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by Doug Jones
Actress Hélène Cardona in a Sue Wong design, photo by John Michael Ferrari, make-up by Miki Chang for Models Best Friend
Actress Hélène Cardona photo by John Michael Ferrari, hair by Stephanie Wilcox for Models BFF
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From all of the gowns to choose from, Actress Hélène Cardona selected a Sue Wong gown for her Models Best Friend episode as well as for Oscars night. Good choice. Sue Wong is a Designer Extraordinare: Beauty. Magic. Transformation. Sue Wong lives to spread glamour and beauty! Her designs are romantic and timeless.
Actress Hélène Cardona selects Sue Wong gown for Oscars
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Models BFF weaves footage from photo shoot, make-up and hair prep, and an inside glimpse of Sue Wong’s studio with interviews with actress Hélène Cardona, designer Sue Wong, photographer John Michael Ferrari, make-up artist Miki Chang, hair stylist Stephanie Wilcox, and stylist Linel Cooper.
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A little about the talented Actress & Poet Hélène Cardona:
Actress Hélène Cardona trained at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and with Ellen Burstyn at the Actors’ Studio in New York. Her first play was Wild Honey by Chekhov (Sofya) , her first movie role was in One Fine Day, in which she had a very funny scene opposite Michelle Pfeiffer, and her first TV roles were on One Life to Live, Another World and the TV series Law & Order. <p< < p=””> </p< <>
Hélène was very fortunate to work with Lawrence Kasdan in Mumford playing the raw and very emotionally charged role of Candy, 
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portraying an abused woman who is beaten by her husband and finds the strength to escape him.
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Probably most famous for her role of Françoise “Fuffi” in Chocolat Helene Cardona in Chocolat, a role Hélène enjoyed the most because the character is so playful.
Chocolat poster with Helene Cardona and Carrie-Anne Moss
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Also a voice-over actress, Hélène was Adélie Penguin in Happy Feet 2. 
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Actress Hélène Cardona photo by John Michael Ferrari for Models Best Friend
A poet and published author, Hélène Cardona’s works include: <p< < p=””> </p< <>
Books
Dreaming My Animal Selves (Salmon Poetry, 2013)
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The Astonished Universe (Red Hen Press, 2006)
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Life In Suspension (forthcoming from Tupelo Press) <p< < p=””> </p< <>
Literary Journals
Hélène’s poems have appeared in The Warwick Review, Washington Square, The Enchanting Literary Verses, Recours au Poème, Levure Littéraire, Radical Magazine, The Los Angeles Review, Mythic Passages, The American Center for Artists, Askew Poetry Journal, Barnwood Mag, Spillway, Pirene’s Fountain, Mediterranean Poetry, qarrtsiluni, Maintenant 5: A Dada Poetry Journal, Saint Julian Press, TRHUSH Poetry Journal, From the Fishouse, Maintenant 6, Poetry International, The Lascaux Review and The Passionate Transitory. <p< < p=””> <p< < p=””> </p< <></p< <>
For a complete list of Hélène Cardona’s Anthologies and Translations, please visit HeleneCardona.com/ <p< < p=””> </p< <>
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A little about the amazing Designer Sue Wong:
Sue Wong lives for one thing: To spread galmour and beauty! Her designs are as timeless as they are romantic flattering, and lyrical. Sue’s fashions work a kind of magic, drawing on a potion of mystique and seduction. Sue Wong’s designs take on a power of their own.
Sue Wong photographed by John Michael Ferrari 2013
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“When a woman puts on Sue Wong, I want to bring out her most confident and feminine self. I strive for that alchemy, where the romance of the clothing transforms a woman into a goddess; an emissary of beauty.” – Sue Wong
Sue Wong in her studio photographed by John Michael Ferrari
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Sue Wong was born in rural Southern China in 1949.
Baby Sue Wong in China with her Mother
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Sue Wong’s family escaped to Hong Kong and finally immigrated to Los Angeles in 1995, when Sue was at the age of six.
Sue Wong arrives in the United States
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As a youngster in California, she wanted to pursue a career in fine arts. Although she was won a scholarship to the prestigious California Institute of the Arts after high school, her parents wanted her to become an accountant, or a teacher. Hence, Sue Wong was never formally trained in fashion. But her design talent won out in the end.
Sue Wong in studio photo by John Michael Ferrari
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Sue Wong has become a prolific designer who has been able to blend her relentless energy with creativity, organization and humanity. <p< < p=””> </p< <>
Within a month of enrolling in a fashion program at Los Angeles Technical College, she was awarded a scholarship from Arpeja, a hip fashion company for younger women. In less than a year, she decided to trade her education for a full-time job as a designer in Arpeja’s sportswear division. <p< < p=””> </p< <>
Later, she became lead designer at Arpeja, taking the company’s sales from $3 million to $51 million in three short years. <p< < p=””> </p< <>
Sue is now the creative force behind Sue Wong, Inc. <p< < p=””> </p< <>
In 1999, Sue created an evening wear division, Sue Wong Nocturne, just in time for the millennium. <p< < p=””> </p< <>
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A little information on photographer John Michael Ferrari. As a photographer and director of photography, John has worked with many of the top models and up and coming film-makers of today. His photography graces CD covers (i.e., “Minor Matters,” for Peoples Republic) and movie posters (i.e. “Redemption,” for Agenda Pictures). Sample of John’s still photography may be found at Images By Ferrari <p< < p=””> </p< <>
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For more information on Actress Hélène Cardona, please visit HeleneCardona.com/
and at Hélène Cardona on IMDb <p< < p=””> <p< < p=””> </p< <></p< <>
To learn more about Designer Sue Wong, please visit
SueWong.com <p< < p=””> <p< < p=””> </p< <></p< <>
To contact Photographer John Michael Ferrari, please visit Images By Ferrari <p< < p=””> <p< < p=””> </p< <></p< <>
Make_up artist “Miki Chang loves collaboration and enjoys having a playful outlook for the tasks at hand. She can be contacted through her website at MikiChangmua.com”
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AnaMaria Benavides
A VERY SPECIAL THANK YOU to our Models BFF line producer AnaMaria Benavides for a terrific job putting the many aspects of this episode of Models Best Friend successfully together. Born and raised in Transylvania-Romania, Anamaria Luta Benavides decided to teach herself English and come to US to pursue a higher education and follow her dreams of telling stories through the powerful medium of Film & Television. For more than a decade she has has the opportunity to work on various projects as she continues to explore and learn the different aspects of the entertainment & film industry. You can follow more of her journey and as well as future projects via twitter @harajuku_egl <p< < p=””> </p< <>
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Models Best Friend stylist, Linel Cooper, is a Jamaican-born fashion-stylist / wardrobe consultant who has lived and worked in Milan, Rome and Florence Italy, and now currently living in Los Angeles California.
He specializes in fine-tuning one’s personal style, whether doing a high-fashion photo-shoot
or helping a business person create a distinctive professional look.
Linel may be contacted at linelcooper@yahoo.com <p< < p=””> </p< <>
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Actress Hélène Cardona photo by John Michael Ferrari
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Producer Pepper Jay and Designer Sue Wong photo by John Michael Ferrari
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Models Best Friend or Models BFF is a show on Actors Entertainment, a site on the Actors Podcast Network, a Pepper Jay Production.
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helenecardona
Fabulous show everyone!!!! Loved it! Thanks a million Pepper Jay, John Michael Ferrari, Sue Wong, Anamarie Ani, Miki Chang, Stephanie Wilcox and Linel Cooper.