Joey Mead or Rosa Josefa Mead is an Australian television personality and Model born in the Philippines.
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Mead has a Filipina mother, Josephine del Pilar Mead. Her biological father is of Persian descent.[1] When she was 6, she and her mother settled Adelaide, Australia,with her Australian stepfather Leslie Bertram Mead. She was raised in Australia till she was 15, hence her rhotic Australian English accent.
Currently based in the Philippines, Mead can speak basic Tagalog and understands pure Tagalog.
She was a video jockey for Channel [V] International in Hong Kong from 1996 to 2000. With over 30 Philippine magazine covers ,she has done numerous TV commercials,Ad campaigns & magazine covers in Singapore, Malaysia,Thailand, Japan & Indonesia. She has lived & worked in New York as a Ford model & is currently with Ford Los Angeles & San Francisco.
Mead was the first Philippine model to lead in a Head & shoulders shampoo commercial,and a Lexus car commercial both aired in the United States and Canada.
In 2008, a photo of Mead wearing the Philippine flag as a body suit in a magazine cover caused an uproar in local media. In defense, Mead said:
Yes, I wore a representation of the Philippine flag on a magazine cover. This image for me is something that is inspiring, the same way sports brands have produced their Philippine flag-inspired track sports jackets and limited edition shoes. It is the same logic why people put Philippine flag or map tattoos on their bodies...
When you’ve done as many magazine covers as I have, you’d want to do something that meant more to you — this means a lot to me, it represents my work, and I’m not embarrassed about the female form. I wanted to make a statement. I wanted to be part of something that breaks the “rules” and provoke people to think and feel...[1]
Of her work, Mead has said, "I’m a proud female Filipina, and I want women to feel the same way.[1]"