Kojii Helnwein
Encyclopedia
Kojii Helnwein , born January 8, is a model
, actress and musician
.
) and holistic healing mother.Kojii has one brother who is also a bassist
and trained in holistic health.
Kojii was raised in Tallaght
in South Dublin
. She studied Technical Stage Training and worked as a freelance Stage Manager for four years in Irish theatres and a Parisian Circus. Through her work as a Stage Manager, Kojii was introduced to the possibility of life as a model while visiting Los Angeles
.
In 2004, Kojii met her husband, fine-art photographer Cyril Helnwein when she posed for his "Ethereal" series. Cyril Helnwein is the eldest son of Austria
n artist
Gottfried Helnwein
.
On the winter solstice
, December 21, 2005, their first daughter Croí Sequoia Helnwein was born. On April 7, 2011, she gave birth to their second daughter Éala Cheyenne.
Kojii and Cyril live with their daughter in Los Angeles
and also spend each Summer at the Helnwein Castle in Tipperary, Ireland
.
After her first modeling job for John Rocha
Kojii began working full time in print, runway
, and commercial modeling.
Print
She has been seen in numerous magazines, including, Fit Pregnancy
, Women's Wear Daily
, Cosmopolitan
, Elle
, BPM
, Prudence, Tatler and Vogue
. She has appeared in adverts and catalogs for companies such as, O.P.I., Got2b, Louis Verdad, Ed Hardy, Coca Cola, Toni and Guy and Gap
.
Commercial
Kojii appears in national commercials in the USA for clients such as Target
, Mitsubushi
, Comcast
, Marshalls
and in Ireland
for clients such as O2, Pigsback and TV3. Kojii has become known in Ireland
for a long-standing appearance in a TV3 ident
where she is featured singing the networks jingle. This ident is viewable on Kojii Helnwein's YouTube page.
Runway
Kojii's runway
clients have included Prada
, Jimmy Choo
, Jeffrey Sebelia
, Eduardo Lucero
, A-Wear, Smet, GenArt and Whitley Kros to name just a few.
TV
Kojii appears on "Project Runway (Season 6")
and the companion show "Models of the Runway" (Season 1). This show airs on Lifetime TV
August 20, 2009. Kojii has also been regularly seen on RTÉ
's Off the Rails, Late Late Show, and Live at 3, as well as TV3's Ireland AM
Representation
Kojii is represented by Click Model Management in Los Angeles for print and runway, 1st Option Models for print, commercials and runway in Ireland and Flick Commercials in Los Angeles.
Kojii sings, writes music, lyrics and plays guitar. They have appeared on Ireland's BalconyTV performing their song "Found My Jesus" and Eircom's IndieSummer.
said of them,
Model (person)
A model , sometimes called a mannequin, is a person who is employed to display, advertise and promote commercial products or to serve as a subject of works of art....
, actress and musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
.
Early Life and Family
Born in Dublin, Ireland, Kojii is the daughter of musician Enda Wyatt of Irish rock band An Emotional Fish (Atlantic RecordsAtlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
) and holistic healing mother.Kojii has one brother who is also a bassist
Bassist
A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
and trained in holistic health.
Kojii was raised in Tallaght
Tallaght
Tallaght is the largest town, and county town, of South Dublin County, Ireland. The village area, dating from at least the 17th century, held one of the earliest settlements known in the southern part of the island, and one of medieval Ireland's more important monastic centres.Up to the 1960s...
in South Dublin
South Dublin
South Dublin is a county in Ireland. It is one of three smaller counties into which County Dublin was divided in 1994. The county seat is Tallaght, the largest suburb of Dublin and the biggest urban centre in the county. Other important centres of population are Lucan and Clondalkin...
. She studied Technical Stage Training and worked as a freelance Stage Manager for four years in Irish theatres and a Parisian Circus. Through her work as a Stage Manager, Kojii was introduced to the possibility of life as a model while visiting Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
.
In 2004, Kojii met her husband, fine-art photographer Cyril Helnwein when she posed for his "Ethereal" series. Cyril Helnwein is the eldest son of Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
Gottfried Helnwein
Gottfried Helnwein
Gottfried Helnwein is an Austrian-Irish fine artist, painter, photographer, installation and performance artist.-Work:Helnwein studied at the University of Visual Art in Vienna...
.
On the winter solstice
Winter solstice
Winter solstice may refer to:* Winter solstice, astronomical event* Winter Solstice , former band* Winter Solstice: North , seasonal songs* Winter Solstice , 2005 American film...
