For many years, Tila Tequila was a household name in the American entertainment industry. Did you know she was once named the Queen of Myspace? Myspace was a social networking site that is no longer in use. Tequila also starred in a Bachelor-type reality series, where sixteen straight men and sixteen gay women competed for her love.
Source: Getty Images
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Key takeaways
- Tila Tequila is an American model, singer, and media personality.
- Her real name is Thien Thanh Thi Nguyen.
- She was once the most popular person on Myspace in the mid-2000s.
- Tequila disappeared from the mainstream limelight following various scandals and controversies that surrounded her.
- She reportedly now leads a private life.
Profile summary
|
Full name |
Nguyễn Thị Thiên Thanh |
|
Nicknames |
Tila Tequila, Miss Tila, Tila Nguyen, Tornado Thien |
|
Gender |
Female |
|
Date of birth |
24 October 1981 |
|
Age |
43 years (as of 2025) |
|
Place of birth |
Singapore |
|
Current residence |
California, United States of America |
|
Nationality |
Singaporean |
|
Ethnicity |
Mixed |
|
Zodiac sign |
Scorpio |
|
Religion |
Christianity (formerly Buddhist) |
|
Sexuality |
Bisexual |
|
Height |
4 ft 11 in (150 cm) |
|
Weight |
104 lb (47 kg) |
|
Body measurements |
39-26-37 in |
|
Hair colour |
Light brown |
|
Eye colour |
Dark brown |
|
Marital status |
Married |
|
Children |
2 |
|
Siblings |
2 |
|
Alma mater |
Alief Hastings High School |
|
Profession |
Model, singer, television personality, songwriter, social media personality, actress, writer, and blogger |
Who is Tila Tequila?
Tila Tequila is a model, singer, television personality, songwriter, social media personality, actress, writer, and blogger. She came into the limelight on Myspace, a now-defunct social networking platform.
What is Tila Tequila’s real name?
She was born Nguyễn Thị Thiên Thanh. Her nicknames are Miss Tila, Tila Nguyen, or Tornado Thien.
When did Tila Tequila get famous?
The reality TV star became famous in the early 2000s. She was quite active on Myspace and had a substantial fan base. She was named the most famous person on the site.
How old is Tila Tequila?
The celebrity is 43 years old as of 2025. She was born on 24 October 1981, and her Zodiac sign is Scorpio.
What is Tila Tequila’s nationality?
She was born in Singapore, making her Singaporean. Her parents relocated to Singapore to escape the Vietnam War.
When she was about one year old, her family immigrated to Houston, Texas, United States of America, where she was raised.
Her family resided in a Buddhist gated community in Houston. As a result, she was raised according to Buddhist doctrines and values. Her family left the gated community when she was eight years old.
What is Tila Tequila’s ethnicity?
The reality TV personality’s ethnicity is a mix of different backgrounds. She has Vietnamese and French ancestry. Her father’s roots are Vietnamese, while her mother is of French and Vietnamese descent.
Source: Original
Family background
Miss Tila is the youngest in a family of three. She has an older brother named Daniel, and her sister’s name is Terri.
As a growing child, the model felt confused by environmental and family issues. This resulted in her becoming an aggressive child. She ran away from home to Queens, New York City, at the age of 16.
Educational background
She went to multiple schools because of her problematic behaviour. In middle school, her parents sent her to boarding school for six months to try to curb her aggressive behaviour.
In 2000, she graduated from Alief Hastings High School. She proceeded to college, where she took a few classes before deciding not to pursue a college education. Instead, she put all her effort into the entertainment industry.
Career
In 2001, Tila moved to Los Angeles, California, United States of America, to pursue modelling. A Playboy modelling agent discovered her at the Sharpstown Mall.
The agent offered her an opportunity to model without clothes. Her test shoot happened a short while later.
On 22 April 2002, she was featured as Playboy’s Cybergirl of the Week. Not long afterwards, she was named the first-ever Asian Cyber Girl of the Month. She appeared in Playboy magazine multiple times.
Music and acting career
While in California, Tila developed an interest in rock music. She looked for a band to join. It was not long before she became a member of Beyond Betty Jean. She was the band’s songwriter and singer.
