A Conversation With Sonia "Pim" Couling When you look up “Over-Achiever in the dictionary you’ll find Sonia “Pim” Couling’s picture. Even at a young age Pim always had the desire to be the best at whatever she did. Born in Thailand to a Thai Mother and English Father, Pim started working as a professional model at age 13. Pim has been the face of L'Oreal Asia, Olay Asia & Clairol Shampoo Worldwide along with countless others. Earlier in her career the UK magazine FHM chose her as the number one sexiest woman in Thailand and second in Asia. She was the 1st Thai VJ for MTV Asia which launched her career into the pan-Asian stage. Acting was next with a show on HBO Asia, Challenger Muay Thai on AXN and she appeared on Jessica Simpson's show "Price of Beauty" as one of 6 worldwide beauty ambassadors on VH1. Pim has appeared in many Thai TV dramas as well as acting in feature films, both Thai and International. Pim also works behind the camera as a Producer. She is a pilot, has her own Polo team and speaks fluent Thai, English and French. In between her trips to Corsica and L.A., HOT Magazine had the pleasure of sitting down with Pim to discuss her amazing life’s trajectory.
HM: Pim, let’s start at the beginning, where were you born and what was your early childhood like? PC: I was born in Bangkok, moved around to various schools, in Asia, Singapore, Malaysia, where my dad was working at the time as an advertising executive. My early childhood : my mother was very strict, preferring my sister and I to do extracurricular activities outside of school, piano, tennis, horse-riding, dance, swimming… learning Thai, math, my mother kept us busy (smiles), something I hated when I was younger, but appreciated at a later stage in my life. HM: You went to an all-girls boarding school in England. At what age did you start, what was the experience like being away from your family in another country and do you have happy memories from that time in your life? PC: I started working at the age of 13, nonstop everyday after school. So, my mother decided for me to focus on my studies it was better to send me away from Thailand, to a boarding school at the age of 15. Little did she know, that I only cried for the first day, and had the time of my life from then on. I loved boarding school, it taught us a lot about independence, living amongst a community, people coming from various backgrounds and culture. I was also very popular having arrived
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being the only professional model there. A lot of the girls looked up to me for fashion advice etc.. I was also very mischievous, escaping the school at night taking friends out and sneaking back in during the day, prim and polished as a perfect role model and Head of House. I was also voted the most popular girl in school receiving the most phone calls, gifts and flowers from boys in neighboring schools. I landed a contract at Storm Agency and was working weekends going back and forth to London and back and forth to Bangkok during school holidays, working back to back. HM: As a child you took up dancing and won many awards in jazz, tap and modern dance, before later taking up ballroom dancing, jive and salsa. Do you feel you had a natural talent for dancing or were your many accolades the culmination of much hard work and determination? Also, was it the dancing you enjoyed or the competition that came with it? PC: My mother encouraged us to do a lot of activities and dancing was a form of sport and exercise. I entered various competitions because I liked the challenge and wanted to see how far I could go, for my own personal satisfaction. I was not a natural dancer, per se, but I enjoyed putting in the work to accomplish what I set my goal for.
