Regular readers will know of my disappointment with the seemingly curious choices Vietnam often makes to represent themselves in beauty pageants, but not in the case of Miss World Vietnam 2008 Duong Truong Thien Ly. Interestingly, she only received the title after the original (and IMHO far inferior) winner Tran Thi Thuy Dung was disqualified for being a high school drop-out! She subsequently won the People’s Choice Award, but sadly she failed to make the top 15 for the official title. She was also second runner up for Miss Universe Vietnam 2008.
She also happens to be somebody for whom both highly stylised glamour photos and far more natural and realistic photos are available, which ties in pretty nicely with what we’ve been discussing in the comments recently – examples of both are after the jump.Height: 169cm (5’7″)
Measurements: 88-64-94cm (35-25-37″)
Age: 20
A few less stylised shots, but still with makeup:
And finally, without makeup:
Here’s a video of her speaking in English:
Links:
Beauty-Queens.org article
A nice gallery (5 pages)
Another nice gallery
Related Posts:
Thuy Mai Phuong – Miss Vietnam World 2006
Classic Vietnamese Beauty: the Ao Dai (a must for admirers of Vietnamese beauty!)
A very big thankyou to Asian Sirens’ own Vietnamese beauty Acumen for her help in preparing this post. π
Now she really is a beauty. I never get some of the choices that Vietnam makes in who represents them for these pageants, but what can you do. Fantastic post.
Thanks Candyman!
BTW, when I researched this post I came across a pic of a model who was identified as Duong Truong Thien Ly, but who I’m quite sure actually isn’t:
Does anyone have any idea who she actually is? I found the pic here:
http://www.vtc.vn/vanhoa/dsvn/180845/index.htm
I just realised an interesting possibility: perhaps the Duong Truong Thien Ly who was second runner up for Miss Universe 2008 is not the same person as the Duong Truong Thien Ly who won Miss World 2008? If that’s the case, then two girls with exactly the same name were second runners up in both of the two major global beauty pageants in the same year! (And the babe in the pic above might be the other one.) Can anyone confirm or deny this?
Yeah, really beautiful. And is it just me or does she look even better without makeup?
She’s actually quite pretty. And chile149, I think it’s just you!
=)
A little too Caucasian for me, but definitely better than the original winner.
Very beautiful, but I would have never taken her for being full-blooded Vietnamese. She also looks somewhat like former Miss Korea Honey Lee, which I suppose goes to show that Asian countries’ pageant contestants are very Western-looking these days, as you can see here:
http://asian-sirens.com/blog/comments.php?id=1264_0_1_0_C
@chile149>> And is it just me or does she look even better without makeup?
I was actually thinking the same thing myself! The make-up hides some of her imperfections, but I think she looks really cute without make-up. She’s got a great smile in that pic too.
Travis’ and CEC’s comments are interesting – I can only assume you guys don’t have much experience with non-American Vietnamese. Thien Ly’s look is actually classically Viet – they are definitely the most Eurasian looking Asians. She’s an example of the sort of Vietnamese beauty Americans rarely get to see, as they are only in Viet media – hopefully with Acumen’s help I’ll be able to bring you some more.
Regarding the makeup vs. no makeup thing, I think it’s pretty clear from these shots that it can make a huge difference, and all the glamour touch-ups and such certainly result in a more dramatic and perfect look. But it doesn’t look human. I appreciate both in their own way, but for me, I really want to feel I’m looking at a real person, and I want to know what they actually look like – that’s why I chose to shoot Sachiko without makeup (apart from lipstick) or touch-ups.
I’m familiar with non-American Vietnamese. And I think many of them look too-Caucasian =).
Oh yes – you’ll notice Thien Ly looks more Asian without the makeup and touch-ups too. I think that’s because glamour photography is tuned to a western aesthetic.
@Travis: if that’s how you feel about most Vietnamese, then that’s fair enough. π
Hot and pretty good English for a high school drop out.
Actually johnnie, it was the original winner who was a high school drop-out, certainly not Thien Ly!
I only registered to reply to Johnnie
@Johnnie: She isn’t a drop out, she’s currently a college student at Saint Maryβs College which is in San Francisco.
Those pix up there ain’t her best. π
That’s interesting – I was aware she’d studied in the US previoulsy (in San Antonio), but I wasn’t aware she was studying there now.
