Taiwanese model-actress Sonia Sui almost gave up modelling after her first job for a shower gel commercial.

Then 22, she was back in Taiwan from Canada for her school vacation. Her aunt, who was also a model, had encouraged her to audition for it. Sui got the job and spent three days shooting for the advertisement dressed in a tube top and shorts.

"So I thought: 'Oh, is this what it means to be a model? Having to wear so little for hours on end in front of the camera'," she recalls.

But any reservations she had about modelling vanished when she got her pay cheque. "I earned $5,000 for three days of work. To me, it was a lot of money and I felt happy."

The 32-year-old has since fronted campaigns for everything from contact lenses to lingerie.

She was here in May, when it was announced that she would be the international brand ambassador for home-grown fashion brand Bonia. Bonia is currently designing a collection of bags named after Sui, but there are no details on when it will be launched.

Shortly after she started modelling, Sui crossed over to show business. She took on minor roles in TV series such as Prince Turns To Frog (2005). Her big break came in 2010, when she was cast as a plain housewife who had to deal with a philandering husband in the Taiwanese drama The Fierce Wife. The drama serial topped the charts in Taiwan and earned Sui a Best Actress nomination at the 2011 Golden Bell Awards.

Last year, she starred in the spin-off movie, The Fierce Wife Final Episode.

The Fierce Wife was pivotal in changing the audience's perception of the 1.73m-tall Sui. She says: "For the first time, I played a simple housewife. I proved to the audiences that I could act and take on more than the typical model-turned-actress characters, such as the mistress or a spoilt rich girl."

Sui credits Taiwanese model-actress Lin Chi-ling for overturning the stereotype that models have no talent.

"In the past, Taiwanese directors never thought of models as actresses, just clothes hangers. But because of Lin Chi-ling's success, directors started to look to models as potential actresses, and I was given the opportunity to act and host."

Considered a style icon by her fans, Sui says she favours high street brands, such as Hong Kong brand Black by Moussy and those from Hong Kong multi-label store I.T., for their affordable and stylish clothes.

"Good-looking clothes don't have to be pricey. You have to first understand what suits your body shape instead of rushing into the latest trends that might not suit you."

Her wardrobe staple? Jeans.

"Depending on the occasion, just by throwing on a blazer, classic shirt and tying a knot at your waist, you can look classy and stylish."

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