MY BAG

Beauty queen who wants to be herself

Miss Universe Singapore 2015 Lisa Marie White prefers to keep her pageant queen status under wraps

If you see Ms Lisa Marie White on the street, you might not want to mention that you know she holds the title of Miss Universe Singapore 2015.

The 23-year-old actress and model says she would rather that people not know about her title, so that she can just be herself.

"Every time we go out and happen to meet new people, my friends will tell them about me being Miss Universe Singapore and I'm like, 'I don't want people to know.'"

She says she would rather have a good time and enjoy herself without having to worry about how to behave.

However, the Institute of Technical Education College Central graduate acknowledges that the competition has changed her life. She says: "I joined it because I wanted a platform to get into the entertainment industry and it has helped me do that."

PHOTOS: GIN TAY FOR THE STRAITS TIMES
  • ON HER BAG

  • My friend produces bags for Anges Bags from Kolkata. He gave this to me when he was visiting Singapore about three weeks ago. The bag is made from jute, denim and vegan leather. The print is so lovely. It has so much colour and it is big enough to hold all my things.

  • Things in her bag

  • THE POWER OF NOW BY ECKHART TOLLE

    I have been reading this in my spare time. It is good. A lot of the time, we are worried about the future or too focused on the past. This book helps me to try to live in the present, instead of focusing on unnecessary things.


    DKNY BE DELICIOUS FRESH BLOSSOM

    I actually prefer DKNY Golden Delicious, which has a strong crisp scent, and I have a bigger bottle of that at home. But this bottle is smaller and more portable. I like that it smells sweet and girly.


    EYESHADOW PALETTE FROM SMASHBOX

    This was a gift from a friend and I have had it for a while. The best thing about it is that it comes with the best blending brush ever.


    ELNETT SATIN HAIRSPRAY

    I always have baby hairs that fly everywhere especially when I have my hair in a ponytail, so I use this to keep my hair neat and in place.


    KATE SPADE WALLET

    My best friend gave this to me for my birthday this year. I like the colour. It is so girly and so me.


    MAKE-UP POUCH FROM VICTORIA'S SECRET

    I love pink and this is great because it is big enough to hold all my make-up. I rely on make-up and I cannot go out without it. I do not like going to the beach because I cannot wear a lot of make-up.

Since winning the pageant, the 1.73m-tall beauty has been cast in Mediacorp television series Tanglin, in which she plays a minor character called nurse Elaine.

She also plays a ghost in one episode of the horror series Incredible Tales, which has yet to air, and was a guest-host alongside DJs Glenn Ong and The Flying Dutchman on their morning show for ONE FM 91.3.

Prior to her beauty pageant win, Ms White had appeared in a few television advertisements. She started modelling at 18. She also joined the Singapore reality acting and hosting competition programme The 5 Search, which premiered in January last year.

Though she was ousted in the first round, she got to take part in an eight-episode Toggle Web-series called On The Rocks, which created new characters every week for contestants who were eliminated from The 5 Search.

Ms White, who has two younger sisters, says she gets her dramatic streak from her mother, a Singaporean Malay, who is a speech-and- drama teacher.

"She is always telling us to express ourselves. My mother is an extrovert and a dramatic person, so I picked that up from her."

Ms White's father is from New Zealand and lives in Malaysia. Her parents are divorced.

When asked about what she learnt from taking part in the pageant, she says it taught her to "be more thick-skinned".

"There are so many nasty people with so many things to say about me. But I have to learn not to take it to heart."

On what advice she would give to aspiring beauty queens, she says: "Have a good support system. It is going to be stressful, so you will need family and friends around you to keep you grounded and in the right state of mind."

Ms White, who is single, plans to eventually move to Indonesia, the Philippines or Thailand to further her acting career as she feels these countries have richer entertainment and celebrity cultures.

"I wouldn't mind learning a new language if I have to," she says.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on August 04, 2016, with the headline Beauty queen who wants to be herself. Subscribe