Tila Tequila

Nguyễn Thị Thiên Thanh, known professionally as Tila Tequila, is an American model, singer, and reality television personality. Born on October 24, 1981, she has also used the stage names Tila Nguyen, Miss Tila, and Tornado Thien. She initially achieved widespread public recognition through her active online presence, becoming one of the most popular personalities on the social networking platform Myspace, before expanding into television, music, and publishing.

Nguyen was born in Singapore to a family of Vietnamese boat people who had fled Vietnam following the Vietnam War. At one year old, her family relocated to Houston, Texas, where she was initially raised in a gated community run by a strict Buddhist temple. She spent a turbulent adolescence in Texas, briefly attending a reform school, before graduating from Alief Hastings High School in 2000. Driven by an interest in the entertainment industry, she moved to California in 2001 to pursue a career in modeling.

Her modeling career began after being discovered at age 19 by a Playboy scout. She subsequently appeared as Playboy's Cybergirl of the Week in April 2002 and became its first Asian Cyber Girl of the Month. She went on to feature in numerous men's and lifestyle publications, including Stuff, Maxim, Penthouse, King, Blender, and Import Tuner. In the fall of 2003, Nguyen joined Myspace, where she actively built a following that eventually grew to over 1.5 million friends. She leveraged her internet fame to launch several business ventures, including clothing lines, lifestyle websites, and online networks.

Nguyen made her reality television debut in 2003 on VH1's Surviving Nugent. Following appearances as a host on Fuse TV's Pants-Off Dance-Off and minor television roles, she landed her own reality dating series, A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila, on MTV in 2007. The bisexual-themed show ran for two seasons and achieved strong viewership ratings for the network. She also made appearances in film and television projects, such as the 2007 comedy movie I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry.

In addition to modeling and television, Nguyen pursued music, serving as the lead singer for the bands Beyond Betty Jean and Jealousy before transitioning to a solo career. She released her debut single, "I Love U," in 2007, followed by singles such as "Stripper Friends" and "Paralyze." Rebranding herself as Miss Tila, she released her second EP, Welcome to the Dark Side, in 2010. She also authored a self-help book, Hooking Up With Tila Tequila: A Guide to Love, Fame, Happiness, Success, and Being the Life of the Party, published in 2008.

In her later career, Nguyen faced significant public scrutiny over statements made on personal blogs and social media. In 2015, she appeared on the sixteenth season of the British reality show Celebrity Big Brother, but was removed after one day when previous comments expressing admiration for Adolf Hitler and antisemitic views came to light. In subsequent years, she engaged in artwork sales online and video production under the name Tornado Thien.