Photo: 吕海强 / CC BY 2.5 (source: Wikimedia Commons)

Godfrey Gao

ゴッドフリー・ガオ　/　ごっどふりー・がお

Actor from Taiwan

September 22, 1984 – November 27, 2019　・　Taipei, Taiwan

actor
model
film actor

My Take

Godfrey Gao's story sits with me in a way few do. Breaking through as the first Asian male model fronting a Louis Vuitton campaign, often called Asia's first male supermodel, he carried a kind of representation that opens doors quietly for people who come after. Then his death in 2019 while filming a Chinese reality competition turned him into a painful symbol of how punishing that industry can be. I find myself admiring the elegance and ambition he projected, and unsettled by how his career ended. He deserved a much longer arc than he got.

Overview

Godfrey Gao (Chinese: 高以翔; pinyin: Gāo Yǐxiáng; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Ko Í-siông; 22 September 1984 – 27 November 2019), born Tsao Chih-hsiang (Chinese: 曹志翔; pinyin: Cáo Zhìxiáng; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Chô Chì-siông), was a Taiwanese-Canadian model and actor. Described as Asia's first male supermodel, Gao was the first Asian male model featured in a Louis Vuitton campaign.

Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

1. Profile

Name (English): Godfrey Gao
Name (Japanese): ゴッドフリー・ガオ
Reading: ごっどふりー・がお
Born: September 22, 1984 – November 27, 2019
Zodiac / Chinese zodiac: Virgo / Rat
Origin: Taipei, Taiwan
Blood type: Private
Height: Private
Agency: Private
Occupation: actor / model / film actor / television actor / male model

2. Background

Elementary school: Private
Junior high: Private
High school: Private
University: Capilano University

3. Relationships

Spouse: Private
Children: Private
Parents: Private
Siblings: Private

4. Personality

Motto

Private

6. Links

Official sitehttp://godfreygao.com/
Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/godfreygao/
Xhttps://x.com/godfreygao
Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%B4%E3%83%83%E3%83%89%E3%83%95%E3%83%AA%E3%83%BC%E3%83%BB%E3%82%AC%E3%82%AA

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