand, based in Treviso, Italy. The name comes from the Benetton family who founded the company in 1965. Benetton Group is listed in Milan....

, and Yves St. Laurent. With multiple bookings being a rare accomplishment, particularly for a new face, Style.com

Style.com

Style.com is a fashion website. It was formerly the online site for the fashion magazine Vogue and [W] W magazine featuring online versions of some of the magazine's content as well as internet-exclusive material such as event photographs and style-related articles, before Vogue developed its own...

 the online home of Vogue

Vogue (magazine)

Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 18 national and one regional edition by Condé Nast.-History:In 1892 Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly publication in the United States. When he died in 1909, Condé Montrose Nast picked up the magazine and slowly began...

and W

W (magazine)

W is a monthly American fashion magazine published by Condé Nast Publications, who purchased original owner Fairchild Publications in 1999. It was created in 1971 by the publisher of sister magazine Woman's Wear Daily, James Brady. The magazine is an oversize format – ten inches wide and...

magazine, declared her one of the top ten models to watch for the Fall 2006 season.
She graced the cover of the premier issue of Vogue China

Vogue (magazine)

Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 18 national and one regional edition by Condé Nast.-History:In 1892 Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly publication in the United States. When he died in 1909, Condé Montrose Nast picked up the magazine and slowly began...

 and has since become a fixture in its pages, appearing in almost one editorial per issue since its launch in 2005. She has also appeared on the cover of the 2006 TIME

Time (magazine)

Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...

 with fellow model Coco Rocha

Coco Rocha

Coco Rocha is a Canadian fashion model.- Personal life :Rocha was born in Toronto, Ontario, and moved to Richmond and attended McRoberts secondary school, British Columbia at a very young age. Her family is in the airline industry. Her mother, Juanita, is a flight attendant and her father, Trevor...

, and is one of the models featured in the 2008 Pirelli Calendar

Pirelli Calendar

The Pirelli Calendar is a trade calendar published by the Pirelli company's UK subsidiary. It has become an annual publication that dates back to 1964....

, which was shot in her native Shanghai.

She peaked at number 14 on model ranking site MODELS.com: In recent seasons Du has been featured in advertisement campaigns for Giorgio Armani

Giorgio Armani

Giorgio Armani is an Italian fashion designer, particularly noted for his menswear. He is known today for his clean, tailored lines. He formed his company, Armani, in 1975, and by 2001 was acclaimed as the most successful designer to come out of Italy, with an annual turnover of $1.6 billion and a...

, Esprit

Esprit Holdings

Esprit Holdings Limited is a publicly owned manufacturer of apparel, footwear, accessories, jewellery and housewares under the Esprit label. The company is headquartered in Kowloon, Hong Kong, and Ratingen , Germany. In the 2007–2008 business year, Esprit Holdings Limited generated a worldwide...

, Anna Sui

Anna Sui

Anna Sui is an American fashion designer. Her luxury brand retails globally in the Americas, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Her clothing, fragrance, cosmetic, and accessories lines sell at Anna Sui stores in over 50 countries and are also widely distributed at leading department stores...

, Uniqlo

UNIQLO

is a Japanese casual wear designer, manufacturer and retailer.The company was originally a division of Fast Retailing Co., Ltd.. On November 1, 2005, it was restructured as a separate wholly owned subsidiary called Uniqlo Co., Ltd. , which is listed on the first section of the Tokyo Stock...

, David Yurman

David Yurman

David Yurman Inc. is a privately held high-end American designer jewelry company founded by David Yurman . It is headquartered in New York City....

 and Yue Sai, a Chinese expansion of L'oreal

L'Oréal

The L'Oréal Group is the world's largest cosmetics and beauty company. With its registered office in Paris and head office in the Paris suburb of Clichy, Hauts-de-Seine, France, it has developed activities in the field of cosmetics...

.

Du has appeared in editorials for Allure

Allure (magazine)

Allure is the leading U.S. women’s beauty magazine, published monthly by Condé Nast in New York City. It was founded in 1991 by editor in chief Linda Wells, who has been at the helm of the magazine ever since. From its inception, the magazine has been widely recognized for its intelligent,...

, Harper's Bazaar

Harper's Bazaar

Harper’s Bazaar is an American fashion magazine, first published in 1867. Harper’s Bazaar is published by Hearst and, as a magazine, considers itself to be the style resource for “women who are the first to buy the best, from casual to couture.”...

, Elle

Elle (magazine)

Elle is a worldwide magazine of French origin that focuses on women's fashion, beauty, health, and entertainment. Elle is also the world's largest fashion magazine. It was founded by Pierre Lazareff and his wife Hélène Gordon in 1945. The title, in French, means "she".-History:Elle was founded in...

