Sucker Punch star Jamie Chung shows her sophisticated side in a photoshoot - no swords in sight

By Deborah Arthurs
Last updated at 8:17 PM on 5th April 2011
She's currently soaring onto the big screen as gun-toting pilot Amber in the violent and controversial teen sexcapade Sucker Punch. But in new images released this week from Women's Wear Daily, rising star Jamie Chung proves that she is just as adept at modelling as she is at mutilation.
The 27-year-old actress is the star of a photoshoot in WWD's Accessories magazine, striking a pose in statement jewellery.

Sucker Punch star Jamie Chung strikes a pose in statement jewellery, proving she's as good at modelling as she is at mutilation

Accessorise all areas: Sucker Punch star Jamie Chung strikes a pose in statement jewellery, proving she's as good at modelling as she is at mutilation

In an interview with the magazine, the petite star shares the secret to her toned figure: the arduous weapons training she underwent as preparation for her role in Sucker Punch.

'Within one month we’d gotten so ridiculously ripped, we were deadlifting 180 pound,' she tells WWD.
'There was crying at times. There was throwing up. It was pretty gnarly, but it helped build this camaraderie. When you suffer together like that, you celebrate together.'

A girl's girl: The WWD shoot sees Jamie, 27, swap the comic-strip combat gear for Monique Lhuilier, Gucci and Versace

A girl's girl: The WWD shoot sees Jamie, 27, swap the comic-strip combat gear for Monique Lhuillier, Gucci and Versace

It's clear there's a much more robust side of Jamie than the sophisticated version posing in designer velvet and Swarovski gems.
Swapping the comic-strip combat gear for Monique Lhuillier, Gucci and Versace, Jamie is in her element.
'I’m a girl’s girl,' she says. 'I love to dress up.'
Her favourite designers are Rodarte and Alexander Wang, 'because they are edgy and out of the box — and you can’t go wrong with Chanel.'

Screen gem: Jamie admits that her stint on the Real World helped pay off her college education - it also propelled her into the public eye

Thanks to the pay cheques she has taken home for the Sucker Punch (and the three films she has featured in since), Chung can afford to keep herself in couture. But it wasn't always all designer labels and jewels for the star.

Back when she was an impoverished student, Chung admits she worked two jobs to pay for college, one of which was waiting tables in a sports bar.

It was this drive for financial independence that led her to apply to the MTV reality show The Real World.
'The Real World was free rent and getting paid to do something fun,' she told WWD.

Kick-ass toughness: Jamie Chung as Amber in hit teen flick Sucker Punch

'Ultimately it paid off my college education.'
Of course, that wasn't all. The role also propelled her into the public eye, helping her to gain the notoriety she now enjoys as star of one of the most talked-about films of the moment. And this May she'll become yet more famous, as she stars in the much anticipated sequel The Hangover II.
Her star is in the ascendant - and it's not hard to see why. Her down-to-earth yet desirable demeanour plus her kick-ass toughness make her attractive to teens, men and women alike.
She's one reality star whose 15 minutes is set to last a whole lot longer.