The Price Of Fame

[Flashermac]

After years of being in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons, former Thai supermodel Rojjana "Yui" Phetkanha is once again wooing the media, this time with her "tell-all" book "Khud Ruang Lub Sub Ruang Jing" ("Real Life Yui Rojjana").

 

"I'm very excited to see the press again," Yui told reporters at a press conference inside MBK Centre just days after her book's launch at the 42nd National Book Fair and 12th Bangkok International Book Fair.

 

"Your presence here inspires me to take the next step forward. I'm a case study for the proverb, 'never hit a man when he is down'; I have struggled with failure so many times and at the same time have been fortunate enough to have a lot of chances. Don't give up, sail on!"

 

The past few months have seen a major turn round for the 37-year-old former model who last September was rescued by police from the streets and taken to a Bangkok psychiatric hospital where she was treated for her long-standing bipolar disorder.

 

One of her saviours from those dark days is Anusorn Jaruwattananukool, the managing director of Anusorn Organiser, APK Artist Management and APK Publishing.

 

"I was given a second chance after everything went wrong with my life and I think Yui deserves one too," he told the crowd. "I've helped her find a job instructing a new crop of young generation models and in publishing this book, which is a honest autobiography covering both the highs and the lows."

 

With the Thai penchant for soap operas, it comes as no surprise that the 130-page pocketbook, which is richly illustrated with photographs, is already on the best-selling list.

 

The book recounts briefly Yui's childhood in Ubon Ratchathani where she was raised by her grandparents before winning Thailand's Elite Super Model competition in 1994 soon after she turned 18. With support and help from Thai-British model and actress Tarini "Fiona" Graham, Yui quickly rose through the ranks and was soon gracing catwalks alongside Kate Moss, Elle McPherson and Naomi Campbell. Chosen as the face of Chanel's Allure fragrance, Yui also modelled for Christian Dior and Raph Lauren.

 

"Yui had great natural beauty," recalls Graham. "It wasn't easy for such a world-famous perfume brand like Chanel to take on a model from Asia as a presenter."

 

With the Storm Model Agency, Yui earned from US$20,000 to $200,000 per event and was much in demand for the haute couture shows in London, New York, Milan and Paris.

 

But with fame and fortune came parties and drugs - uppers, mainly cocaine, to stay awake for long photo shoots and downers to get to sleep.

 

She eventually returned to Thailand, broke, in 2004.

 

Yui was subsequently diagnosed with bipolar disorder and for at least five years underwent therapy at various psychiatric hospitals, including a drug-and-alcohol rehabilitation facility in Chiang Mai.

 

"I met her after she was discharged from Somdet Chaopraya Institute of Psychiatry though she was still on medication. She looked normal but tended to be slow on the uptake. When she started working and forgot to take the pill, I saw her opposite sides - extremely glad and extremely sad, both of which are clear signs of bipolar disorder," says Anusorn.

 

"Sometimes she insisted on being alone. At others, she would want to drink. Often she slept round the clock and missed her appointments. She said that she didn't want to go out on a job. But all of these could be resolved by taking her medications.

 

"I lost everything when I took drugs," Yui confirms. "It affected my work; I was late a lot and didn't do a good job. I became another person.

 

"Now, I am better and can work again. I'd love to do an advertising campaign or a fashion shoot."

 

The book also covers her personal heartbreaks, like the male model she adored only to discover he was gay. She recalls actor Leonardo DiCaprio throwing a bucket of ice over her head after she warned a model friend about him and, perhaps more importantly, she also writes about her child.

 

"A lot of people asked me about my child while I was undergoing rehab so I decided to tell the truth in my book. My daughter is now 12 and while I miss her terribly, I don't want to hide away from the facts anymore.

 

"Her father and I are no longer in contact though I do know he has remarried. I would love to know how my daughter is doing," he says.

 

Today Yui earns a modest income training fashion models and in her leisure time reads monk W Vajiramedhi's dharma books.

 

"I tell my young charges not to believe what other people tell them and to stay far away from drugs," she says.

 

 

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