"Strength is far inferior to Ms. Ky Duyen"

- What are your personal limitations that prevent Quynh Anh from winning Miss Universe Vietnam ?

My beauty may not be suitable for the general taste, when Vietnamese people often like girls with white skin and pretty faces. When the organizers compared me to Ms. Ky Duyen and Ms. Thuy Quynh, perhaps my appearance was not convincing. People also expected me to be the Asian Supermodel, but maybe I did not meet the expectations. I believe the judges have judged fairly, but I realize that I need to be more mature.

I am satisfied with what I have achieved. If given the opportunity and the right conditions, I will not hesitate to compete in international beauty pageants.

- If compared with Ky Duyen, can you point out your strengths and weaknesses?

My strength is my experience in international competitions, even though it is in the modeling field, I have had some experience and understand how to work. However, I realize my weakness is my lack of maturity. I admit that I have a personality but my strength is far less than Ms. Ky Duyen. Ms. Ky Duyen is a very strong person, always silently preparing to wait for the day to burst out.

Her troubles in the competition were mostly due to the pressure of having to take on many tasks at the same time, leading to a decline in performance. I shared that it was just a small challenge to help her gain more experience and become more mature for the upcoming arena.

- How does your carefree and easy-going personality help you in beauty pageants?

Being easy-going is really an advantage. I always keep a light spirit, not putting too much pressure on myself. When participating in any competition, I simply think about performing, interacting, experiencing and sharing with friends like Mlee, Tra My, Phi Phuong Anh... This helps me be more natural and easily express myself.

Before, when I was under pressure from studying, I used to lock myself in the house to think and realized that the only way to relieve stress was to find a solution and implement it. I try to keep a cheerful spirit and positive energy to inspire people, even in difficult times.

- What were you asked in the closed interview?

People often ask me about my future goals and the fact that I was attacked for not being beautiful enough to compete in a beauty pageant. When Miss Universe 2019 Zozibini Tunzi asked me about the biggest challenge in the competition, I answered that it was finding myself. As a model, I had to change to fit the criteria of the competition and "exploit" more about myself.

- Specifically, how have you "exploited" and adjusted yourself?

First of all, I was mentally prepared to face all challenges. I learned from my predecessors, especially my teacher Vo Hoang Yen. Besides, I had to improve my communication skills because I rarely spoke in front of the public or the judges before. I listened to many podcasts to improve my speaking skills, language skills, and learned from the guidance of editors like Ngoc Trinh.

- From The Face runner-up, then Asian Supermodel champion and now Miss Universe Vietnam runner-up, is the model title still not enough to affirm yourself or is success in the modeling field far behind the influence of the beauty queen title?

I feel that this is the time to change and develop myself, not just stop at the title of Asian Supermodel and need to prove that I can do more than that.

Ms. Vo Hoang Yen, National Director Huong Ly, Ms. Vu Hoang My, Mr. Minh Xu, and Mr. Nguyen Tran Trung Quan encouraged me a lot at Miss Universe Vietnam.

In the contest team, I felt pressure from judges Thanh Hang and Ha Do. They have many years of experience in the fashion industry, which forced me to try my best to show that I deserve to be here.

Too worried to get off topic

- The behavioral part was judged to be off topic, how will you improve?

At that moment, although I was smiling, I was full of pressure. When I received the question, I just spoke according to my thoughts, perhaps because I was too nervous, my thoughts went a bit "far", leading to a digression. I tried to answer in 45 seconds without having time to analyze the question carefully. I kept smiling to hide my nervousness, everyone also acknowledged that I always smiled on stage, although it could just be a way to deal with stress. This is something I need to overcome, to calmly think and understand the question better.

- According to a contestant, some contestants who did not follow the rules made it to the top, while others who did were eliminated. What is your opinion on this issue?

Everyone has their own views and lifestyle. In the competition, sometimes the contestants' personal schedules can affect the implementation of discipline. I am always self-aware and follow the rules, but if there is an unavoidable situation, I have to ask for permission. It is difficult to say whether the top ranking is related to discipline or not, because it depends on the opinion of the judges, not just simply the management of the contestants or the comments of the contestants.