, December 21, 2005, their first daughter Croí Sequoia Helnwein was born. On April 7, 2011, she gave birth to their second daughter Éala Cheyenne.
"Croí is the Irish word for heart, and is pronounced "kree". Sequoia is a native American name, it was also the name of a native American wise-man and scientist who invented a system for translating the many different languages of the Cherokee Indians. The big redwood trees of California and Oregon were named after him."
Kojii and Cyril live with their daughter in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and also spend each Summer at the Helnwein Castle in Tipperary, Ireland
Tipperary
Tipperary is a town and a civil parish in South Tipperary in Ireland. Its population was 4,415 at the 2006 census. It is also an ecclesiastical parish in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly, and is in the historical barony of Clanwilliam....
.
Modeling
At the age of 20, Kojii Helnwein was engaged by Rebecca Morgan of Morgan the Agency in Ireland. Kojii claims her first walking class was from a "Homeless Transvestite".After her first modeling job for John Rocha
John Rocha
John Rocha CBE, is a Hong Kong born fashion designer of Chinese and Portuguese descent who is based in Ireland.-Personal life:...
Kojii began working full time in print, runway
Runway (fashion)
Runway or catwalk describes a narrow, usually flat platform that runs into an auditorium, used by models to demonstrate clothing and accessories during a fashion show In fashion jargon, "what's on the catwalk" or similar phrasing can refer to whatever is new and popular in fashion.- Exclusive...
, and commercial modeling.
She has been seen in numerous magazines, including, Fit Pregnancy
Fit Pregnancy
Fit Pregnancy is a magazine and Web site for pregnant women and new mothers, published six times a year.- History :Fit Pregnancy was founded in 1993 by Weider Publications as a spin-off of Shape Magazine. Weider Publications was acquired by American Media, Inc...
, Women's Wear Daily
Women's Wear Daily
Women's Wear Daily is a fashion-industry trade journal sometimes called "the bible of fashion." WWD delivers information and intelligence on changing trends and breaking news in the fashion, beauty and retail industries with a readership composed largely of retailers, designers, manufacturers,...
, Cosmopolitan
Cosmopolitan (magazine)
Cosmopolitan is an international magazine for women. It was first published in 1886 in the United States as a family magazine, was later transformed into a literary magazine and eventually became a women's magazine in the late 1960s...
, Elle
Elle (magazine)
Elle is a worldwide magazine of French origin that focuses on women's fashion, beauty, health, and entertainment. Elle is also the world's largest fashion magazine. It was founded by Pierre Lazareff and his wife Hélène Gordon in 1945. The title, in French, means "she".-History:Elle was founded in...
, BPM
BPM (magazine)
BPM is an American magazine devoted to "Music, Technology, Nightlife and Style". Based in Hollywood, California, the magazine has published over 95 issues...
, Prudence, Tatler and Vogue
Vogue (magazine)
Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 18 national and one regional edition by Condé Nast.-History:In 1892 Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly publication in the United States. When he died in 1909, Condé Montrose Nast picked up the magazine and slowly began...
. She has appeared in adverts and catalogs for companies such as, O.P.I., Got2b, Louis Verdad, Ed Hardy, Coca Cola, Toni and Guy and Gap
Gap (clothing retailer)
The Gap, Inc. is an American clothing and accessories retailer based in San Francisco, California, and founded in 1969 by Donald G. Fisher and Doris F. Fisher. The company has five primary brands: the namesake Gap banner, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Piperlime and Athleta. As of September 2008,...
.
Commercial
Kojii appears in national commercials in the USA for clients such as Target
Target Corporation
Target Corporation, doing business as Target, is an American retailing company headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the second-largest discount retailer in the United States, behind Walmart. The company is ranked at number 33 on the Fortune 500 and is a component of the Standard & Poor's...
, Mitsubushi
Mitsubishi Motors
is a multinational automaker headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. In 2009 it was the fifth-largest Japan-based automaker and the 17th-largest in the world measured by production...
, Comcast
Comcast
Comcast Corporation is the largest cable operator, home Internet service provider, and fourth largest home telephone service provider in the United States, providing cable television, broadband Internet, and telephone service to both residential and commercial customers in 39 states and the...
, Marshalls
Marshalls
Marshalls, Inc., is a chain of American department stores owned by TJX Companies. Marshalls has over 750 conventional stores, as well as larger stores named Marshalls Mega Store, covering 42 states and Puerto Rico. Marshalls expanded into Canada in March 2011...
and in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
for clients such as O2, Pigsback and TV3. Kojii has become known in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
for a long-standing appearance in a TV3 ident
Station identification
Station identification is the practice of radio or television stations or networks identifying themselves on air, typically by means of a call sign or brand name...
where she is featured singing the networks jingle. This ident is viewable on Kojii Helnwein's YouTube page.
