Produced by Slickforce Studio
Styling by Al Ingram
Makeup by Gaby Ramos
We know it's not proper to brag, but 2NR's launched its share of stars over the years. Back in November '02 we had a little Vietnamese hottie on our cover named Tila Nguyen, who most of the world knows today as Tila Tequila from A Shot at Love. In August '05 it was Leah Dizon, who later went on to blow up the J-pop billboards in her homeland of Japan. Three months later was the beautiful Ursula Mayes, who pwned import modeling before signing on with Deal or no Deal. And all those Falken Tire models in the Formula D photos you lust over? Most got their start with us.
We could cite the past for years (we have for the past 12 years), but this month we have another rising star in our midst: California's own Ayanna Jordan. Now a two-year veteran of the import scene, you've seen her in SEMA, HIN and SpoCom coverage, and on the pages of Show East and Maxim. But as she'd be reluctant to admit, it's small potatoes compared to the sights and sounds of her the future has in store for all of us. We wish her all the best . . . as long as she doesn't call us "small potatoes" once she's at the top.
[AJ] How about I got a ticket the other day on my way to our photoshoot!
[2NR] No way? That's awesome. [sarcastic] WTH happened?
So I'm going 80, and in the fast lane, alone . . .
In your Honda Civic.
Yeah, and this guy merges and gets right in front of me out of nowhere. He has the whole entire road, but decides he needs to get in front of me and drive, like, 70. So I passed him-hard.
You passed him on the right?
Yeah, and I specifically looked for cops before I did it, too. But I guess I missed one, and he pulled me over.
Nice. What did you say?
He was pissed! I explained to him that the guy cut me off, but he was all, "No. You cut him off."
Which you did.
Yeah, but only because he deserved it. And then the cop started hitting on me! He was asking me where I worked, and then when I told him it was at a club, he was like, 'Oh, maybe I'll stop by.' As he was writing me a ticket! I was thinking, 'Yea buddy, stop by. I'll make sure you have a great time.' But seriously, who gets pulled over for that? I think it was because I'm dark.
Or because you were driving a Civic. Or both. So you're Indian, but sound totally SoCal. Where were you were born?
In Bombay, and we moved here when I was two. I've been back once, but want to go back more often once I have the time and money.
What's your biggest pet peeve about people misunderstanding your culture?
The Kama Sutra! [laughter] People always ask about it, if we practice it, and they think we're constantly having tantric sex or whatever-it's silly. There's so much more to Indian culture than just that. But regardless, I'm American now. I'm proud of my background, but I've lived here my whole life. I have an Orange Country accent! Some guy even thought Indian chicks were supposed to be into other chicks. I was all, "WTF?" [laughs]
And are you?
I'm totally straight, but I can admit when another girl is hot; call it a "professional courtesy."
If it was up to me, you'd win an award for looking hot while shooting a pool scene in 50-degree weather, and not complaining about it once. How fun was that?
OMG, I was so cold and got so sick after that! But I try not to complain. I don't want to be a diva. I know how girls get and I don't want to be one of those girls. Hey, what were you and Al [stylist] talking about? UFOs?
Yes! [laughter] The whole "UFO over China" thing that was all over the news, which I think turned out to be a Minotaur rocket. You think we're alone out there?
Hell no! I don't usually buy into all the UFO sightings, but the universe is wayyy too big for there to be just us out there.
Is Ayanna Jordan a nerd?
I am a huge nerd [laughter]. I used to work at a Game Stop and once had a serious addiction to Bio Shock.
I knew it! [laughter] I was Facebook-stalking you to prepare for this interview and noticed we have some common favorite movies. Fourth Kind? How was watching that the other night?
Ahh! Soooo scary! I love that movie. OK, I won't ruin it for anyone, but there's a lot of significance with owls. And I'd never seen an owl in real life, but the night my girlfriend and I saw that movie we were walking out of her house to my car and she was like, "Did you see that? There's something in that tree." And I was all, "Shut up," you know? But as soon as I went to look, this huge owl flew right in front of us over to this house and just sat there, staring at us. I don't usually get paranoid about stuff like that, but that night I couldn't sleep. Wait . . . how did you know I was watching that the other night?