- With the title of runner-up, do you feel more pressure in maintaining your image and do you have any special requests in upcoming activities or events?

I don't feel much pressure about the title. If people trust me, I just need to complete the task well without worrying too much about the position. For example, Le Hang, Minh Tu or Vo Hoang Yen, even though they are not the first face or vedette, they are still very comfortable. I learned that the important thing is to do the job well, not to care too much about the ranking.

I think it is possible to combine both the modelling and beauty pageant paths because both require skills and effort. I don’t want to choose one path because both are important and complement each other.

When I became a runner-up, I realized that my influence was greater, what I did and said would impact more people. Therefore, I had to pay attention to how I appeared and behaved in public.

- Between Asian Supermodel and Miss Universe Vietnam, do you see any differences in pressure, stress and competition?

When I entered the contests, I did not set a specific goal to win any prize. I just focused on gaining experience and doing my best. If I did not expect too much, I would not be disappointed, but the deeper I got into the contest, the more my ambition arose, especially in Asian Supermodel. When another Vietnamese contestant was eliminated, I realized that the real battle began when I had to compete alone with other Asian contestants. I felt motivated and ambitious to win the highest position.

When I joined Miss Universe Vietnam, I was quite relaxed. However, the further I went, the more difficult and stressful the competition became, and the desire to win became stronger, so I tried harder. I also set a goal to prove to those who doubted my ability and change the negative views about me. I wanted to be recognized.

Book your own flight and "escape"

- Your family has a tradition of working in the police and military, how did your relatives react when you participated in the contest?

When I registered, my family didn't know anything, but when the casting round came, the media focused on me, my parents were very surprised and called to ask. They didn't expect their daughter to participate in a beauty pageant.

After episode 1 of Miss Universe Vietnam, my family just hoped that I would not be attacked like in previous competitions so that I could be safe and happy on social networks. Previously, I was a catwalk coach for a competition and was accidentally attacked, which greatly affected my relatives. My family was afraid that I would "get involved" with the beauty and beauty pageant world again. But this time, I was lucky to be "safe" in the arms of the online community.

Before, my family didn't want me to pursue art, they forbade me from taking pictures or performing, so I had to hide. People often think that models must have a rich family or money to be famous, and they don't have a positive view of the profession.

I once had a bad photo shoot, when I read the articles about it, my father was shocked and called me to come back to Hanoi immediately. At that time, I was scared and avoided, thinking negatively. Now, people think more openly, but they are not completely at ease because the modeling world is dangerous, the beauty pageant world has even more pitfalls.

After I achieved success, especially winning a high prize in an international competition, my parents felt more proud and supportive, and probably felt relieved.

- When you decided to leave Hanoi to pursue a career in Saigon, how did your family react?

When I decided to leave Hanoi and go to Saigon to pursue my career, my family was surprised and worried. At that time, I had been in college for 1 year, and during the summer break, The Face came, I had to "fight" because my parents wanted me to continue studying while I wanted to go to Ho Chi Minh City to start a career. I booked my own plane ticket and "ran away", only informing my parents before the flight, telling them to rest assured and crying when I got on the plane. When the competition announced the top 36, my father texted me to congratulate me.

When I went to Ho Chi Minh City, I studied at another school, and then Asia's Supermodel appeared, making me realize that my previous decision was correct. They had casted me for 2 years before, and in 2021, they held it in the middle of the pandemic. I went to Singapore and couldn't come back because there were no relief flights. I had to film, couldn't study online, so I stopped.

Currently, I am dedicating my time to my mission and my term as runner-up, and then I will definitely continue studying because I have always dreamed of building my own restaurant or brand.

- How is your love life and what is your most valuable asset so far?

25 years without a single love interest is Quynh Anh's story (laughs). My most valuable asset right now is my spirit because I have received so much love from everyone. I "owe" a lot, even when I compete I also have "owe" - a debt of gratitude is very difficult to repay (laughs).

Nhat Long

Photo: Kiet Vo, Hoa Pham - Video: MUVN

Who is the beauty whose family are both soldiers and police officers competing in Miss Universe Vietnam? Champion of "Supermodel Me - Asian Supermodel" Nguyen Quynh Anh is determined to change herself and study again to compete in Miss Universe Vietnam 2024.