The Jaw Dropping Transformation Of Tila Tequila

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The following article contains mentions of suicide.

Long before everyone was gushing over famous TikTok stars – some of whom live wildly lavish lives – there was Tila Tequila, one of America's earliest internet celebrities. Tequila amassed a huge following on MySpace in the early 2000s before breaking into modeling, eventually landing her own reality TV show, "A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila."

Surprisingly, her intention was never to be popular. Instead, she wanted to make the most of her talents — acting, singing, and modeling — as she shared with The New York Times in an October 2007 interview. "The press and the media have glorified the celebrity thing and brainwashed people to live in that world," Tequila told the publication. "People try to stand out for nothing and they end up getting quote-unquote famous. I'm not into that at all. If you're just into fame for fame, I'm like, 'Okay, but what are you good at? What can you actually do?'"

Although her future looked promising, being popular on MySpace didn't warrant a long-term career in the limelight; the platform lost traction and became obsolete in popular culture. Between Tequila's own struggles and a new crop of internet sensations continuing to surface, what's left of Tequila's stardom is a ton of memories for her die-hard fans. Here's the story of Tila Tequila's jaw-dropping transformation.

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Tila Tequila was born Thiên Thanh Thị Nguyễn in 1981. Her Vietnamese family relocated from Singapore to the United States when she was 1 year old and brought her up in a tight-knit Houston, Texas, neighborhood. The Buddhist community they settled in had strict rules. "It was more like their own cult kind of thing," Tequila recollected in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. "You could only wear blue and white. And long sleeves only."

Not one to be tamed by the rule of law, Tequila quickly found herself resisting authority, even robbing houses. She took to doing drugs, like ecstasy, and other vices as young as 11 years old. Her habits got "worse in high school," and she had to be put into a "school for bad kids, kinda like juvenile."

During this rebellious phase, Tequila acquired her popular name. She was 13 at the time, and yes, tequila had something to do with it. "I was hanging with a bunch of friends, we drank tequila for the first time and I puked all over the place," she shared in a conversation with King. "I was really embarrassed, and the next day at school everybody had heard about it. They were winking and laughing and started calling me Tila Tequila. The name kind of stuck with me ever since."

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When Tila Tequila was in her teens, she had dreams of making it in Hollywood. She turned to stripping to fund her pursuits, as she told King. "When I was 18 and still in high school, I was a stripper for a while, because I was trying to save up money to move to Hollywood to become this bisexual Hollywood starlet that I am today," Tequila disclosed. Her days stripping weren't without weird experiences, as she once extended an unhonored invitation to a history teacher she had a crush on.

Her goal of making it to Tinseltown eventually came true. Her modeling career, she recalled in a chat with IGN, began when she had a chance encounter with a Playboy magazine recruiter at a Houston mall. "I never thought about modeling before, but Playboy was a bigger thing so I did a test shoot," Tequila shared.

That first gig paved the way for more work. Tequila got the opportunity to model for a car show after a bit of coercion from a friend, and Hollywood came calling afterward. "People saw me from the car show from California and they were interested in working with me right away," she recounted. "They wanted to fly me to California to do shoots. I'd never been to California and it was like a free trip. So that's how I got started."

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"Surviving Nugent" premiered on VH1 in 2003. The show — which was filmed at "Motor City Madhouse" singer Ted Nugent's 2,000-acre ranch in Michigan – required contestants to endure a string of games crafted by the rock star. Season 1 of "Surviving Nugent" featured a young Tila Tequila, who, alongside seven other contestants, had an arduous task of going head-to-head with each other to secure a $25,000 cash prize and a pickup truck.

For Tequila, the call to be part of the cast came out of the blue. Even though she believed the producers' expectation was that she would be repulsed by some of the show's distasteful activities, she had a good time. "They picked me to be on the show thinking that I was going to be like, 'Eww gross! Ewww!'" she recalled in her conversation with Rock Confidential. "But it was actually a lot of fun. It's not everyday you get to gut and skin a boar you know? Or make your own s***ter...haha!" Although she didn't win, Tequila made it far in the competition; eventually going even further on her own in the world of social media.

After MySpace launched in August 2003, it took a year for the platform to grow to five million users. Per Statista, MySpace reached its peak in 2008 with a record 115 million users. It was, therefore, a big deal for a single user on the social network to have more than one million friends. As of April 2006, Tila Tequila had a reported 31.5 million page views on MySpace, and by March 2007, she had accumulated 1.7 million friends.

Despite her huge fan base, Tequila gradually became frustrated with the social website. She called out MySpace in a March 2007 blog post (via Tech Digest) and accused the platform of "cutting down our freedom" and "taking away our rights slowly" after the platform wouldn't allow her to sell her music. Over time, Tequila steered away from MySpace, even though the number of friends she had increased to 3.7 million by 2011. She explained in an interview (via The New York Times), "I just lost my passion for MySpace. I haven't logged on because it's not simple anymore."

Tila Tequila's love for music began in middle school, as she disclosed in her chat with Rock Confidential. She decided to pursue the craft as the lead vocalist of the bands Jealousy and Beyond Betty Jean. Tequila told the publication of her songwriting process, "I just sing and write what I feel is in my heart and I don't care what anybody else thinks of it. I am damn proud because I get to do what I love most, and having other people appreciate my music will only be a super bonus." Although Beyond Betty Jean had dreams of landing a record deal, the group fell apart.

