‘Not good or beautiful enough’: Thai singer-actress Thanaerng takes trolls in her stride

SEOUL – Being in the public eye can certainly be an ordeal.

In the decade since her debut, Thai singer, actress and model Thanaerng Kanyawee Songmuang has read and heard many mean comments about her.

At Wednesday’s launch of Canadian athletic apparel label Lululemon’s Find Your Wellbeing campaign in Seoul, South Korea, the 27-year-old tells The Straits Times in English: “I’ve received comments about how I’m not good enough or not beautiful enough. But the thing is, you will never be enough for some people. There is no way you can be perfect to people who just don’t like you.”

Taking the good and bad of public scrutiny in her stride took some time for Thanaerng, who has more than 4.3 million followers on Instagram. 

She joined the Miss Teen Thailand pageant in 2012 at the age of 16, before making her mark as Jane, a drug addict from New York, in the second and third seasons of Thailand’s hit teen drama Hormones: The Series (2013 to 2015).

More recently, she played supporting character Bamee in the fantasy romance drama My Ambulance (2019). 

Debuting at a young age made her grow up and mature faster, Thanaerng says, as she learnt to take responsibility for her work as a professional.

Asked what she would tell her younger self now, she says: “Love and care about yourself more.”

She adds: “I used to feel anxious about how other people saw me, but I’ve learnt to focus on the positive because there are always more positive comments from people I care about than there are mean comments.”

It helps that Thanaerng is surrounded by people she loves, like her parents, an older brother and her long-time boyfriend, Thai actor JJ Krissanapoom Pibulsonggram, 27. 

The couple, who starred in the sports-themed Thai teen drama Project S: The Series (2017 to 2018), have been dating for more than six years.

Both are active on social media, but Thanaerng says they try not to share too many details of their relationship.

“If we like a picture of us together, we’ll post it. But we actually don’t talk about each other on social media all that much, so we still keep things a bit private,” she says.

Like many in her generation who see the willingness to go for therapy as a “green flag”, Thanaerng also views seeking help for one’s mental well-being – whether it is going to a therapist or other forms of self-care – as a positive trait in a romantic partner. 

She says: “Everyone’s life can be complicated, so whatever they do to improve their life is something I’ll support. I also think seeking help is good – it is a sign of someone willing to improve himself or herself.”

Thanaerng herself has a go-to “therapist” – her mother.

She says of her mum: “She’s sensitive and she understands me. I can share everything with her, she is like my best friend.”

Aside from the support and love she gets from those surrounding her, the actress also finds joy in her family of six cats, with two more on the way.

“I love to unwind just by going home and playing with them. Every time I see them, I just feel such happiness.”