PERTH MODEL PAULA TAYLOR SET FOR STARDOM IN THAILAND
THE SUNDAY TIMES (Western Australia)
www.news.com.au
BY JAY HANNA
DATE PUBLISHED: 12 JULY 2009
WITH THANKS TO:
JAY HANNA & SANDRA BAHBAH OF SUNDAY TIMES
YTPME FOR THE COPY

PERTH can lay claim to a host of big name international superstars — Heath Ledger, Sam Worthington, Isla Fisher, Melissa George, Gemma Ward and Nicole Trunfio, to name a few.

But what about the overseas success stories we don’t know about?

Among them is WA beauty Paula Taylor. In her home town of Perth the stunning 26-year-old is a virtual unknown, but in Thailand she is nothing short of a sensation.

Taylor, whose exotic Eurasian looks come courtesy of her Thai mother and English father, moved to Bangkok in 2001 to pursue modelling.

Eight years later she is one of country’s most popular young stars. She has her own weekly sitcom, is a successful film actor and TV presenter.

“I’ve done really well in Thailand,” Taylor said while on a recent visit to Perth. “Everything really changed in 2003 when I did a movie and it all just blew up. I’ve been working constantly ever since.”

An in-demand model, Taylor is recognised across Asia as the face of brands such as Honda, Canon, Wriggley, Lux, Colgate and Sunsilk and also for her appearance on the 2007 series of The Amazing Race Asia.

“I get recognised pretty much anywhere I go around Asia, but not to the same magnitude as in Thailand,” she said. “My second-biggest market now is the Philippines and I have just finished doing a movie there.”

Taylor’s fame in Asia helped her land her first Hollywood role in Shadows, which stars William Hurt.

Taylor said she was keen to continue working in Asia, but would also be open to work from Hollywood and Australia.

“We’ll see what happens. I’m comfortable in Asia, but this visit made me realise how much I miss it here. I was like `Oh my God I want to move back to Perth’,” she said.

Other West Australians who have found fame overseas:

* Kane Manera — the Applecross actor stars in the world’s longest-running soap opera Guiding Light. Educated at Guildford Grammar School, where he acted alongside Heath Ledger, Manera plays an Aussie bad guy in the NBC-aired soap that attracts about two million viewers an episode. He also appeared in the WA-produced film Crush.

* Ben Templesmith — the WA-based comic illustrator created the vampire comic 30 Days of Night that became a Hollywood film starring Josh Harnett and Perth’s own Melissa George.

* Shane McCarthy — the comic-book writer scored one of the industry’s top jobs writing Batman comics for giants DC Comics. He has also worked on Star Wars and DareDevil comics, all from his base in St James.

Tags: Paula Taylor, The Sunday Times

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