On Monday, December 17, 2018, Miss Vietnam H’hen Nie made history by becoming the first woman to come from an ethnic minority group and represent her country in the Miss Universe
Pageant.

Nie’s unique image and backstory left the world speechless.

Born to a poor family with 6 children, she had many struggles. At just the age of 14, her parents told her to find a husband and get married according to their Rade minority group. However, Nie refused and wanted to pursue her education.

“I stated I could not possibly get a husband at that point in time because I had to follow my dreams. I did not want to live a life where I had to marry early like many other kids had in my village,” shared Nie.

She had to work hard in order to achieve her goals so she served food, cleaned houses, worked as a tutor and leaflet deliverer as well.

Later on, Nie was able to attend college in Ho Chi Minh City and study finance.

Nie’s life took a turn when she entered modeling in 2014.

The year after, she was lucky enough to get a spot in Vietnam’s next top model in which she finished in top 9. This experience had a big impact on her self confidence and was the start of her ambition of becoming a beauty queen.

She won Miss Universe Vietnam in her country and prepared herself for the big event.

In the Miss Universe pageant at Thailand in 2018, she had a beautiful performance. She stood out and caught others’ attention from not only her story but her pixie haircut, golden skin, athletic
body, and kind-hearted soul.

Nie was also the first contestant in her country to make it to top 5 in the Miss Universe Pageant.

With Nie’s inspiring life story, she shows people that they can become anything they desire if they put their minds to it and work hard. She set an amazing example to women and girls around
the world and broke stereotypes.

Usually, Miss Universe contestants come from wealthy families, but Nie was able to pave her way to that level of success with her mindset and hard work. People are capable of doing anything they want and nothing is impossible in this world.

Sources
 http://www.asiaone.com/asia/miss-vietnams-rise-nothing-continues-inspire-fans-afte
r-miss-universe-stint
https://www.pep.ph/lifestyle/lifestyle/38665/the-rise-of-miss-universe-vietnam-hhennie

https://push.abs-cbn.com/2018/12/18/fresh-scoops/from-nanny-to-miss-universe-con
testant-miss-vietn-198177