Tila Tequila's biography

Although she was born in Singapore, on October 24, 1981, Tila Nguyen (aka Tila Tequila) is of Vietnamese heritage. Her parents left Vietnam just before Tila was born, and they stayed in Singapore for a couple of years before moving again, this time to Houston, Texas. Once in the Lone Star State, the Nguyens settled into a Buddhist gated community, where Tila and her older sister and brother grew up in a strict, sheltered environment.

tila nguyen goes to juvey hall

Longing to escape the confines of the community, the Nguyen children implored their mother and father to move outside and become integrated in the goings-on of Houston. The Nguyen parents finally acquiesced, and the family moved just as Tila Tequila was set to enter school. Whether it was a result of her newfound freedom or not, from grade school onward, Tila Tequila was a terror. At first, she was a popular girl who distinguished herself by sticking up for the meek and the weak. However, it wasn't long before Tila Tequila began associating herself with troublemakers.

Throughout middle school and high school, Tila Tequila joined gangs, did drugs, got into fights, and even spent time in juvenile detention centers to get straightened out. Yet her behavior persisted: Desperate to fit in and convinced that her destructive lifestyle was the right path, Tila Tequila continuously skipped class to smoke pot and party. She experimented with drugs and with her sexuality, engaging in a few lesbian trysts during her adolescent days.

tila nguyen models for playboy

At age 16, Tila Tequila ran off to New York City with only $300 in her pocket. Staying with an old friend, she magnified her dangerous living in the Big Apple, popping ecstacy and staying out at the clubs until midday. When her money ran out, Tila returned to Houston and, ever the conniving one, used a fake ID to get a job as a waitress at a strip club.

Tila Tequila's life showed signs of brightening up when, at the age of 18, she was approached by a scout for Hugh Hefner's Playboy magazine in a mall. He told her that she had just the look that the bunny mag was looking for, but Tila Tequila scoffed at his proposal. As scout after scout began calling her home, however, she finally decided to give modeling a go. Money was tight and, at the least, the work would provide a good source of income.

tila nguyen's gameboy gig

Tila Tequila first appeared in Playboy when she was 19, and from then onwards she was hooked on modeling. Smitten with both the thrill and the cash that the gigs brought in, Tila Tequila moved to Hollywood to further her career. She went on to appear in Playboy five more times, and was the first Asian model to become the magazine's "Cyber Girl of the Month." Tila Tequila also was in hot demand at car shows, and did plenty of work for car magazines such as Performance Auto and Sound and Import Tuner.

Tila Tequila's career moved to the next level when Nintendo signed her as the spokesmodel for their portable video game system, the Game Boy Advance. With this big contract, Tila Tequila transformed herself from troubled drug addict and delinquent to accomplished model. Her bisexual leanings and tomboyish attitude made her all the more alluring to modeling agencies, and work, whether in magazine or calendar shoots, was not hard to come by.

tila nguyen on surviving nugent

Tila Tequila's ambition kept growing, and she set out to establish a website promoting herself. TilasHotSpot.com would see quick growth on the Internet, thanks to the inclusion of racy photos which were accessible to paying members only. In addition to acting as a new source of revenue, Tila Tequila's site caught the attention of video game-maker 3DO, who then used her likeness to create a character for its Street Racing Syndicate game.

Tila Tequila's modeling work launched her into television, and she appeared on the Playboy Channel, MTV and as a contestant on VH1's reality series, Surviving Nugent. Her increasing exposure made Tila Tequila all the more adamant about invading the airwaves.

tila tequila gets her own show a shot at love

After appearing as herself in several one-off roles, Tila Tequila got her own dating show in 2007 on MTV called A Shot At Love with Tila Tequila. The show was a huge hit.

That year she also appeared in the flick I Know Pronounce You Chuck and Larry with Jessica Biel and Adam Sandler. Her '09 film roles include Horrorween.