Mrs. Daniel Wu aka Lisa Selesner
MANILA, Philippines - With decades in the modeling business, Lisa Selesner, popularly known as Lisa S., finds herself at the top of her game as a Channel V vee-jay and the latest host of hit reality fashion series, Supermodel Me. French-Chinese and Jewish-American, Lisa S. is an ethnic beauty who stands slender and tall at 5’10”. Just by looking at her, it’s obvious that modeling would’ve definitely been at the forefront of career choices. But in the story of her life, she owes a lot to happenstance.
Originally from Monte Carlo, Lisa S. stuck out like a sore thumb at 14 and that was when Elite Model Management decided to contact her. She was in such disbelief, and thinking it was kids from school playing a trick, she hung up on the scout twice. When the scout asked to speak to her mother, it finally registered with her that it was serious. “I was just happy to get out of that small sh*t town. The kids were mean. I didn’t have a lot of friends. To me, the scouting was a ticket out of here. It was very exciting but also confusing because I never saw myself as a good-looking person,” Lisa admits, but what she went through then only made her stronger.
Just a day after graduation, Lisa packed her bags and never looked back. Modeling took her to the ends of the globe, starting out in Germany then in Japan, Milan, Paris, Israel, and then later on Singapore. “I was what you would call a typical working model. I made enough money to live and survive. I spent more than a decade just eking out an existence.” She recalls living off a large bag of potatoes and stealing salt and pepper shakers for survival because she was so poor.
In the year 2000, she went to Hong Kong and struck gold, being one among the five foreign-looking models working there at the time. This time, standing out gave her an edge and that was where she found her success. “You find a market that you’re doing well in and you suck it dry until it stops, but for me it just never did. So I kept getting work and getting work and 12 years down the road, I’m still there.”
Blood, Sweat, Tears And A Lot Of Laughs
Not your typical fashion series, Supermodel Me finds its home on KIX, a channel known for pure action. The show features 12 aspiring models of Asian heritage from all over the largest continent. Battling it out in grueling physical challenges as well as photo shoot challenges, the winner gets $20,000 and a yearlong contract to kick-start her career. What makes Supermodel Me entirely different from any other model reality television series is that they take their physical challenges to the extreme — from surfing to paintball to roller derby.
Initially, it would seem a little off, being a reality series about modeling, but the show proves itself worthy, sandwiched between mixed martial arts fights. “There’s a lot of rough and tumble, a lot of fun, and a lot of unprovoked drama,” host Lisa S. mentions, when asked about what to expect in the third season. “We got such strong personalities on the show this season. What I love about these girls and why I trust that they’ll be fine in the fashion industry is because each of them spoke their mind, and they stood up for themselves.”
The Supermodel Me experience is as real as it gets; long hours, cramped models’ apartments, physical and emotional fatigue. Comparing her real-life experiences to that of the models in the show, Lisa S. finds only one difference. “The only thing that’s not real is that as a model you don’t usually go into a room and have five people sitting at a table all dressed up with their makeup done, telling you what you’ve done wrong.”
Some parting advice from a supermodel: “Keep your age a closely guarded secret.” Lisa S. gives a wry smile and says, “I’m only 16.”
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Supermodel Me premiered last March 13 on KIX (SkyCable channel 63 in Metro Manila, channel 82 in Cebu, and channel 96 in Davao) and airs every Tuesday at 10 p.m.
