Sonia Couling (also spelled Sonia Cooling, Sonya Couling or Sonya Cooling) ( th, ซอนย่า คูลลิ่ง; June 18, 1974 in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

), nickname Pim ( th, พิม; ), is a Thai model, actress and television personality. She has appeared in many Thai films and TV shows, been a VJ for

MTV Asia MTV was a pan-Asian music pay-television channel which launched on 3 May 1995 as a standalone pay television channel. It was owned by Paramount Networks EMEAA. History MTV Asia was officially launched on 3 May 1995 as a 24-hour English-languag ...

, been a host for

HBO Asia HBO Asia is the Asian division of HBO, based out of Singapore. It was originally launched on 1 May 1992 as MovieVision, later rebranding on 1 June 1995 to its current name after being purchased by Home Box Office, Inc. The Singapore-based broad ...

and has produced and hosted '' Thailand's Next Top Model'' in 2005. Couling has also acted in Hollywood and French productions. She is of

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

and Thai descent.

Biography

Early life

Couling is

Eurasian Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Ja ...

Luk khrueng ''Luk khrueng'' ( th, ลูกครึ่ง, literally "half-child") is a colloquial Thai term referring to a person whose parents are of different nationalities. In a narrow sense, luk khrueng means people of mixed Thai and foreign origin; a pe ...

, with an

father and a Thai mother; fluent in Thai, English and French.Marengo Equestrian Shows by Sonia Couling 2017
on Paul Poole (South East Asia) She also speaks German and Italian. She attended St Michael's all-girls boarding school in

Surrey, England Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area ...

and studied German literature at

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

. She graduated from European Business School London (EBS London) with Bachelor of International Business in 1998.

Career

Couling started her modeling career in a

Seven Up 7 Up (stylized as 7up outside North America) is an American brand of lemon-lime-flavored non-caffeinated soft drink. The brand and formula are owned by Keurig Dr Pepper although the beverage is internationally distributed by PepsiCo. 7 Up comp ...

advertisement when she was 13. While attending boarding school and university in the UK, she worked with Storm modeling agency in London. Once back in Asia she settled into a

supermodel A supermodel, also spelled super-model or super model, is a highly paid fashion model who usually has a worldwide reputation and often a background in ''haute couture'' and commercial modeling. The term ''supermodel'' became prominent in the po ...

role, she has been the face of beauty products over Asia, like L'Oreal Asia,

Olay Olay, previously Oil of Olay, Oil of Olaz, Oil of Ulan or Oil of Ulay, is an American skin care brand owned by Procter & Gamble. For the 2009 fiscal year, which ended on June 30, Olay accounted for an estimated $2.8 billion of P&G's revenue. Ear ...

Asia,

Nivea Nivea (, stylized as NIVEA) is a German personal care brand that specializes in skin and body care. It is owned by the Hamburg-based company Beiersdorf Global AG. The company was founded on 28 March 1882, by Paul Carl Beiersdorf. In 1890, it w ...

Visage, Eucerin, 1st Asian Ambassador for Rado watches,

Clairol Clairol is the American personal care-product division of company Wella, specializing in hair coloring and hair care. Clairol was founded in 1931 by Americans Joan Gelb and her husband Lawrence M. Gelb, with business partner and lifelong frien ...

Worldwide and plenty more. In 1998 Couling became VJ for

, based in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

. She was the first Thai woman to . In 1999 Couling was voted Thailand's sexiest woman by

FHM ''FHM'' (For Him Magazine) is a British multinational men's lifestyle magazine that was published in several countries. Its master edition contained features such as the ''FHM'' 100 Sexiest Women in the World, which has featured models, actres ...