Runway
Kojii's runway
Runway (fashion)
Runway or catwalk describes a narrow, usually flat platform that runs into an auditorium, used by models to demonstrate clothing and accessories during a fashion show In fashion jargon, "what's on the catwalk" or similar phrasing can refer to whatever is new and popular in fashion.- Exclusive...
clients have included Prada
Prada
Prada S.p.A. is an Italian fashion label specializing in luxury goods for men and women , founded by Mario Prada.-Foundations:...
, Jimmy Choo
Jimmy Choo Ltd
Jimmy Choo is a British high fashion house specializing in luxury shoes, designer bags, and accessories. The company, J. Choo Limited, was founded in 1996 by couture shoe designer Jimmy Choo OBE and Vogue accessories editor Tamara Mellon OBE. In April 2001 Equinox Luxury Holdings Ltd. bought out...
, Jeffrey Sebelia
Jeffrey Sebelia
Jeffrey Sebelia is an American fashion designer and founder of the clothing label Cosa Nostra, which he headed from a loft on Broadway in downtown Los Angeles...
, Eduardo Lucero
Eduardo Lucero
Eduardo Lucero is a Los Angeles based United States fashion designer known for his vivid colors, feminine detailing, romantic and curvaceous shapes in his designs that are consistently red carpet favorites. Soft and flowy silk gowns, deep plunge fronts and backs with hits of vibrant color, is what...
, A-Wear, Smet, GenArt and Whitley Kros to name just a few.
TV
Kojii appears on "Project Runway (Season 6")
Project Runway (season 6)
The sixth season of Project Runway, a reality competition show about fashion design, premiered on Lifetime Television on August 20, 2009, the first season to be aired on that network. The production of this season started in September 2008 and finished the pre-finale filming on October 17, 2008...
and the companion show "Models of the Runway" (Season 1). This show airs on Lifetime TV
Lifetime Television
Lifetime Television, often referred to as Lifetime TV, or most commonly, Lifetime, is an American cable television specialty channel devoted to movies, sitcoms and dramas, all of which are either geared toward women or feature women in lead roles. The cable network is owned by A&E Television Networks...
August 20, 2009. Kojii has also been regularly seen on RTÉ
RTE
RTÉ is the abbreviation for Raidió Teilifís Éireann, the public broadcasting service of the Republic of Ireland.RTE may also refer to:* Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, 25th Prime Minister of Turkey...
's Off the Rails, Late Late Show, and Live at 3, as well as TV3's Ireland AM
Ireland AM
Ireland AM is Ireland's only breakfast television programme. The show is broadcast live every weekday morning by TV3 and 3e.- Early years :...
Representation
Kojii is represented by Click Model Management in Los Angeles for print and runway, 1st Option Models for print, commercials and runway in Ireland and Flick Commercials in Los Angeles.
Music
In 2006 Kojii started touring with her band, also known as Kojii in Ireland.Kojii sings, writes music, lyrics and plays guitar. They have appeared on Ireland's BalconyTV performing their song "Found My Jesus" and Eircom's IndieSummer.
Band Members
- Richard Kelly: Guitar and vocals
- Dan Burke: Bass
- Trevor Keogh: Drums and vocals
Current Songs
- Devil
- Found My Jesus
- Headlines
- Touched
- He Told Me
- Walk With Knives
- Don't Say
- Taste The Chaos
- Surprise
- Hot!
Reviews
Irish Music magazine HotpressHot Press
Hot Press is a fortnightly music and political magazine based in Dublin, Ireland founded in 1977. The magazine has been edited since its inception by Niall Stokes. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, it had a circulation of 19,215 during 2007...
said of them,
Musician, Heal Thyself
by Jackie Hayden
"Kojii are a punked-up quartet with a proper sense of bluster and who are responsible for the idents on TV3. I've stumbled on an 8-track demo from 2 years ago and it's damn fine stuff.
Vocalist Kojii is a dynamic performer, probably not very shy as such. To 'Hot" she brings heaps of anger and power and there are hints of a metallic underbelly propping up the shouty vocals and riffing guitars. "He Told Me" leans heavier on the guitars, with a Blondiesque swagger and acres of juvenile exuberance. "Found my Jesus" is slower and a little sinister and won't get them a guest spot when Benny from The Vatican next tours here. This is not music you can argue with. Better just submit."