Hoàng Thị Thùy or Hoàng Thùy ( ; born 15 March 1992) is a Vietnamese model and beauty pageant titleholder. She began her career in 2011, after winning cycle two of Vietnam's Next Top Model. Eight years later, she was sashed as Miss Universe Vietnam 2019 to represent Vietnam at Miss Universe 2019 and placed in the Top 20. She is often considered one of the most successful Vietnamese models on international runway as well as of Vietnamese 1990s-born model generation. Background and education Thùy was born and raised in the commune of Thiền Lâm, Tĩnh Gia District, Thanh Hóa Province of Vietnam to a poor family of four daughters. When she was young, she used to sell rice cakes on coach buses to assist her family. Despite financial struggles, her family continued to support their daughters to continue their education. Thùy graduated from Tĩnh Gia 1 High School in 2010. She was a sophomore majoring in industrial design at Hanoi Architectural University before participating in the second season of Vietnam's Next Top Model and pursuing modelling afterwards. In 2016, she started enrolling in fashion design courses at Central Saint Martins in London. Career Vietnam's Next Top Model In 2011, Thùy joined Vietnam's Next Top Model cycle 2. Throughout the cycle, Thùy performed consistently well and only landed in the bottom two once. In the season finale, Thùy was announced to be the winner over the runners-up Trà My and Lê T. Thúy. In 2015, it was revealed that Tyra Banks, creator of the Top Model franchise and also the special judge of the season 2 finale, fought for Thùy to become the winner of that cycle. Post show career She joined Top Model of the World 2012 in Berlin, Germany where she placed in the Top 15 and also won the Best Catwalk Award. Thùy started working both domestically and internationally as soon as she left Vietnam's Next Top Model. She was rejected multiple times by agencies in New York, Paris and London. In February 2014, she went to London to try out for its fashion week's casting calls without having an agency. With no personal contacts, she sent her portfolio by email to all the designers participating in Autumn/Winter 2014 London Fashion Week via any channels she could find. She first heard back from Jean Pierre Braganza and proceeded to successfully book 4 shows that season, which was