Metinee Kingpayome arrived in Bangkok on her twentieth birthday.Born in Maryland and raised in New York Metropolis by Thai immigrant dad and mom, Kingpayome had solely visited Thailand twice as a baby.That journey again to Thailand in 1992 marked greater than only a birthday milestone; it marked the start of her new life.”It was one thing particular,” Kingpayome, now 53, informed Enterprise Insider. “One thing that may change my life without end.”Troubled teenage yearsRaised in a working-class neighborhood in Queens, Kingpayome was round 9 when her dad and mom separated. Because the oldest of 4 — and the one daughter — she usually took on the accountability of taking care of the home.
A younger Metinee carrying two of her brothers.
Offered by Metinee Kingpayome.
“My brothers had been nonetheless fairly younger, so I had to assist my mother at a really younger age,” Kingpayome stated.She spent her childhood in a tight-knit Thai-American neighborhood, and her mom enrolled her in Sunday faculty to assist her be taught Thai.At residence, her mother spoke to her of their native language.”She was very conventional, and he or she tried to lift me in that manner,” Kingpayome stated. “We clashed rather a lot. You spend 16 hours a day talking English, residing the Western life, and you then come residence, and your mother is tremendous strict.”Her teenage years had been particularly tough. By 14, she was entering into hassle and clashing along with her mom. She barely made it by means of highschool.A wake-up name got here when the boy she was relationship in her late teenagers received arrested. Working a dead-end job as a waitress in a Thai restaurant, she knew one thing needed to change.
“I simply felt like, OK, this isn’t figuring out. There’s received to be extra,” Kingpayome stated.
An previous picture of Kingpayome and her mom.
Offered by Metinee Kingpayome.
She’d all the time been drawn to trend and determined to strive modeling. However within the early ’90s, the business favored blonde hair and blue eyes — a magnificence normal that she did not match.Decided not to surrender, she determined to present Thailand a whirl. Only for six months, she informed herself.She booked a one-way ticket, moved in with an aunt, and entered a magnificence pageant. A number of months later, she gained Miss Thailand World 1992.An sudden magnificence queenKingpayome says she did not intend to be a magnificence queen, however modeling was aggressive.”I believed that may be an excellent stepping stone,” she stated. “Pageantry was enormous again within the ’80s and ’90s. So I entered a magnificence pageant, not anticipating to win, however then gained.”
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Profitable the crown modified the whole lot. She was thrust into the highlight and, on the finish of the yr, represented Thailand at Miss World 1992, the place she was topped Continental Queen of Asia and Oceania.The transition from being unknown to a recognizable face was robust to navigate, particularly for somebody nonetheless discovering her footing in a brand new nation.Thai society was extra conservative on the time, and ladies had been typically anticipated to be extra reserved, she stated.”Hastily, I’ve to be this very correct, well mannered girl, and I struggled with that for a yr,” Kingpayome stated. “Being born and rising up within the States, I used to be very, very vocal.”As soon as her pageant contract was up, she began modeling.
Pageantry grew to become a manner for Kingpayome to interrupt into the modeling world in Thailand.
Natthawut Taeja for BI.
Within the late ’90s, Kingpayome was featured in promoting campaigns for manufacturers similar to Lux Cleaning soap and Sony. Since then, she’s additionally appeared on the covers of the Thai editions of Vogue, Elle, and Harper’s Bazaar, amongst many others.Kingpayome says she stood out within the business due to her daring trend decisions, similar to collaborating in photoshoots whereas sporting swimsuits.”I felt I used to be a part of the motion the place issues had been beginning to shift from conservative to trendy,” Kingpayome stated.’I used to be all the time skilled’Not like the “sabai sabai” Thai lifestyle, the place locals usually undertake a relaxed, go-with-the-flow perspective, Kingpayome stated her work ethic set her aside.”If the decision time’s eight. I am there at seven-thirty. It would not matter how hungover I’m. I’d seem like crap, however I used to be there,” she stated. “I used to be all the time skilled.”Nonetheless, it took time to persuade her household of her profession decisions, as they struggled to grasp the character of her work.It was solely years later, when her mom finally relocated to Bangkok from the US, that she started to grasp, particularly as soon as Kingpayome began bringing her alongside to photoshoots.”She’s like, oh, OK. You are not truly taking off your garments,” Kingpayome stated, recalling her mom’s response.Buying and selling covers and catwalks for motherhood and a slower lifeYoung, impartial, and all of a sudden in demand, Kingpayome’s life in Thailand took off.”I labored exhausting, however I performed tougher as a result of, as a teen, I by no means had that form of life. Once I left New York, I used to be solely beginning to be authorized to go clubbing and stuff,” she stated.
