Famous luk khrueng: half-Thai stars, sourced

People often ask “is he half Thai?” about someone they’ve just watched win something. This page answers that for well-known people, with a source for every name. It doesn’t measure how Thai anyone is. A Thai mum or dad is simply one part of their story.

How we chose. Each person is an adult public figure. A reputable source we opened ourselves (a news report, an interview, an official page) says they have a Thai parent, and we link it next to their name. Where they’ve said it in their own words, we quote them. Where a source says only “Thai-Belgian” or “Thai and English parentage”, we don’t guess which parent is Thai. We leave out politicians and royalty. The order is alphabetical within each group, not a ranking. For people who make videos, podcasts and newsletters about being Thai by family, see our directory of half-Thai creators.

Sport

• Alex Albon (Formula 1, Thai and British). He was born in London and races under the Thai flag. His Thai roots “run deep thanks to his mother, Kankamol”, and in his own words: “Being half-Thai, I’m very lucky. I see a lot of Thailand in myself.” Yahoo Sport, 2019
• Charyl Chappuis (football, Swiss and Thai). He grew up in Kloten, Switzerland, the son of a Swiss father and a Thai mother. He won the U17 World Cup with Switzerland in 2009 and later played for Thailand. 20 Minuten, 2015
• Mika Chunuonsee (football, Welsh and Thai). He was born in Wales to a Thai father and a Welsh mother, and played for Thailand at the 2019 AFC Asian Cup. Clwb Pêl-droed, 2019
• Johnny Damon (baseball, American). His mother, Yome, emigrated from Thailand. He played for Thailand in the 2012 qualifiers for the 2013 World Baseball Classic: “To represent her country is a tremendous feeling.” Northwest Asian Weekly, 2017
• Elias Dolah (football, Swedish and Thai). He grew up near Lund in Sweden. “His father is Thai,” and he plays in defence for Thailand. ScandAsia, 2026
• Patrik Gustavsson (football, Swedish and Thai). He was born in Sweden to a Thai mother and plays as a striker for Thailand. ScandAsia, 2025
• Geoff Huegill (swimming, Australian). He won silver and bronze Olympic medals. The Australian Embassy in Bangkok calls Thailand “the homeland of Huegill’s mother” and says he ran swim clinics in Chaiyaphum. Australian Embassy Thailand, 2013
• Michelle Waterson-Gomez (mixed martial arts, American). She was an Invicta FC champion and fought in the UFC. “My Mother is half Thai and half Chinese. She grew up in Thailand.” CGTN, 2019
• Tiger Woods (golf, American). He has won 15 major championships. His mother, Kultida Woods, was born in Thailand. AP’s report on her death says “passing along the Thai heritage of Woods was important to his mother”. AP via The Boston Globe, 2025

Music

• Thongchai “Bird” McIntyre (pop, Thai). A Thai pop star and actor since the 1980s. A 2008 profile by Asia Pacific Arts, reposted by UCLA, describes him as born “to a Scottish father and Thai mother who were both musicians”. Asia Pacific Arts via UCLA, 2008
• Vanessa-Mae (violin, British). She was born in Singapore to a Chinese mother and a Thai father, and skied for Thailand at the 2014 Winter Olympics. She told The Telegraph in 2010, as NPR reported: “because my natural father is Thai, they have accepted me”. NPR, 2014
• Jannine Weigel (pop, German and Thai). She was born in Steinfurt, Germany, and moved with her parents to Thailand, “der Heimat ihrer Mutter” (her mother’s homeland). She first became known for songs she posted on YouTube. Promiflash, 2020
• Tata Young (pop, Thai). She was born in Bangkok, the “only daughter of an American father and a Thai mother”, and had hits across Asia in the 2000s. Gale, Contemporary Musicians

Screen and TV

• Ashly Burch (actor and writer, American). She is of Thai descent and voices Molly, who is half Thai, in Disney’s The Ghost and Molly McGee. “Anytime I come home, my mom always makes me mango sticky rice.” The Nerds of Color, 2021
• Davika Hoorne (actor, Thai). She starred in Pee Mak. Time Out Bangkok calls her “the Thai-Belgian actress”. Time Out Bangkok, 2016
• Mario Maurer (actor, Thai). He starred in Pee Mak. The Philippine Star names his parents as Roland Manfred Maurer (German) and Vanranya Maurer (Thai). On his eyes: “They are kind of like those of my mom’s and my dad’s. A mixture of their eyes.” The Philippine Star, 2012
• Urassaya Sperbund (actor, Thai). She is a Thai TV and film actor. ScandAsia calls her a “Thai-Norwegian actress”. ScandAsia, 2022
• Paula Taylor (actor and presenter, Thai). The Star calls her “a stunner of Thai and English parentage”. The Star, 2003
• Chrissy Teigen (model, TV host and cookbook author, American). People describes her as half Thai, and her mother, Vilailuck, is Thai. People via Yahoo, 2024

Who isn’t here, and why

• Not on this list on purpose: politicians, royalty, and anyone under 18.
• Not here yet: several well-known Thai actors and singers whose Thai parent we could find only on Wikipedia or fan databases. We’ll add them when we find a source we can read ourselves.
• Other family stories: this list covers people with one Thai parent. Some people called luk khrueng have other family stories, and that’s fine.

Missing someone, or got something wrong?

If you know a reputable source for someone we left out, or you’re on this list and would like a detail changed or your entry removed, tell us through our corrections page. We act on removal requests from the person themselves without asking why.

If you’re Thai by family yourself, you’re in good company. Our Thai by family, in numbers page shows how many people share some version of your story.