When you meet Thảo Nhi Lê, it’s easy to see why Vietnam fell for her. Originally from Germany, the multi-hyphenate has gracefully shapeshifted from content creator to the 2022 Miss Universe Vietnam runner-up to global fashion and beauty entrepreneur—all before turning 30. Along the way, she’s cultivated an online persona that radiates elegance and emotional honesty.
Of course, she’s also strikingly beautiful—with the kind of gently disarming gaze that makes you forget your next question. But she’ll be the first to tell you that beauty has never been the point. “I don’t want to put any title to my identity,” she tells me when we meet over a sunset coffee at Hom Thao Dien. “I just want to do what I love—and for people to accept me for who I am.”
Accolades notwithstanding, Le’s journey towards authenticity and self-acceptance has been anything but straightforward. Born to Hanoian parents and raised in the rural town of Sigmaringen, Lê grew up caught between two cultures. “It was a small town, I was the only Asian,” she reveals. “Even my friends and cousins would joke, ‘You potato, you’re not German. Look at your hair, your eyes.’ I didn’t want to accept that. I wanted to be German, but no matter what, I was still seen as người nước ngoài.”
So at 18, she booked a one-way flight to Hồ Chí Minh City for a pre-university internship—a fateful decision that would change everything for her. It was during this six-month stint that she fell in love with Vietnam—vowing to return after graduating. In 2018, against her parents’ wishes, she decided to take the plunge and move full time to live in Hồ Chí Minh City. Yet, she was once again an outsider.
“I was still ‘hơi hiền,’ still different,” she recalls. “People didn’t really consider me Vietnamese. My mindset, my education, my way of thinking—everything was shaped by the West.” The first step in reclaiming her Vietnamese identity started with something simple but powerful: her name. “I was always Jenny, never Thao Nhi. But when I moved to Vietnam, I became Thao Nhi. That shift meant a lot to me,” she says.
That same year, Le began to revisit a long-held dream: launching her own fashion label. Already a successful influencer in Europe with a growing following in Vietnam, she decided to use her platform to debut Daphale, a brand that originally focused on lingerie and swimwear designed to empower women to embrace their bodies.
By 2022, as Daphale gained momentum and Le’s profile rose, she found herself drawn to a new challenge: competing in Miss Universe Vietnam. “To be honest, I wasn’t a fan of pageantry when I lived in Germany,” she admits. “People there have certain judgments about it—it feels superficial.” But in Vietnam, she began to see it differently. Encouraged by friends to apply, she realized a pageant could be more than just a competition—it could be a bridge.
I realized how much the women in Asia put into these competitions—and how inspirational they are to young girls,” she says. “I thought, maybe this is the next chapter I need to explore. Maybe this is my way of integrating fully into Vietnamese culture—not just being a German girl working in Vietnam.
In the years since, Lê has leaned fully into her role as a cultural figure and entrepreneur. She’s graced magazine covers, hosted major events, and become a brand ambassador for everything from luxury fashion to wellness. But the path wasn’t always smooth. Like many creatives, she faced uncertainty during the pandemic, when brand deals slowed and borders closed. “There were moments when I questioned everything,” she says. “I wasn’t sure if I should stay in Vietnam, if Daphale would survive, if I was doing the right thing with my life.”
Still, she pushed forward—pivoting her content, deepening her connection to her Vietnamese audience, and using the quiet to reflect on what she really wanted to build. In 2024, she launched Nïmaï, her fragrance brand. Where Daphale had celebrated sensuality and body confidence, Nïmaï turned inward—focused on inner peace, self-love, and personal transformation. “Nïmaï is about embracing your inner light,” she says. “It’s about healing, not just looking good on the outside.”
To that end, Lê says she’s more relaxed than ever before these days—taking time to balance her professional and personal life. That comes with being more forgiving and understanding to herself. “I don’t want to be perfect,” she says.
I just want to be real. And if I can inspire other young women—especially those who feel caught between cultures—to own who they are, then that’s more important than any crown.”
As she enters her 30s, Lê says her newest frontier is love. “I used to think love was about finding your other half,” she reflects. “Now, I believe you have to be whole on your own first.” After navigating a few public relationships—and the heartbreak and headlines that followed—she’s more intentional than ever. “I fall hard—I’m a Scorpio,” she laughs, noting that her current partner, Romain, brings a sense of calm and balance she hadn’t experienced before. “He gives me the freedom to be myself, but I also feel safe. It’s the first time I’ve felt both at once.”
And while her boyfriend might be the one taking the lead in certain moments, don’t expect her to just sit back. An acting career may be on the horizon—a new creative challenge she’s quietly exploring. “My boyfriend hates it,” she jokes, “but I think I’d be really good at playing the bad-girl character.”
Whatever comes next, she’s keeping her heart open. But make no mistake—Thảo Nhi Lê is still the one writing her own script.
Photographer: Elinor Kry