Kingpayome has constructed a profitable profession in modeling and showbiz. On this picture, she is strolling on the runway throughout Bangkok Worldwide Vogue Week.
Matt Hunt/SOPA Pictures/LightRocket through Getty Pictures
Every thing in Thailand felt so totally different and new, she added.”I form of received misplaced within the social gathering scene, and my profession was taking off. I used to be in each trend present. I used to be on each cowl of each journal. It was similar to, wow, oh my God, I like this life,” she saidIn addition to modeling, she additionally constructed a profitable profession in present enterprise, working as a TV presenter and showing in quite a few Thai films and TV reveals.Her fast-paced life-style lasted almost a decade earlier than she started to really feel burned out and determined to decelerate.In her mid-thirties, she received married and later had her son, who’s now 16 and a aggressive swimmer. The wedding led to a divorce, however she nonetheless co-parents along with her ex.Lately, she’s served as a mentor and decide on modeling actuality reveals and has coached contestants within the Miss Universe Thailand pageant.In 2021, she established a modeling academy along with her brother known as Muse by Metinee.”We use runway modeling as a instrument to assist individuals achieve confidence. So our youngest pupil is 4 years previous, and my oldest pupil, who remains to be with us, is 59,” Kingpayome stated.A lot of her college students are children who’ve been bullied or who’ve low shallowness, and seeing them get away of their shells and change into extra assured has been rewarding, she added.
Kingpayome can also be a champion for LGBTQ+ rights in Thailand. On this picture, she’s strolling in a trend present marking the beginning of Pleasure Month in Bangkok.
Lauren DeCicca/Getty Pictures
Since pageantry remains to be massive in Thailand, she additionally coaches males, girls, and members of the LGBTQ+ neighborhood who aspire to compete. The academy has since expanded to incorporate a modeling company.Jack Titus, the winner of Mister Mannequin Worldwide 2025, who additionally grew up straddling each American and Thai cultures, informed BI that his coaching on the academy was “the spine” of his efficiency within the pageant.”From the way in which we walked to the way in which we spoke, each second was designed to arrange us for the world stage,” Titus stated. “The self-discipline, presence, and emotional resilience I gained at Muse performed a large function in that win.”Thailand, alwaysOver three a long time later, Kingpayome remains to be considered one of Thailand’s largest stars.Parisa Pichitmarn, a millennial journalist based mostly in Bangkok, informed BI that she has all the time admired Kingpayome.”She comes throughout as a powerful girl who’s skilled and likewise would not take any crap,” Pichitmarn stated.Manorat Sangsuk, a Thai Gen X finance specialist, informed BI that within the ’90s, loads of the fashions had been half Western and half Thai, and having somebody who “simply seemed Thai” was refreshing. “She’s fairly cool in her personal manner — you understand, not like candy, light, conventional Thai sort.”
Three a long time on, Kingpayome remains to be one of many largest celebrities in Thailand.
Natthawut Taeja for BI.
It is exhausting to say whether or not Kingpayome would have loved the identical stage of success if she had stayed within the US.”Since you’re a tiny fish in an enormous pond, whereas in Thailand, I used to be an enormous fish in a tiny pond. So it was very totally different,” she stated.Lately, Kingpayome lives in Bangkok and considers herself to be extra Thai than American.”Once I return to America, I really feel I am visiting. I do not really feel prefer it’s residence,” she stated.She used to go to the US extra usually, particularly when her son was youthful. However now, along with her mom and two of her brothers residing in Thailand, there’s much less purpose to return. Just one brother stays in New York, nonetheless residing within the Queens condominium all of them grew up in.Years from now, Kingpayome says she would possibly find yourself residing by the seashore, working a small bed-and-breakfast. Or she would possibly transfer to wherever her son decides to reside when he will get older.”However I feel my life is in Thailand,” she added.Do you may have a narrative about transferring to Asia that you simply need to share? Get in contact with the editor: akarplus@businessinsider.com.
