'Gross': Sheila Sim reveals her modelling photos self-taken before she turned pro

Before Sheila Sim starred in local dramas such as I'm In Charge (2013) and 118 (2014), she was a supermodel who graced runways and magazine covers in Singapore, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Paris and Milan.

On the latest episode of the meWATCH talkshow Hear U Out, the 37-year-old shared her "gross" photos self-taken before her modelling days and revealed she had personal doubts about her looks at that time.

At age 16, Sheila was a willowy girl standing at 173cm, and once, she went to Hong Kong to attend the wedding of her aunt Ivy Chng, who was a prominent model in the 1990s.

"But I had only passable looks," she said, causing host Quan Yi Fong to break into laughter.

"When her boss asked me if I wanted to become a model, I gave a non-committal answer. I thought he was humouring me because of my aunt."

She used to think her "awkward" height was a problem rather than a plus, and it was only when she was talent scouted by Celia Teh — a manager at a modelling agency back then — that she began to entertain the possibility of becoming a model.

"I thought, 'Maybe I stand a chance'. Maybe it's real," she said.

Fuelled by the newfound confidence in herself, Sheila took some snaps of herself.

"I thought I could become a model, [so] I took photos of myself in a singlet at home," she said, causing Yi Fong to burst into a fit of laughter once again.

When quizzed if she took them herself, Sheila added: "I used a tripod and timer to take the photos."

Despite her personal doubts, Sheila later moved to Hong Kong to cut her teeth as a model, and it turned out to be a career that spanned for over a decade. 

After starting her own model and artiste management agency Nu Models and Nu Management in 2013, Sheila ventured into acting and became a mum in Sept last year. 

Amusingly, she brought some of her modelling flair into her acting and has been told by directors to "walk normally".

She shared: "Directors always remind me during filming to walk normally and not as if I were sashaying down the catwalk, but I felt I was walking normally."

Yi Fong also pointed out that directors would sometimes feel like she was posing at photoshoots.

"Yeah, it's much better now. I'm more like the man in the street now," she said.

ALSO READ: Sheila Sim’s grandfather kicked her out of the house for using the telephone too long

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vUHkXia9BE[/embed]

chingshijie@asiaone.com