Maria Poonlertlarp

Maria Poonlertlarp
Born	Maria Lynn Ehren (1992-01-18) 18 January 1992 Bangkok, Thailand
Other names	Maria Poonlertlarp
Alma mater	Erasmus University Rotterdam Stockholm Business School
Height	1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
Beauty pageant titleholder
Title	Miss Universe Thailand 2017
Years active	2006–present
Hair color	Brown
Eye color	Hazel
Major competition(s)	Miss Universe Thailand 2017 (Winner) Miss Universe 2017 (Top 5)

Maria Lynn Ehren (Template:Lang-th; born 18 January 1992), known professionally as Maria Poonlertlarp (Template:Lang-th, RTGS: Mariya Phunloetlap, pronounced [māː.rīː.jāː pʰūːn.lɤ̂ːt.lâːp]), is a Thai beauty pageant titleholder, model, and singer of Swedish descent, who was crowned Miss Universe Thailand 2017. She represented Thailand at the Miss Universe 2017 competition, finishing as a top five finalist.

Early life

Poonlertlarp was born in Bangkok, Thailand to parents Göran and Chanoksuang Ehren (née Poonlertlarp). Her father is an electrical engineer from Sweden, while her mother is a Thai Chinese former teacher at the American TESOL Institute.

At age two, Poonlertlarp and her family moved to Hanoi, Vietnam and at seven, she returned to Bangkok. At age 14, she began to train as a model with Elle Thailand. After she graduated with a bachelor's degree from Erasmus University Rotterdam in the Netherlands, she later attended Stockholm Business School for her master's degree within Stockholm University, receiving her degree in international business commerce. Ehren speaks English, Swedish, Chinese and Thai.

Career

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

In August 2016, Poonlertlarp 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 as a mentor of The Face Thailand (season 5) with Toni Rakkaen, Gina Virahya and Bank Anusith.

Pageantry

Miss Universe Thailand 2017

Poonlertlarp entered the pageant as a favorite for her existing fame as a model, stage presence and English-language skills. During its preliminary segment, Poonlertlarp won the Boutique Lady title sponsored by Bangkok Airways 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 the Royal Paragon Hall in Bangkok by outgoing title-holder Chalita Suansane.

During her national competition, she answered the following:

"Equality of men and women in Thailand isn’t equal yet", Poonlertlarp said when asked what was difficult about being a woman. "But to move forward, both men and women have to hold hands and move forward together, because it’s not just an issue about women. This stage will help me to succeed and build foundations to help Thailand."

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, teen-age pregnancy, proper trash disposal and care for the homeless.

Miss Universe 2017

On 26 November 2017, Poonlertlarp represented Thailand at the Miss Universe 2017 pageant in Las Vegas, Nevada, where she finished in the Top 5.

At the competition, Poonlertlarp wore a national costume named Mekhala Lor Kaew (Thai: เมขลาล่อแก้ว) aka "Chasing the Light" (Mekhala’s Jewel Bait), which was inspired by Thai literature's national epic, Ramakien, a version of the Ramayana about the legend of Thunder God Parashurama and Goddess of Lightning Manimekhala. The Thai national costume was designed by Prapakas Angsusingha, a local Thai professional artist and designer. He also designed many outfits for Aniporn Chalermburanawong and Chalita Suansane during Miss Universe pageant 2015-2016. Poonlertlarp had to study and practice khon which includes traditional Thai dance and puppetry art of Hun krabok.

Personal life

Poonlertlarp is an adherent of agnosticism and a practicing Theravada Buddhist, the dominant religion of Thailand. In addition, she is a volunteer who teaches English at Duang Prateep, a non-profit foundation sponsored by the Thai royal family for children in Thailand.

Filmography

Television series

Year	Title	Role	Network	Notes
2019	Wolf - Game la thoe	Ben / Beer	ONE 31	EP 8-13

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)

External links

• Ehren's playlist on YouTube