Early life
Aoki was born in New York City though she grew up in California, and attended high school in London. Her Japanese father, Rocky Aoki, a former Olympic wrestler, is the owner of the Benihana restaurant chain. Her mother, Pamela Hilburger, is a jewelry designer of English and German heritage. Her brother, Steve Aoki, is a well-known Los Angeles, California DJ, and is the head of the Dim Mak record label. She also has a sister.
Aoki was discovered in New York at a Rancid concert she had gatecrashed. She began modeling at the age of fourteen.
Career
She has modelled for the fashion houses Lancôme, Chanel, and Versace. Aoki is 5 ft 5 in (165cm, according to celebheights.com) — an almost unheard of height for runway models, who are usually at least 5 ft 8 in tall — and is known as the world's shortest supermodel.
Early on in her career Aoki made a cameo appearance in Duran Duran's music video "Electric Barbarella", Ginuwine's "In Those Jeans" video and, later, in Ludacris's "Act a Fool". Music from this video was featured in the soundtrack of 2 Fast 2 Furious, which Ludacris and Aoki both appeared in. In 2006, she made an appearance in The Killers's video "Bones". Aoki has also made a cameo appearance in the short films accompanying the new Sean Lennon album, Friendly Fire.
Her film career includes films like 2 Fast 2 Furious, D.E.B.S., Sin City and Dead or Alive. She did not have her driver's license prior to filming 2 Fast 2 Furious and had to learn to drive during filming.
