Shu Qi Conquers Europe

Shu Qi has conquered Europe. Well, by way of speaking anyway.

This picture shows a cosmetics advertisement spread inside a popular women's monthly for sale in Belgium and the Netherlands last month, but Shu Qi's face had a much higher visibility.

The ad for Kenzo with her picture was all over bus stops in Belgium, as far as I could gather. By early May, when I wanted to snap a bus stop, it had already been replaced, but still, it's quite a feat for a Taiwanese or Asian star to be on view so prominently.

I don't have any illusions about her name recognition, though. I'm sure if you asked passersby about the identity of the woman in the ad, you would receive more questions than answers. A lonely soul might have answered Zhang Ziyi because that's the only Asian star they know, and Shu Qi is hardly a household name in Europe. Her only European movie so far was 'The Transporter' with British action hardface Jason Statham, and that was hardly a hit.

But while we continue to hope for a breakthrough for Asian stars and in particular for talent from Taiwan, it's still worth a positive rating that Shu made it this far. And her name begins with an S, so she belongs right here on this blog.