Soo Joo Park First Asian American to Front L’Oreal Campaign

Internationally renowned model Soo Joo Park just became the first Asian American to model for cosmetics giant L’Oreal. Park will join the ranks of models like Liya Kibede and Doutzen Kroes, and is making history in L’Oreal’s 106-year-old reputation.

This is not the first time that Park has pushed the boundaries of the modeling world, however. Park started modeling at the age of 26––old by industry standards––after she graduated from Berkeley. In a sense, her whole career has been built on breaking industry stereotypes.

#BECAUSE my nails match my eyes #326

A photo posted by Soo Joo (@soojmooj) on Mar 21, 2015 at 12:40pm PDT

Park was born in Seoul, South Korea and moved to California when she was just 10-years-old. She was first scouted when she was out vintage shopping.

#BECAUSE I'M #WORTHIT! #326 @lorealparisofficial

A photo posted by Soo Joo (@soojmooj) on Mar 26, 2015 at 5:39am PDT

About her new role as the face and spokesperson for L’Oreal, Park told Style.com, “The thing is that I’m Asian, but I’m also Asian-American. And I think growing up in America and having a multicultural background, you know where you stand but you also want to melt into the pot. It’s such an honor, but I also think the world is getting smaller and the globalization of commerce is influencing industries like beauty and fashion. So to be the first to represent a global brand is a huge honor. But I don’t want to be just that one thing; I want to be the global ambassador.”

Thrilled to announce today, my birthday, I'm joining the L'OREAL PARIS family as a global spokesperson!!! @chapuyc @yannjoffredo @charlottewillermakeup @michaelangelnyc #stephanelancien @i_am_constantin @cyrilsurreal @johanne1119 @realbarbarapalvin, can't thank you enough for being so amazing and supportive in helping my biggest dream come true. And BIG love for my fans, friends, and family...this is the best birthday gift a girl could ever wish for! Love you all xxxx #WORTHIT @lorealparisofficial

A photo posted by Soo Joo (@soojmooj) on Mar 26, 2015 at 9:30am PDT

In addition to L’Oreal, Park is also fronting the latest campaign for Redken, and most recently walked for Moschino and Karl Lagerfeld’s brasserie-turned-runway.

Statuesque, eloquent, and refreshingly down to earth, we think that Park is the perfect spokesmodel for L’Oreal. We applaud L’Oreal for joining the industry’s ever growing movement to be inclusive of people of all backgrounds, because we’re ALL worth it.