Ling Tan

Early life

Tan was born and raised in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and is of Chinese ancestry. She has a younger sister who is also a model. Her father was a taxi driver and her mother a seamstress. She was educated in a Chinese school and speaks four varieties of Chinese as well as Malay and English. Tan also studied art and design before beginning her career as a model.

Discovered and career beginnings

Her career started when she participated in a local competition, the Asian Model Search contest, in Malaysia, where she won first place in the Malaysian section. She then went on to become the first runner up in the international finals of the Asian Model Search contest in 1994.

Her first big break came when she was discovered at a small fashion show while waiting for a friend in a hotel lobby, by an advertising executive. Tan then appeared in an ad campaign for Tiger Beer. These commercials propelled Tan to success and she became the hottest model in Malaysia. European and American designers showing their collections in Malaysia were impressed with Tan’s talent and encouraged her to move to New York City.

Success and acting debut

Tan has been seen in hundreds of shows in New York, London, Milan, Rome and Paris. According to Fashion Model Directory, she appeared in over 30 shows in Fall 1997/Winter 1998 and Spring/Summer 1998.

Tan's first catwalk show was Zang Toi's Spring/ Summer 1995 show in November 1994. Tan has worked with many top designers, including Giambattista Valli, Elie Saab, Karl Lagerfeld, Yves Saint Laurent, Tom Ford, Emporio Armani, Donna Karan, and Chanel. She has also been photographed by leading fashion photographers including Irving Penn, Mario Testino, Peter Lindbergh, and Richard Avedon, who photographed Ling for the Pirelli calendar in 1997.

Tan has appeared on the covers and editorial pages of top fashion magazines. She was the subject of a twelve-page feature story in the prestigious Italian Vogue and a spread in Vogue US and Vogue China. She also appeared on the covers of Vogue Germany in November 1998 and Vogue Korea in April 1999. She appeared in Prestige Magazines Malaysian edition alongside Malaysian shoe designer, Jimmy Choo.

Tan has appeared in advertising campaigns, such as Ann Taylor’s 50th Anniversary “50 Women”, Banana Republic online ad campaign in Spring 2009, Bergdorf Goodman, Bloomingdale's Holiday ad campaign in 2007, Old Navy Perfect Summer Ad in Summer 2008, and Yves Saint Laurent. Tan has worked on the small screen, appearing in television commercials for Emporio Armani fragrances, FORD Car, La Poste (France’s postal service) and Pantene Hair Color. She was also featured in George Michael’s music video for his hit song "Fast Love".

She has been the subject of a biography featured on CNN’s Style Network with Elsa Klensch, and has appeared on the HBO series, Sex and The City and the CBS series, Blue Bloods.

After a long hiatus from the runway, Tan walked for the Givenchy Fall/Winter 2010 show in Paris and did a video for Polo Ralph Lauren for the Fall 2010 campaign. In 2011, Tan along with Yasmin Warsame, Elsa Benítez, and Jacquetta Wheeler, was the face of L'Oreal Code Breaker Winter 2010 and Spring 2011 campaign. Ling Tan and her younger sister, Ein Tan, appeared together on the covers of Harper's Bazaar Malaysia and Harper's Bazaar Singapore. In 2014, Tan appeared as special guest in the final episode of Asia's Next Top Model Cycle 2 and 3rd episode of Asia's Next Top Model Cycle 5.

Agencies

Tan has signed with ONE.1 MANAGEMENT is a new division of ONE MANAGEMENT in New York City, and Innovative Artists Talent And Literary Agency, also in New York. She has also signed with Elite Paris, Elite Toronto, Munich Models and UNO Models in Barcelona. She used to be signed with IMG and Wilhelmina Models in New York.