Worarat Suwannarat, also known as Emma Suwannarat, Thai: วรรัตน์ สุวรรณรัตน์, (born Emma Masterson, January 22, 1977 in Thailand

Thailand

Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...

) is a Thai

Thai people

The Thai people, or Siamese, are the main ethnic group of Thailand and are part of the larger Tai ethnolinguistic peoples found in Thailand and adjacent countries in Southeast Asia as well as southern China. Their language is the Thai language, which is classified as part of the Kradai family of...

 actress, model

Model (person)

A model , sometimes called a mannequin, is a person who is employed to display, advertise and promote commercial products or to serve as a subject of works of art....

, host

Presenter

A presenter, or host , is a person or organization responsible for running an event. A museum or university, for example, may be the presenter or host of an exhibit. Likewise, a master of ceremonies is a person that hosts or presents a show...

 and the Miss Asia Pacific 1997 titleholder. She was the first runner up in the 1997 Miss Thailand

Miss Thailand

Miss Thailand is a beauty pageant held in Thailand for single Thai women, first held on December 10, 1934 in Phra Nakorn province or The National Capital, under the name of Miss Siam ....

 beauty pageant winning also the public's vote as the most popular contestant that year.

Biography

Worarat Suwannarat was born in Bangkok, Thailand to an Irish

Irish people

The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...

 father and a Thai

Thai people

The Thai people, or Siamese, are the main ethnic group of Thailand and are part of the larger Tai ethnolinguistic peoples found in Thailand and adjacent countries in Southeast Asia as well as southern China. Their language is the Thai language, which is classified as part of the Kradai family of...

 mother.

Education

Emma graduated magna cum laude, from Assumption Business Administration College

Assumption University (Thailand)

Assumption University is a private Catholic university with three campuses in the Hua Mak, Central World Plaza and Suvarnabhumi areas of Bangkok, Thailand. The university is led by the Brothers of St. Gabriel, who have been active in education in Thailand since 1901...

, Thailand.

She has a Master of Arts

Master of Arts (postgraduate)

A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...

, GPA 3.9, in European Studies from Chulalongkorn University

Chulalongkorn University

Chulalongkorn University is the oldest university in Thailand and is the country's highest ranked university. It now has nineteen faculties and institutes. Regarded as the best and most selective university in Thailand, it consistently attracts top students from around the country...

, Thailand. And a Master of Philosophy

Master of Philosophy

The Master of Philosophy is a postgraduate research degree.An M.Phil. is a lesser degree than a Doctor of Philosophy , but in many cases it is considered to be a more senior degree than a taught Master's degree, as it is often a thesis-only degree. In some instances, an M.Phil...

, 2:1 honors in International Relations from the University of Cambridge

University of Cambridge

The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...

, United Kingdom.

Pageantry

In 1997, she represented Thailand at the 1997 Miss Asia Pacific pageant held in Davao City

Davao City

The City of Davao is the largest city in the island of Mindanao in the Philippines. Its international airport and seaports are among the busiest cargo hubs in the Philippines....

, Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

 and won the competition becoming the third Thai woman ever to capture this prestigious title. The competition judges voted unanimously for Suwannarat after her performance in the final Q and A. In addition to winning the crown she was the recipient of the Close Up Smile award. After winning the pageant Worarat began working as an actress and hosted talk shows Sawasdee Bangkok and Phu Ying Tung Phu Ying Suay with co-hosts Pornchita Na Songkhla, Sunisa Jett and Joy Phonchoke.

Facts/Trivia

• Despite being raised in Ireland
  Ireland
  Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
  
  , she is fluent in Thai
  Thai language
  Thai , also known as Central Thai and Siamese, is the national and official language of Thailand and the native language of the Thai people, Thailand's dominant ethnic group. Thai is a member of the Tai group of the Tai–Kadai language family. Historical linguists have been unable to definitively...
  
  .
• She has been spokesperson for Baume et Mercier Thailand and Shangri La Hotel Bangkok.

External links

• http://women.sanook.com/happy-holiday-802728.html
• http://sites.google.com/site/emmapicturegallery/
• http://cs.wikinews.org/wiki/Anti-corruption_conference_Bangkok_2010