Dương Trương Thiên Lý

Dương Trương Thiên Lý
Born	Dương Trương Thiên Lý (1989-06-10) June 10, 1989 Đồng Tháp, Vietnam
Alma mater	The Athenian School, United States Saint Mary's University, United States
Occupation(s)	actress, director, model and beauty pageant titleholder
Height	1.69 m (5 ft 6+1⁄2 in)
Spouse	Tony Nguyễn Quốc Toản ​ ​ (m. 2011)​
Children	2
Beauty pageant titleholder
Title	2nd Runner-up of Miss Universe Vietnam 2008
Years active	2008–present
Hair color	Black
Eye color	Black
Major competition(s)	Miss Universe Vietnam 2008 (2nd Runner-up) Miss World 2008 (Unplaced)

Dương Trương Thiên Lý (born 10 June 1989) is a Vietnamese actress, director, model and beauty pageant titleholder. Accordingly, she gained placement as 2nd runner-up in Miss Universe Vietnam 2008, and represented Vietnam in the Miss World 2008 pageant in South Africa.

Thien Ly is the former National Director of Miss Universe Vietnam.

Biography

Dương Trương Thiên Lý was born into a affluent family where four generations lived together, including her great-grandparents, grandparents, parents, and siblings. Her father was a lecturer at the University of Natural Sciences, while her mother was an ophthalmologist. Her older brother and sister had graduated in medicine and architecture in the United States. Her family also owned Quán An, a well-known restaurant in the Thanh Đa area, Bình Thạnh District, Ho Chi Minh City.

From primary school, she studied at a Vietnamese-French bilingual school. In 9th grade, she spent nearly a month in France as part of a Vietnam-France cultural exchange program, which helped her develop strong French language skills. As the youngest child in her family, she was an outstanding student. After finishing 11th grade, she went to study in the United States, where she attended the Athenian School, as a boarding student. After graduating she pursued a degree in Communications at Saint Mary's College of California

Miss Universe Vietnam 2008

During the finals of Miss Universe Vietnam 2008, held at Vinpearl Land, Nha Trang, Dương Trương Thiên Lý won the title of 2nd Runner-up. The winner of the competition was Nguyễn Thùy Lâm, and the 1st Runner-up was Võ Hoàng Yến.

Although placing 2nd runner-up in Miss Universe Vietnam 2008, Thiên Lý won Miss Photogenic in Miss Universe Vietnam 2008.

Miss World 2008

On December 16, 2008 (three days after the Miss World 2008 finals), the Miss World website announced that Dương Trương Thiên Lý had won the title of “Miss People’s Choice”, which was awarded to the contestant with the most online votes.

Initially, the Miss World organizers had stated that the winner of this award would advance to the semi-finals (Top 15) during the finals on December 13. However, just a few hours before the final show, the award was canceled, and Thiên Lý did not make it into the Top 15, as had been expected. According to Thiên Lý, during the golf competition—one of the outdoor activities of Miss World 2008—she received a commemorative award for having the “Longest Drive”.

Thiên Lý was chosen to represent Vietnam in Miss World 2008 after the winner of Miss Vietnam 2008, Trần Thị Thùy Dung, was not allowed to represent Vietnam in international competitions because she had not graduated from high school, and the winner of Miss Universe Vietnam opted to continue her studies instead of competing.

Thiên Lý was informed that she had qualified for Miss World 2008 in late November, and therefore had little time to prepare. She was unable to reach the semifinals. However, she won the title of People's Choice in the Miss World 2008 pageant. She later became the national director for Miss Vietnam Universe 2009 Võ Hoàng Yến, helping her prepare for Miss Universe.

Career after

In 2009, she was also chosen as the Promotional Ambassador for the last Asian Indoor Games held in Vietnam.

Also in 2009, she was selected to participate in a movie called "Trần Thủ Độ". However, she later resigned because she did not want to hurt her image due to some inappropriate scenes she would have to play in the movie.

Im 2013, Lý became the National Director of Miss Universe in Vietnam.

Personal Life

In August 2011, Dương Trương Thiên Lý married Nguyễn Quốc Toàn (Tony Toàn), born in 1970 in Bình Định. He is a Vietnamese-Canadian businessman, the son of Trần Thị Hường (Tư Hường)—a wealthy entrepreneur and the owner of Hoàn Cầu Group and Nam Á Bank. The couple has two children.

See also

• List of Miss World Special Awards