Paula has sauntered down the catwalk with some of the world’s most well-known models, worked with noted international designers and traveled to Europe on several cultural missions. She started her career as one of the finalists in a modeling competition by a teen magazine when she was just thirteen. Two years later, she took part in Elite Model’s Look of the Year Indonesia 2003 and achieved first place, giving her the chance to represent the country in an international competition. With her height and distinctive looks, thanks to her Javanese-Chinese-Dutch heritage, Paula has carved out a name as a successful model. For two years in a row, she was a part of a fashion entourage that flew to Italy for a cultural promotion event there. She also joined renowned batik designer Ramli for an exclusive fashion show in Hamburg, Germany. In April 2012, Paula took part in a modeling competition, held in conjunction with Fashion Steps Out at Orchard, which saw famous shopping street Orchard Road transformed into a 600-meter long runway. Selected from twelve finalists from six countries around Asia, the winner of the competition not only got to take home pricey prizes, but also acquired the title of the Next Face of Asia. The winner also got the right to be the face of this year’s FSO. The winner also happened to be Paula. She has walked numerous events and fashion shows for prominent Indonesian designers such as Biyan, Sapto Djojokartiko, Denny Wirawan, and Tex Saverio to name a few. She also has graced the cover of Dewi, Female, Femina, Harper’s Bazaar, DestinAsian and others. Besides being in high demand for runway shows and fashion shoots, Paula has also been the face of a number of product advertisements. Though Paula has been a model since 2001, she has not always been tremendously successful, “I was overweight for my height when I started modeling professionally, and I was still living in Semarang so I was not always able to go casting and get the jobs in Jakarta. Five, six years ago, I would wonder what it would feel like to walk the well-known Indonesian designers like Sebastian Gunawan or Biyan runway shows. I moved to Jakarta from Semarang in 2005 and there was a whole year where I couldn’t really get my modeling career going,” she says. But at the end of 2006, she decided to take control of the situation by working out and having a proper diet. Saying, ”I’m not one of those lucky girls who can eat all they want and stay thin,” In 2018, together with fellow Indonesian models, Laura Muljadi, Kelly Tandiono and Dominique Diyose, Paula co-founded supermodels project, an education and development institution that promotes the introduction, understanding, and depth of knowledge and expertise in the areas of modeling, acting, and public speaking.
Personal life
Born in Semarang, on September 18, 1987, Paula is the daughter of Eddy Verhoeven and Herlina T.H. She is The eldest of three girls. In July 2018, she has become a public spotlight and media headline after being engaged to famous Indonesian Actor and TV Personality, Baim Wong, Just after only dated for three months. The couple tied the knot on November 2018.
