She Left the US and Moved to Thailand, The place She Turned a Magnificence Queen

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 toddler.

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, instructed Enterprise Insider. “One thing that will change my life perpetually.”

Troubled teenage years

Raised 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 duty of taking care of the home.

“My brothers had been nonetheless fairly younger, so I had to assist my mother at a really younger age,” Kingpayome mentioned.

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 dwelling, her mother spoke to her of their native language.

“She was very conventional, and he or she tried to boost me in that method,” Kingpayome mentioned. “We clashed lots. You spend 16 hours a day talking English, residing the Western life, and you then come dwelling, and your mother is tremendous strict.”

Her teenage years had been particularly tough. By 14, she was entering into hassle and clashing together with her mom. She barely made it by highschool.

A wake-up name got here when the boy she was relationship in her late teenagers obtained 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 obtained to be extra,” Kingpayome mentioned.

She’d at all times been drawn to style and determined to attempt 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 instructed 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 queen

Kingpayome says she did not intend to be a magnificence queen, however modeling was aggressive.

“I believed that will be an excellent stepping stone,” she mentioned. “Pageantry was big again within the ’80s and ’90s. So I entered a magnificence pageant, not anticipating to win, however then gained.”

Profitable the crown modified every thing. She was thrust into the highlight and, on the finish of the 12 months, 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 mentioned.

“Abruptly, I’ve to be this very correct, well mannered girl, and I struggled with that for a 12 months,” Kingpayome mentioned. “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.

Within the late ’90s, Kingpayome was featured in promoting campaigns for manufacturers equivalent 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 style decisions, equivalent 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 mentioned.

‘I used to be at all times skilled’

Not like the “sabai sabai” Thai lifestyle, the place locals usually undertake a relaxed, go-with-the-flow perspective, Kingpayome mentioned her work ethic set her aside.

“If the decision time’s eight. I am there at seven-thirty. It does not matter how hungover I’m. I’d appear to be crap, however I used to be there,” she mentioned. “I used to be at all times 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 mentioned, recalling her mom’s response.

Buying and selling covers and catwalks for motherhood and a slower life

Younger, unbiased, and instantly in demand, Kingpayome’s life in Thailand took off.

“I labored laborious, however I performed tougher as a result of, as a youngster, I by no means had that form of life. After I left New York, I used to be solely beginning to be authorized to go clubbing and stuff,” she mentioned.

Every part in Thailand felt so totally different and new, she added.

“I form of obtained misplaced within the occasion scene, and my profession was taking off. I used to be in each style present. I used to be on each cowl of each journal. It was identical to, wow, oh my God, I like this life,” she mentioned

Along with 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 exhibits.

Her fast-paced way of life lasted practically a decade earlier than she started to really feel burned out and determined to decelerate.

In her mid-thirties, she obtained married and later had her son, who’s now 16 and a aggressive swimmer. The wedding resulted in a divorce, however she nonetheless co-parents together with her ex.

Lately, she’s served as a mentor and choose on modeling actuality exhibits and has coached contestants within the Miss Universe Thailand pageant.

In 2021, she established a modeling academy together with her brother known as Muse by Metinee.

“We use runway modeling as a device to assist individuals achieve confidence. So our youngest pupil is 4 years outdated, and my oldest pupil, who continues to be with us, is 59,” Kingpayome mentioned.

A lot of her college students are youngsters who’ve been bullied or who’ve low vanity, and seeing them escape of their shells and turn into extra assured has been rewarding, she added.

Since pageantry continues to be huge in Thailand, she additionally coaches males, ladies, 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, instructed BI that his coaching on the academy was “the spine” of his efficiency within the pageant.

“From the best way we walked to the best way we spoke, each second was designed to arrange us for the world stage,” Titus mentioned. “The self-discipline, presence, and emotional resilience I gained at Muse performed a large position in that win.”

Thailand, at all times

Over three many years later, Kingpayome continues to be one among Thailand’s greatest stars.

Parisa Pichitmarn, a millennial journalist based mostly in Bangkok, instructed BI that she has at all times admired Kingpayome.

“She comes throughout as a powerful girl who’s skilled and in addition does not take any crap,” Pichitmarn mentioned.

Manorat Sangsuk, a Thai Gen X finance specialist, instructed BI that within the ’90s, loads of the fashions had been half Western and half Thai, and having somebody who “simply regarded Thai” was refreshing. “She’s fairly cool in her personal method — you already know, not like candy, light, conventional Thai sort.”

It is laborious 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 a giant pond, whereas in Thailand, I used to be a giant fish in a tiny pond. So it was very totally different,” she mentioned.

As of late, Kingpayome lives in Bangkok and considers herself to be extra Thai than American.

“After I return to America, I really feel I am visiting. I do not really feel prefer it’s dwelling,” she mentioned.

She used to go to the US extra usually, particularly when her son was youthful. However now, together with her mom and two of her brothers residing in Thailand, there’s much less motive to return. Just one brother stays in New York, nonetheless residing within the Queens house all of them grew up in.

Years from now, Kingpayome says she may find yourself residing by the seaside, operating a small bed-and-breakfast. Or she may transfer to wherever her son decides to reside when he will get older.

“However I believe my life is in Thailand,” she added.

Do you could have a narrative about shifting to Asia that you simply need to share? Get in contact with the editor: akarplus@businessinsider.com.