Maria Lynn Ehren ( th, มาเรีย ลินน์ เอียเรียน; born 18 January 1992), known professionally as Maria Poonlertlarp ( th, มารีญา พูลเลิศลาภ, , ), is a Swedish-Thai model, actress, singer and beauty pageant titleholder, who was crowned Miss Universe Thailand 2017. She represented Thailand at the

Miss Universe 2017 Miss Universe 2017 was the 66th Miss Universe pageant, held at The AXIS at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States on November 26, 2017. At the end of the event, Iris Mittenaere of France crowned Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters of South Af ...

competition, finishing as a top five finalist.

Early life

Ehren was born 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 ...

to a Swedish father, Göran Ehren, who is a project development executive and a Thai Chinese mother, Chanoksuang Poonlertlarp, who is a former teacher at the American TESOL Institute. At the age of two, Ehren and her family moved to Hanoi, Vietnam and at seven, she returned to Bangkok. When she was 14, Ehren began to train as a model with ''Elle Thailand''. After she graduated with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

degree in international business administration from the

Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (or RSM) is the international business school of the Erasmus University Rotterdam located in Rotterdam, Netherlands. RSM offers undergraduate and postgraduate programmes taught mostly in English ...

in 2013, she later attended Stockholm Business School of the Stockholm University, where she received a

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in Consumer and Business Marketing in 2016. Ehren speaks Chinese, English, Swedish, Thai and Vietnamese.

Career

While residing in Sweden, Ehren was an English teacher and a DJ. She became the head of a marketing committee in the Erasmus Student Network in Rotterdam. In 2014, Ehren returned to Thailand to work for Broadgate Financial, where she advanced to managerial duties in

digital marketing Digital marketing is the component of marketing that uses the Internet and online based digital technologies such as desktop computers, mobile phones and other digital media and platforms to promote products and services. Its development d ...

. In August 2016, Ehren started her career in modeling and posed on Beauty cover for ''Vogue Thailand''. In 2018, she became the guest star in the 4th episode of Asia's Next Top Model (season 6). In February 2019, she became a mentor of

The Face Thailand (season 5) ''The Face Thailand Season 5'' was announced on February 15, 2019, at The Market Bangkok, M floor. In season 5, as in season 4, male and female contestants competed together. Season 5 included new Mentors Toni Rakkaen, Maria Poonlertlarp, and Vi ...

with Toni Rakkaen, Virahya Pattarachokchai and Bank Anusith.

Pageantry

Miss Universe Thailand 2017

Ehren entered the pageant as a favorite for her existing fame as a model, stage presence and Q&A skills. During its preliminary segment, Ehren won the ''Boutique Lady'' title sponsored by

Bangkok Airways Bangkok Airways Public Company Limited ( th, บางกอกแอร์เวย์ส) is a regional airline based in Bangkok, Thailand. It operates scheduled services to destinations in Thailand, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Laos ...

with a grand prize of 100,000 baht cash prize and a complimentary round-trip first class airline ticket for the upcoming Miss Universe 2017 pageant destination. Ehren was crowned Miss Universe Thailand 2017 on 29 July 2017 at

Siam Paragon Siam Paragon ( th, สยามพารากอน) is a shopping mall in Bangkok, Thailand. It is one of the largest malls in Thailand, along with IconSiam, CentralWorld and CentralPlaza WestGate. Siam Paragon includes a range of specialty s ...

in Bangkok by outgoing title-holder,

Chalita Suansane Chalita Suansane ( th, ชลิตา ส่วนเสน่ห์; born 24 December 1994) is a Thai model, actress and beauty pageant titleholder from Samut Prakan. On 23 July 2016, she won Miss Universe Thailand 2016 and represented Thail ...

. During her national competition, she answered the following: In the pageant, Ehren won the Thailand sash and crown, a 2018 Honda Civic Turbo RS automobile, one million baht cash prize, and a full-year contract sponsorship by BSC Cosmetology services. And during her national competition, she indicated she wants to work on issues with sexual equality, teenage pregnancy, proper trash disposal and care for the homeless.

Miss Universe 2017

On 26 November 2017, Ehren represented Thailand at the

pageant in Las Vegas, U.S., where she finished in the top 5. At the competition, Ehren wore a Thai national costume called Mekhala Lor Kaew (), also known as "Chasing the Light" (Mekhala's Jewel Bait), which was inspired by the Thai national epic

Ramakien The ( th, รามเกียรติ์, , ; ; sometimes also spelled ) is one of Thailand's national epics, derived from the Buddhist Dasaratha Jataka. Fundamentally, it is a Thai version of the Hindu epic Ramayana. Ramakien is an importa ...

. It was designed by professional artist and designer Prapakas Angsusingha. Ehren had to study and practice

khon Khon ( th, โขน, ) is a dance drama genre from Thailand. Khon has been performed since the Ayutthaya Kingdom. It is traditionally performed solely in the royal court by men in masks accompanied by narrators and a traditional piphat ensembl ...

which includes traditional Thai dance and puppetry art of Hun krabok.

Personal life

Ehren is Buddhist. In addition, she is a volunteer who teaches English at Duang Prateep, a non-profit foundation sponsored by the

Thai royal family The Chakri dynasty ( th, ราชวงศ์ จักรี, , , ) is the current reigning dynasty of the Kingdom of Thailand, the head of the house is the king, who is head of state. The family has ruled Thailand since the founding of the ...

for children in Thailand. In 2020, she expressed her support for the protesters of 2020 Thai protests.

Filmography

Television series

Music

Album: Maxi Singles
Style: Pop Dance
Label: SmallRoom
Year: 2010

Single

* Blur (เบลอ) * Boong (บุ๋ง) * Come Along (คัม อะลอง) * Grin (รอยยิ้ม) * Wait up (เก็บโต๊ะ)

References

External links

*
Ehren's playlist on YouTube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Poonlertlarp, Maria 1992 births

Maria Poonlertlarp Maria Lynn Ehren ( th, มาเรีย ลินน์ เอียเรียน; born 18 January 1992), known professionally as Maria Poonlertlarp ( th, มารีญา พูลเลิศลาภ, , ), is a Swedish-Thai model, actress ...

Erasmus University Rotterdam alumni

Living people Miss Universe 2017 contestants

Stockholm University alumni