The band broke up after a short while, so she focused on writing music and honing her vocal skills. She later joined a band called Jealousy as the lead singer.
The band released a few tracks before breaking up. In 2003, she became a reality television star on VH1’s Surviving Nugent. The show required contestants to engage in unconventional and compromising stunts for Ted Nugent.
Besides appearing on the show, Tila Tequila gained a lot of attention in the import racing scene. She appeared on the cover of car magazines and car shows.
In the fall of 2003, she joined Myspace. She became so famous that she was named the Myspace Queen in 2006.
Following her newly found fame, she hosted many episodes of the first season of Pants-Off Dance-Off. In April 2006, it was announced that she was signed with the Will.I.Am music group.
She released her first single, I Love U, in February 2007. She released her first EP in March 2007.
The Saturday Team sued her for breaching the terms of her contract, so the music was removed from most retailers.
In April 2007, she appeared on the game show titled Identity and made a cameo appearance on War at Home. She was also featured on I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry.
In May 2007, she started filming the reality show A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila. The bisexual-themed show involved 16 straight men and 16 gay women competing for her love. In 2007 and 2008, the model released more music.
Below is a summary of some of Tila Tequila’s movies and TV shows.
|
Title |
Year |
Role |
|
Surviving Nugent |
2003 |
Self (contestant) |
|
Tucker |
2006 |
Self |
|
THS Investigates |
2006 |
Self |
|
The War at Home |
2007 |
Self |
|
Chelsea Lately |
2007 |
Self |
|
Tila Tequila’s New Year’s Eve Masquerade 2008 |
2008 |
Host |
|
MTV Spring Break: Tila Tequila’s Spring Break Fantasy Couple |
2008 |
Self |
|
The Great Debate |
2009 |
Self |
|
The Cleveland Show |
2010 |
Self |
|
The Gossip Queens |
2010 |
Self |
|
Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis |
2011 |
Self |
|
NY Ink |
2012 |
Self |
|
Big Brother’s Bit on the Side |
2015 |
Self |
|
Celebrity Big Brother |
2015 |
Self |
|
15 Minutes |
2016 |
Self |
Authorship, blogging, & businesses
In 2008, the television personality published a self-help book titled Hooking Up with Tila Tequila: A Guide to Love, Fame, Happiness, Success, and Being the Life of the Party.
In 2010, she changed her stage name to Miss Tila and released more music. She also launched a celebrity gossip blog.
The same year, an adult video she featured in was leaked online. She attempted to buy back the tape before its release, but was unable to come to terms with Vivid Entertainment.
In August 2015, she was a contestant on Celebrity Big Brother. She was kicked out after one day. Shortly after being eliminated from the show, she announced her line of e-liquids for vaporisers in collaboration with Blaze Vapours. She also sold artwork online under the nickname Tornado Thien.
What is Tila Tequila’s net worth?
Her net worth is allegedly $1.5 million, according to The Richest. She has earned her wealth from multiple sources, including modelling, music, blogging, and publishing a book.
Is Tila Tequila married?
The model/singer is married. However, details about Tila Tequila’s husband now remain undisclosed to the public. She gave birth to her first daughter, Isabella Monroe Nguyen, on 16 November 2014.
Who is Tila Tequila’s baby daddy?
Isabella’s father is Thomas Whitaker. Tila has primary physical custody of Isabella. Her second daughter, Anabelle, was born in September 2018.
Before getting married, she was in several relationships. She was romantically linked to Lisa Dumont, Nick Carter, Ian Watkins, Shawne Merriman, André Benjamin, Jared Leto, Bobby Banhart, Dani Campbell, and Ray J.
Tila Tequila on Casey Johnson’s death
Between 2007 and 2010, Miss Tila was in a relationship with Johnson & Johnson heiress Casey Johnson. The two got engaged in 2009. Unfortunately, Casey passed away on 4 January 2010 due to diabetic ketoacidosis. Following Casey’s death, the model said:
I’m trying to remember what’s good. She was such a loving and beautiful person. I want people to remember her as that.