. The UK magazine FHM chose her as number one sexiest woman in Thailand and second in Asia and 10 sexiest women in the world. In 2016 she was chosen as the most beautiful Thai actress. In 2002 she won Best Actress in a Lead Role at the TV Gold Awards (Thai television awards) for her performance as Phitawan Satchamat in Thai TV series ' (2001). Couling also works behind the cameras producing TV show '' Thailand's Next Top Model'' (2005) and internationally as the executive producer on '' A Stranger in Paradise'' (2013). In addition, Couling has starred in international films and TV series, including ''The Mark'', '' The Mark: Redemption and Strike Back : Legacy'.'' In 2018, she appeared on ''The Face Thailand season 4 All Stars'' and ''

The Face Men Thailand (season 2) ''The Face Men Thailand Season 2'' began audition on 9 June 2018 in Yangon, Myanmar and 11 August 2018 at Kantana studio, Bangkok, Thailand. Lukkade Metinee returned as ''Master Mentor'', the very first new role for the show. Moo Asava was re ...

'' as a mentor and ''

The Next Boy/Girl Band Thailand The Next Boy/Girl Band Thailand is a Thai reality television series on the Channel 7 television network. It was premiered on 3 June 2018. The show is the Thailand version of The Next Boy/Girl Band Netherlands. The series was licensed by the Kant ...

'' as a producer.

The face of Muay Thai

Couling, who is Thailand's number one international celebrity and has been involved in many Muay Thai projects, has been chosen to be the face of Muay Thai. Her in-depth experience with Muay Thai, includes having been an English announcer in ''Jao Muay Thai Fight'' at Siam Boxing Stadium on Thai TV3 for 3 years, hosted and MC'd The 2010

King's Cup __NOTOC__ King's Cup (incl. translations), may refer to: Sports Football * Copa del Rey, Spanish for "King's Cup," the main national knockout tournament in men's football * King Cup (sometimes named King's Cup), Saudi Arabian men's football nati ...

and The 2010 Queen's Cup and plenty more. She, moreover, appeared on '' The Challenger Muay Thai'' (2011) on

AXN AXN is a pay television channel owned by Sony Pictures Television, which was first launched in September 1997 in Asia. Local versions have since been launched in several parts of the world, including Europe, Asia, and Latin America. Funded th ...

as a ring announcer, and hosted ''Muay Thai Premier League'' (2012) on

FOX Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

Personal life

On 8 September 2007, Couling married Paul-Dominique Vacharasinthu, who is Thai-French. They have a son, Pasha-Dominic Vacharasinthu (b. 21 October 2015). Couling flies single engine planes, reserve pilot for the

Royal Thai Air Force "Royal Thai Air Force March" , mascot = , anniversaries = 9 April 1937 (Royal Thai Air Force Day) , equipment = , equipment_label = , battles ...

where she was a guest pilot on the F5 and F16 fighter planes. She is also a horse rider and female polo player.

Filmography

Television

TV series

TV Program

Production

* '' Thailand's Next Top Model'' as Executive producer * '' A Stranger in Paradise'' as Executive producer

Endorsements

* Seven Up (1989, Thailand) (debut) * Coffeemate (1992, Thailand) * Kotex Soft Dry (1995, Thailand) * Nissin Cup Noodle (1996, Thailand) * Spy Drinks (1999, Thailand) * Honda City Type-Z (2002, Thailand) * Sony Vega TV (2005, Thailand) * Ricoh Printers (2005, Thailand) * AIS GSM (2006, Thailand) * Olay Total Effects (2007, Thailand) * Ocean 1 Tower (2008, Thailand) * Eucerin (2012, Thailand) * Sunsilk (Thailand) * Nivea (Thailand) * Doritos 3D (Thailand) * Kodak Film (Thailand) * Christian Dior; J’adore L’or (2018, Thailand)Celebrates J'adore By Christian Dior
/ref> * Clairol Shampoo (Worldwide) * Olay Total Effects (Asia) * L'Oreal (Asia) * Rado Watches (Asia) * Nikon Cameras (Asia) * Secrets Deodorant (Thailand & Philippines) * Smart Telecom (Philippines) * Singapore Telecom (Singapore) * Haagan Dazs (Singapore) * Eucerin (2017, Malaysia)

Awards

References

Sonia Couling Sonia Couling (also spelled Sonia Cooling, Sonya Couling or Sonya Cooling) ( th, ซอนย่า คูลลิ่ง; June 18, 1974 in Bangkok, Thailand), nickname Pim ( th, พิม; ), is a Thai model, actress and television personality. ...

VJs (media personalities) Thai television personalities

European Business School London alumni