Geeling Ching, a New Zealander, says that starring as the 'China Girl' in David Bowie's video changed her life, although she did headbutt him by mistake.

Ching was a 23-year-old waitress in a Sydney café when she was picked to star opposite Bowie in the MTV award-winning video. The experience, coupled with a romance with Bowie, changed her life. She told the Associated Press:

"It’s had the biggest influence on my life that I could have ever imagined.

"There was something quite other-worldly about him. He was beautiful. Just beautiful.”

The video was banned in a few countries at the time including her home country due to a naked scene. Ching revealed:

"We got up at 3 in the morning to shoot that, to catch the sunrise, and it’s the least sexy I’ve ever been in my life.

During one scene she accidentally headbutted Bowie but nothing was broken. 

A romance followed the shoot and he invited her to join him on his European tour. She was struck by the artist's intelligence and how relaxed he was when he met fans. She regularly travelled on a private jet and revealed:

"It was completely surreal"

After the tour, she starred in 'Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome but returned to the hospitality trade where she is now the manageress of a restaurant in Auckland.

In 2007, she ran the New York City Marathon, listening to Bowie’s 'Heroes' album as she crossed the finish line.

Ching didn’t make contact with Bowie again until he played in New Zealand in 2004. He was doing a photo shoot with executives backstage when he saw her. She said:

“His face lit up. He walked away from the photos and said, ‘Geeling, you’re here! Fantastic.'”

Speaking after his death to the New Zealand Herald, Geeling said:

"I'm blessed to have been part of that incredible talent, with someone who has changed the world of music ... not just music, but the face of fashion, makeup, everything.

'It was so special. The time I spent with David I would never trade for anything."

'China Girl' appeared on Bowie's 'Let's Dance' album which he co-produced with Nile Rodgers. Rodgers recently said that he was surprised Bowie used the guitar riff in the song as he thought it was too clichéd.

David Bowie wrote the 1982 hit, 'China Girl', with Iggy Pop.

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Watch the 'China Girl' video and David Bowie perform the song and other hits on VH1 Storytellers below: