By Chris Betros

Lifestyle Apr. 03, 2008 - 04:00PM JST ( 6 )

TOKYO —

When she was in high school in Oregon, Emilie Adams never imagined she would become an international model. She had dreams of becoming a marine biologist or a lawyer. Then one day, while she was working at a summer job in a mall, she was scouted by a woman representing a modeling agency. “I thought she was crazy, but she was really persistent,” says Adams. “My parents didn’t support me at first. They thought I was going to get hooked on drugs or be sold into white slavery. My mom’s a police sergeant and she did a background check on the agency and found it was reputable.”

That was 13 years ago and Adams hasn’t looked back since. She has been featured in numerous magazines, including Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue, TV commercials, catalogues, fashion shows and she even sort of fulfilled her marine biology dream by doing an underwater photo shoot for German magazine Stern. Adams’ work has taken her to New York, Paris, Milan, Spain, Germany and, since 2000, four times to Japan.

“The work here is pretty steady, but it’s a little different from New York,” she says. “Before I do photo shoots or commercials, I have casting appointments with clients. When you are casting in New York, your personality matters. Clients will talk to you. In Japan, they can’t talk to me like that. So they just ask me to make some catalogue poses on the spot and it often feels ridiculous.”

Recently, Adams has appeared in Priv, a magazine for women who like to travel, did a catalogue for Mitsukoshi, and appeared with Orlando Bloom in a commercial for hair gel. In addition to modeling for the Team agency, Adams, who studied acting in New York, did a play in Tokyo. “It was an English-language drama called “The Last Christmas,” based in a newsroom. I was the weathergirl, but not a dumb blonde bimbo,” she says.

Indeed, people all too often have the wrong image of models. “People are surprised by how unfabulous I am,” says Adams who describes her fashion style as preppy. “They are expecting me to be a little bit dumb, self-absorbed, materialistic. There are models who are complete train wrecks. They go out every night, do drugs and show up to work late, but they don’t have a long successful career.”

Adams has more long-term goals. “Fashion shows don’t pay much money but they are a good platform for young models to get exposure. The other work is more lucrative. In Japan, there is an age limit for models, but not in the U.S. For TV commercials and catalogues, there is always a demand for older models.” Adams also has a certification to teach yoga instructors which she did in New York. “I would like to do a yoga workshop in Japan if I can find a studio. I am doing one in Hong Kong in April. It’s difficult with my unpredictable schedule to do teaching on a regular basis.”

Active in charity, Adams has done events for the American Cancer Society and run in marathons to raise funds for diabetes. “One year in New York, we brought girls from the Make-A-Wish Foundation and let them experience being models for a day and made them a portfolio.” Her latest project is to raise funds to build wells in Africa and Asia where there is no clean water. “Some 1.1 billion people in the world are living without access to clean water and 80% of all diseases in these places are caused by contaminated water. My goal is to change the world, and I am doing it one person, or one well, at a time.”