Mia Kang facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Mia Kang
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Kang on Uproxx in 2017
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| Born | 30 December 1988 |
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| Height | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) |
| Hair color | Brown |
| Eye color | Brown |
| Agency | IMG Models |
Mia Kang (born December 30, 1988) is a model, Muay Thai fighter, and TV host. She is from both Britain and Switzerland. Mia lives in New York City.
Mia grew up in Hong Kong. When she was young, she was teased for being overweight. At age 13, she lost a lot of weight and soon became a model. She modeled in many countries in Asia and Europe while she was in high school and college.
After college, Mia got a special degree in finance. She left modeling to work with money and business. But she later returned to modeling. In 2016, she won a big contest for Sports Illustrated magazine.
Even with her modeling success, Mia was not happy. She felt a lot of pressure to be very thin. This led to unhealthy eating habits. Her life changed when she started learning Muay Thai, a martial art, in Thailand. Training helped her learn to respect her body. She also developed healthy eating habits and gained muscle. Now, Mia helps other women feel good about their bodies. She still models and hosts a TV show called Spy Games.
Contents
Early Life and Modeling Career
Mia Kang was born and grew up in Hong Kong. She is also a citizen of Switzerland. Her father is British, and her mother is South Korean. They met in Taiwan and then moved to Hong Kong for work. Her father was a scientist from Oxford University. Mia has four older half-siblings, but they lived in other parts of the world.
As a teenager, Mia went to Island School in Hong Kong. She often felt like she did not fit in. She was half Korean and half British, so she felt caught between different groups of friends.
When Mia was 13, she was told she was overweight. A doctor warned her about health risks like diabetes.
After she became thinner, a dance teacher helped her become a model at age 13. One of her first jobs was for Levi's clothing. She was surprised to see her picture in shops in Times Square in Hong Kong.
After high school, Mia modeled in many cities. These included Tokyo, Singapore, Milan, and London. She worked with a modeling agency in London for several years.
College and Finance Work
Even though Mia was a successful model, her father told her to go to college. He said modeling might not last forever. So, Mia studied philosophy and economics at Bristol University. She earned a bachelor's degree. Then, she got a master's degree in finance and financial law. She says her education is what she is most proud of. She hopes to go back to school one day for more studies.
After college, Mia stopped modeling. She used her finance degree to work in London. She traded different goods and products. She was on her way to becoming a financial expert. But in her mid-20s, she felt stuck. She decided to try modeling again.
Returning to Modeling
In 2015, Mia signed with a new modeling agency. She moved from Hong Kong to New York City. This city is home to many top models. Her first job in New York was for Sports Illustrated magazine. She was the first person from Hong Kong to become a Sports Illustrated model. She also worked for Guess campaigns.
In August 2016, Mia won a big contest. She beat five other models from around the world. This win meant she would be in the 2017 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. She was also named a "Rookie" for the magazine in 2017.
However, Mia was very unhappy. She felt pressure to lose a lot of weight. She was asked to go on special diets between photo shoots. Sometimes, she would go days without eating much. She became obsessed with being thinner. She often relied on unhealthy habits to stay thin.
Muay Thai and Body Confidence
Mia's family has a home in Koh Samui, an island in Thailand. In 2016, Mia was on a 10-day break from modeling there. She saw young fighters training in Muay Thai, a combat sport. She asked if she could try it. At first, she just wanted to lose more weight. But the coaches were impressed. They asked her to join their training camp. Her 10-day trip turned into six or nine months of training. She trained six days a week.
This martial arts training taught Mia to respect her body. The workouts were so hard that she forgot about her unhealthy habits. She stopped restricting what she ate. She gained 20-30 pounds of healthy weight and muscle. Her dress size changed from a size two-four to a size four-six.
Mia started splitting her time between training in Thailand and modeling in New York. She continued training in New York with famous coaches. She also trained in Thailand. She decided to have her first professional Muay Thai fight in May 2017. Her modeling agency was worried about her getting hurt. But Sports Illustrated agreed to film the fight for a video. Mia trained for a month with a legendary Muay Thai fighter named Saenchai.
Mia's first professional fight was on May 7, 2017. She fought a Thai fighter named Nong B. Mia won the second round. Then, in the third round, she hit her opponent hard. She won the fight by technical knockout. After her win, Mia was excited to try mixed martial arts. She signed with a manager for MMA fighters.
Mia says Muay Thai taught her to love her body. She even says it saved her life. She became a body confidence advocate. This means she encourages all women to have strong and healthy bodies. She started her own boxing club for women in SoHo, New York. It is called "Killa Girl Gang," after her fighting name, "Killa Kang." She also hosted a body confidence trip in Koh Samui.
In May 2018, Mia shared photos on Instagram. She showed her very thin body from 2015 next to her stronger body from 2018. This post got many "likes" and was covered by news around the world. Mia was named a "Style Hero" by the Today Show in 2018. She was also featured in Self magazine's New Year's Challenge in 2019.
Mia still models. But she says her new body size is not standard for models. It is larger than regular model sizes but smaller than plus-size model sizes. So, clients sometimes ask her to either gain or lose weight.
In 2020, Mia became the host of Spy Games. This is a reality competition TV show on the Bravo channel. On the show, ten people compete in spy-like challenges to win $100,000.
Charity Work
Mia tries to work with a charity in every country where she models. She supports the Wor Watthana Muay Thai gym. This gym helps children in a poor area of northeast Thailand.
Publication
Mia Kang wrote a book called Knockout in 2020. In her book, she shared her personal story. She talked about her journey from not liking herself to loving herself. She struggled with body image issues and unhealthy eating habits when she was young and during her modeling career. Her book focuses on how Muay Thai helped her life in a positive way. Knockout was published by Abrams Books in October 2020. Many people liked the book.