@TS: The French were in Vietnam in a big way from 1859 until 1955 – nearly a century. That’s a long period of European input to the Vietnamese gene pool, and perhaps why many modern V-girls show some Caucasian features. Ms. Thien Ly is 1.69 m (5’5″), which is tall for a SE Asian girl. It’s possible she has European genes in her background.
shes aight
Yes, what urgal says is indeed correct, and may be why they look so Eurasian. Whatever the reason, it’s a very pleasing result IMHO. π
Oh yes – I think you’ll find 169cm is closer to 5’7″.
Once again, urgal, I am familiar with the Eurasian look of Vietnam. But thanks anyway.
I like the less Eurasian Vietnamese QUITE a lot though. There are less of them, but they rock my socks.
I don’t think urgal is saying you aren’t familiar with it – he is merely providing an explanation as to why.
I agree with the doctor; too much makeup is too made up.
She is cute! And I dig natural dark hair too!!! Great smiles are also bonus
for me she looks better in clothes than in the swimsuit, the imposter fills out her bikini quite nicely
She could pass for a Filipina (mestiza); which is a good thing except some are always complaining they don’t look Asian enough. I also agree that she looks more Asian with less or no make-up.
Very cute, but I wouldn’t call her gorgeous. (I would call her, though).
But she wouldn’t answer.
hey doc, i know you dig viet girls but as a viet dude…this girl aint cutting it. i have seen much much pretty viet girls in good ole HoChiMinh city..somehow she just doesnt do it for moi π
I agree with Luke72 – I kept the bikini shots to a minimum (even though I knew you guys want skin) because I really think she looks better in clothes. But the “imposter” – damn, is she hot in a bikini! Could somebody please tell me who she really is?
@LawBoy: I know there are much hotter ones, but sadly the most gorgeous Viet girls rarely model it seems (I guess they just marry themselves off to some rich guy). I actually have another really hot one (along with the “imposter” above), but I just can’t find any info on her. You’re a fluent Viet speaker LawBoy – maybe you should do the research for me. π
Here, I’ll help you out, Doc. I think her name is Lam Thu Hang, not absolutely sure though. Here is a quick google search
http://images.google.com.au/images?hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&um=1&q=lam+thu+hang&sa=N&start=0&ndsp=20
If you like her, then you might like this one as well,
http://images.google.com.au/images?hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&um=1&q=ha+anh&sa=N&start=0&ndsp=20
Oh, and have you seen any Mai Phuong Thuy’s photos recently? She invested in some boobs it seems, they were barely there before and now they are enormous. Maybe you will like her better now, Dr.Lee *winks, winks*
http://www.blognhanh.com/entry/Vong_1_boc_lua_cua_Mai_Phuong_Thuy/207
Thanks mineo – I actually investigated the posibility that it might be Lam Thu Hang earlier myself (I went through the Miss Universe Vietnam 2008 finalists), but concluded it almost certainly wasn’t her – her skin tone is too dark, and both her body and face aren’t as thin as the girl I’m after either. I suspect this girl is probably an uknown who didn’t even make the finals, which is tragic!
You are absolutely right about Mai Phuong Thuy though – I do like her a lot better now! I might have to do a follow-up article. π
This girl is cute. She does a lot of different looks well.
She sort of has that sexy neighbor across the street look too her. Maybe call it the sexy girl nextdoor look. Always wishing you could see more of her.
I, too, first thought of a Filipina when I saw her pix. After my marriage in Davao and living in the city for nearly a year, I became familiar with the mestiza look of so many Filipinas. It’s culturally encouraged in The Phil to marry a Caucasian especially because it tends to result in such attractive children. So many Filipina models and actresses share a mixed heritage that it’s no accident to see contestants in pageants being of mixed heritage. My wife’s cousin is currently competing in regional competitions for Miss Philippines and the judging clearly favors the mixed heritage contestants (being tall helps, too!). I wonder if any of the same criteria are applied in other Asian countries for contestants.
Wonderful girl from Vietnam. I like her, with or with out make up. She has beauty which is hidden behind those things, I don’t know what it is. But I think her smile.
Oh dear. Pretty enough – fangs excepted – but just totally palid & sexless.