Parinya Charoenphol

Parinya Charoenphol

World Muay Thai champion, actress and model
Date of Birth: 09.06.1981
Country: Thailand

Content:
  1. Biography of Parinya Charoenphol
  2. Early Life and Discovery of Boxing
  3. Rise to Fame
  4. Popularity and Showmanship
  5. Return to Sport and Beyond

Biography of Parinya Charoenphol

Parinya Charoenphol, also known as Nong Tum, is a world champion in Thai boxing, actress, and model. She gained fame as the first transgender person to win a title among men.

Parinya Charoenphol

Early Life and Discovery of Boxing

Parinya Charoenphol was born on June 9, 1981, in a small village. From a young age, she felt a sense of belonging to the female gender and would often dress in women's clothing and shoes. Due to constant mockery from her peers, she entered a monastery, where she decided to take a different approach to deal with the situation - through fighting. It was in the Thai boxing gym that she first discovered her talent for the sport.

Parinya Charoenphol

Rise to Fame

After her initial fights, Nong had enough money to support her parents and begin saving for gender reassignment surgery. At the age of 16, she made her debut on the main stage in Bangkok, the epicenter of Thai boxing. In front of thousands of spectators, Nong, donning her usual feminine makeup, quickly defeated her opponent and kissed him goodbye. This groundbreaking moment drew immense attention, revitalizing the sport's popularity.

Parinya Charoenphol

Popularity and Showmanship

Nong's popularity grew so much that a commission had to be assembled before each fight to verify its authenticity and dispel any notion that it was just a show. Her name, Nong (which she adopted for her boxing career), soon appeared in every magazine and newspaper in Thailand, with fight updates becoming almost as popular as political news. However, after winning the title in 1998, Nong shifted her focus to the world of show business, participating in advertisements and television shows.

Return to Sport and Beyond

To maintain her image, Nong traveled to Japan for a high-profile wrestling match against women's champion Kyoko Inoue. She easily won the match, gaining fame throughout Japan. Upon returning to Thailand, she underwent gender reassignment surgery and briefly pursued a singing career. However, her focus shifted again, and she opened a chain of sports gyms called "Nong Toom at Fairtex Gym," which operates in major cities across the country.

In 2006, she returned to the sport, participating in several exhibition fights that sold out months in advance. A biographical film about her life and career, "Beautiful Boxer," was released in 2003, receiving numerous prestigious awards. In 2010, Nong opened her own Muay Thai school and began teaching aerobics. She also became a mother figure, raising an adopted daughter. Her story is featured in the documentary book "Ladyboys: The Secret World of Thailand's Third Gender," which explores the "third gender" culture in Thailand known as "kathoey."

© BIOGRAPHS