, V magazine

V (American magazine)

V magazine is an American fashion magazine published since 1999. The magazine is printed seasonally and highlights trends in fashion, film music and art. A men's fashion quarterly entitled VMAN started as an offshoot in 2003.-History:...

, i-D

I-D

i-D is a British magazine dedicated to fashion, music, art and youth culture. i-D was founded by designer and former Vogue art director Terry Jones in 1980. The first issue was published in the form of a hand-stapled fanzine with text produced on a typewriter...

and the Italian, American, Chinese, French, Taiwanese, Korean and British editions of Vogue

Vogue (magazine)

Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 18 national and one regional edition by Condé Nast.-History:In 1892 Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly publication in the United States. When he died in 1909, Condé Montrose Nast picked up the magazine and slowly began...

.

In 2010 she appeared in a music video

Music video

A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...

 for Cantopop

Cantopop

Cantopop is a colloquialism for "Cantonese popular music". It is sometimes referred to as HK-pop, short for "Hong Kong popular music". It is categorized as a subgenre of Chinese popular music within C-pop...

 singer Jacky Cheung

Jacky Cheung

Jacky Cheung is a Hong Kong singer-songwriter and actor. The Chinese language media refers to him, Aaron Kwok, Andy Lau and Leon Lai as the Cantopop Four Heavenly Kings , with more than 60 million records sold as of 2000....

's "Double Trouble" as Cheung's love interest.

Largely absent from Europe in recent seasons, Du spends her time between New York and China.

Personal life

Her favorite fashion designer is Alber Elbaz

Alber Elbaz

-Biography:Alberto Elbaz was born in Casablanca, Morocco. He immigrated to Israel with his family at the age of ten and grew up in Holon. After serving in the Israeli Defense Forces, he studied at the Shenkar College of Engineering and Design in Ramat Gan...

 of Lanvin

Lanvin

Lanvin may refer to:* Gérard Lanvin , French actor* Jeanne Lanvin , French fashion designer* Lanvin , French fashion house founded by Jeanne Lanvin...

.

Her given name, Juan (鵑) means Cuckoo

Cuckoo

The cuckoos are a family, Cuculidae, of near passerine birds. The order Cuculiformes, in addition to the cuckoos, also includes the turacos . Some zoologists and taxonomists have also included the unique Hoatzin in the Cuculiformes, but its taxonomy remains in dispute...

 in Chinese. However, together with her surname, her full name means Rhododendron

Rhododendron

Rhododendron is a genus of over 1 000 species of woody plants in the heath family, most with showy flowers...

.

In 2009, Du released a two-piece cosmetic line inspired by a shoot with photographer Camilla Akrans which included 24 Carat Gold body sparkle.
In the same year, Chinese model agency New Silk Road sued Du Juan for $659,000 USD for an alleged breach of contract; The outcome is yet to be known.

Her friends include Gemma Ward

Gemma Ward

Gemma Louise Ward is an Australian fashion model turned actress.-Early life:Gemma Ward was born on 3 November 1987 in Perth, Western Australia, the second of four children of Gary Ward, a doctor, and Claire, a nurse. She has an older sister, Sophie , and younger twin brothers, Oscar and Henry...

, Sasha Pivovarova

Sasha Pivovarova

Sasha Pivovarova is a Russian model. She is perhaps best known for her consecutive 6-season run with Prada.-Modeling career:As an art history student at the Russian University for the Humanities, Pivovarova never dreamed of becoming a model until friend and photographer Igor Vishnyakov took photos...

, Mackenzie Hamilton, Ai Tominaga

Ai Tominaga

is a Japanese fashion model and actress.- Career :She has appeared on the cover of Vogue in her native country and in runway shows for John Galliano, Vivienne Tam, Anna Sui, Christian Dior, Karl Lagerfeld, Gucci, Michael Kors, Ralph Lauren, Dolce and Gabbana, Givenchy, Elie Saab, Alexander McQueen...

  and Han Jin

Han Jin

Han Jin is a South Korean fashion model, currently living in New York. She has been on the covers of the May 2008 and June 2009 issues of the Korean edition of Vogue, as well as many other fashion magazines...

 as well as Chinese models Emma Pei, Liu Wen

Liu Wen

Liu Wen is a Chinese fashion model. She is the first model of East Asian descent to walk the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. In 2010, she became a face of Estée Lauder alongside Constance Jablonski.-Early life:...

, and Shu Pei.

External links

• Du Juan Photos on Style.com
  Style.com
  Style.com is a fashion website. It was formerly the online site for the fashion magazine Vogue and [W] W magazine featuring online versions of some of the magazine's content as well as internet-exclusive material such as event photographs and style-related articles, before Vogue developed its own...