Talking about how they met, she said:
We just hated each other through gossip. When people talk about someone you have preconceived judgments. But one day I texted and she was the cutest thing ever. She was nothing I had envisioned. I thought, I cannot believe this is the Casey Johnson people used to tell me about.
She was linked to Billy Corgan, Courtenay Semel, The Game, Kate Major, and Thomas Paxton Whitaker after Casey’s demise.
Who is Tila Tequila engaged to?
Tila is reportedly not currently engaged. She was once engaged to Casey Johnson, the heiress to the Johnson & Johnson fortune. Their engagement was announced in December 2009, shortly before Johnson’s death.
Source: Getty Images
Tila Tequila’s sexuality
When A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila ended, the model was dating Bobby Banhart. The two broke up after a short while. During the show, her sexuality was bisexual, as both men and women worked hard to win her heart.
Miss Tila often identifies as bisexual. She once denied claims that she is part of the LGBTQIA+ community in a YouTube video.
The model went on to say that she pretended to be a member of the gay community to increase her show’s ratings. She also revealed that she had a boyfriend during the time the show was being filmed. She said,
“I had a boyfriend for the entire two seasons of that show. I was only acting ‘gay for pay’ because in Hollywood they require you to defile yourself with gay rituals, homosexual rituals,…. Anything to defile yourself, to remove the seal of God, to remove the fact that we are children of God. To defile yourself so that we are not children of God but children of Satan.”
What happened to Tila Tequila?
In early 2012, the reality TV star was hospitalized for a near-fatal brain condition after overdosing on pills. According to sources, her male roommate reported she attempted to take her life. Miss Tila was rushed into a rehab facility after the incident.
In 2015, she was selected as a contestant on Celebrity Big Brother. She was evicted after one day, after producers became aware that she had earlier posted pro-Hitler and anti-semitic comments on social media.
Was Tila Tequila’s Instagram account banned?
Yes, the model does not have a verified IG account. She has had her social media accounts suspended or banned for posting rants that others found offensive or insensitive.
Where is Tila Tequila now as of 2025?
The television personality is no longer in the limelight. She leads a private life, with her primary focus being on raising her family and managing her businesses.
She is now a believer and follower of Jesus Christ. In 2019, she was reportedly working on a gospel album after giving her life to Jesus Christ. She started an online fundraiser to help her record the album. She raised a fraction of her goal, and the album is yet to be released.
How tall is Tila Tequila?
The television personality is 4 ft 11 in (150 cm) tall and weighs approximately 104 lb (47 kg). Her hair is light brown, and her eyes are dark brown. Her body measurements are 39-26-37 in.
Is Tila Tequila alive?
Yes, Tila Tequila is alive. She continues to maintain a low public profile, largely staying out of mainstream media in recent years.
What is Tila Tequila doing today?
As of today, Tila keeps a low public profile, focusing on personal projects. In 2019, she announced on YouTube that she planned to release a Gospel album and intended to use GoFundMe to raise funds for its production.
Who won a shot at love with Tila Tequila?
Bobby Banhart won the first season of A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila, earning Tila’s final choice in the dating reality show.
Fast facts about Tila Tequila
- She was ranked #100 on Maxim magazine’s Hot 100 list of 2008.
- Her dress size is 6 (US)/ 38 (EU)/ 10 (UK), and her shoe size is 5.5 (US)/ 36 (EU).
- Jessica Cohen is her publicist.
- On 6 September 2009, she signed a citizen’s arrest warrant accusing Shawne Merriman of choking and restraining her as she tried to leave his home.
- Tila Tequila’s children are two.
Tila Tequila is best known as the queen of Myspace, a social networking site that is now defunct. She was in the limelight for many years before choosing a quiet and private life.
Legit.ng recently published Samuel Nowlin Reeves, Jr.’s biography. Samuel was a Hawaiian-Chinese farmer and trained geologist based in the United States of America.
He was mainly recognised as Keanu Reeves’ dad. Keanu is prominently known for starring in various movies and TV shows, including The Matrix, Speed, and Point Break.
Source: Legit.ng
