Anntonia Porsild, a 27-year-old Thai-Danish model from Nakhon Ratchasima, has been crowned Miss Universe Thailand 2023. Her nickname, Ann, matches those of the two preceding beauty queens.
Fans of the pageant have noticed that the Miss Universe Thailand winners in the past three years all have nicknames starting with “Ann” – Anchilee Scott-Kemmis, a Thai-Australian curve model in 2021, followed by Anna Sueangam-iam, a Thai actress, and now Anntonia Porsild.
The contest was held on Sunday, August 20 at MCC Hall, 4th floor, The Mall Life Store Ngamwongwan. There are 53 contestants who have been doing activities for nearly two months.
The first runner-up is Jazzy Kirana Jasmine Chewter, a Thai-British model from Mae Hong Son province, and the second runner-up is Vina Praveenar Singh Thakral, a Thai-Indian business woman from Phuket.
All three winners are of mixed heritage, and Vina is a married contestant who joined the competition after a change in Miss Universe rules by Thai organizer Ann Jakkaphong Jakrajutatip.
The new Miss Universe Thailand, Anntonia Porsild, has lived in seven countries as a child, which she says taught her life skills and an openness to embracing environmental differences. She is also the founder of a company and has developed environmentally friendly skincare products.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in international studies from Stamford International University’s Department of Marketing and Public Relations. She was among the final 10 contestants in Season 1 of The Face Thailand in 2014 and was crowned Miss Supranational in 2019.
“When I stepped on stage today, I tried to relax everything, win or lose, I am happy to be here on this stage. When I found out that I won in the end, thank you, now I can cry. I had tried to do my best in every round. The question and answer parts were difficult because I talk and think a lot. I have to limit myself to 30 seconds. That’s something I need to improve for the competition in El Salvador,” she said in a post-competition interview.
In the final round of three, Anntonia was asked about the most urgent global issue that needs addressing and how she would use her voice to advocate for change. She responded that assisting those suffering is a challenging issue.
“One of the biggest problems we face may not seem important enough to you, but it has an impact on society. Extending a helping hand to those struggling for food and shelter is not difficult at all. As Miss Universe Thailand, I will encourage you to help as often as possible and use social media as a platform to raise awareness.”
In the last of the five rounds, she answered a question about the basics of life. She said that the quality of life was more important than the basics of life and that the most important aspect was to be happy, do what you love, and give back to society whenever necessary.
Lastly, she thanked all the beauty pageant fans for their encouragement.
“All support from all platforms give me a smile. I hope to see you all at Suvarnabhumi Airport in November.”
The beauty industry is an essential part of the Thai economy. While there are no official valuation figures, Ann Jakkaphong Jakrajutatip, who acquired the Miss Universe franchise from IMG Worldwide for 20 million us dollar, expects to see profits within 2-3 years from licensing and expanding products in the lifestyle, fashion and beauty categories.
Similarly, Miss Grand International (MGI) Company Limited, the owner of Miss Grand Thailand and Miss Grand International pageants, has announced its readiness to go public with an initial public offering IPO of 60 million shares to raise funds in the securities market to further expand its beauty business, consumer product distribution, media and entertainment business, artist management and development of the IT system. Registration under the name “mai” is expected in 2023.
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