Tequila ultimately went solo and released her debut single, "I Love U," in February 2007. The song, which was No. 75 on the Digital Songs Chart, preceded her first extended play, "Sex." The electronic-pop compilation featured songs such as "Little Brat" and "Rat Room" and was published by The Saturday Team in March 2007. Three years later, Tequila rebranded as "Miss Tila." She released her second body of work, an extended play named "Welcome to the Dark Side," under her own record label, Little Miss Trendsetter Inc.

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While other stars refuse to define their sexuality, Tila Tequila was open about being bisexual and even made a show out of it. Her reality television series, "A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila," premiered on MTV in October 2007. The dating show borrowed from the playbook of ABC's controversial long-running show, "The Bachelor"; a total of 32 contestants (16 women and 16 men) competed to win over Tequila's heart. The show had 1.8 million viewers when it first aired, and by November 2007, its viewership had spiked to 4.2 million.

While its format made for good entertainment, Tequila's reality show had its shortcomings. 25-year-old Bobby Banhart beat the other contestants to emerge the winner of Season 1, but he later claimed there was no real "Shot at Love with Tila Tequila," since he was ditched after the show. "She never called me after the last show and no one would give me her number," Banhart wrote on MySpace (via Today).

The show's second season also had its fair share of drama; its winner Kristy Morgan declined to pursue a relationship with Tequila. In an interview with Vlad TV, Tequila said she didn't opt to film Season 3 of her dating show. "It's a lot," she explained. "It's too much emotion ... gameplay, and then on top of that, the producers would kind of, like, mess with your heads."

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Tila Tequila released her book, "Hooking Up with Tila Tequila: A Guide to Love, Fame, Happiness, Success, and Being the Life of the Party," in December 2008. The socialite manual was a collaborative effort between Tequila and author Sarah Tomlinson, featuring Tequila's rise to the top of the digital world, an in-depth look at her life away from the cameras, and contained images her fans had never seen before. The internet star also offered responses to questions from her fan base and dished out life advice.

Tequila held book signings at several bookshops, including a Barnes & Noble in New York City and Borders bookstore in Los Angeles, California, where several fans showed up to meet the MySpace queen. One supporter told SRTV that their favorite insight from Tequila's book was the internet sensation's advocacy for authenticity. "When she talks about ... 'Be Yourself,'" they shared. "Because a lot of people aren't their selves anymore, so you gotta be yourself in order to get somewhere."

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Tila Tequila and ex-San Diego Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman were reportedly embroiled in an early morning altercation that turned physical in September 2009. According to reports, the disagreement occurred at Merriman's San Diego residence and led Tequila to authorize a citizen's arrest warrant for the ex-athlete.

The reality star sought to press charges against Merriman for battery, but the later denied any wrongdoing. He released a statement that read in part, per ESPN, "I in no way caused any harm to Ms Nguyễn, however, paramedics were called and she was examined but no injuries were reported. She was released and has since returned to Los Angeles, California. There have been no charges filed against me."

Just days later, District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis dropped the case against Merriman, saying (via ESPN) there was "insufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that any crime was committed." Tequila still took Merriman to court with claims that the linebacker had choked her, and the former retaliated with a lawsuit of his own, alleging that the case affected a business deal between him and Wal-Mart Inc. The pair eventually reached an out-of-court agreement in February 2010.

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In March 2012, it was reported that Tila Tequila was hospitalized following an alleged suicide attempt. The singer's roommate claimed that she had been in crisis for the previous week. The police were called to her home in the wee hours of the morning, during which Tequila had an exchange with the police while in and out of consciousness before being taken away in an ambulance.

Further reports indicated that Tequila had a brain aneurysm, but it was uncertain whether the diagnosis was a result of an apparent drug overdose. Her manager told E! News at the time, "Tila continues to recover and is doing better. We ask that her privacy is respected during this difficult time ... Tila is in a wheelchair right now, as she is very weak." Tequila was later taken into a rehabilitation center and released in April 2012 upon finishing treatment. She was given a clean bill of health, and, per her manager (via E! News), was "ready to get back to work."

If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org

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Tila Tequila first hinted at getting pregnant in a December 2009 tweet in which she said she would be her brother and sister-in-law's surrogate. In February of the following year, the former MySpace star claimed that she was showing signs of a miscarriage.

A little over four years later, Tequila was expecting a child of her own. She told US Weekly of her pregnancy in 2014, "I truly feel that my baby has saved my life, and I will do whatever it takes to give my little baby the whole entire world! I know I'm going to cry so much when the baby is finally born later this year."

Tequila's first child, a baby girl named Isabella Monroe Nguyễn, arrived on November 16, 2014. The internet sensation couldn't contain her excitement after her daughter's birth, and said in another chat with US Weekly, "I am so in love with her. She's so perfect and beautiful." In 2018, Tequila broke the news through Facebook that her second child was on the way. Although she promised to let fans know when to expect the birth of baby No. 2, Tequila's social media accounts have since been deleted.

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Kanye West isn't the only celebrity who has faced backlash for making antisemitic remarks. Tila Tequila was called out in December 2013 for pro-Adolf Hitler comments she made on her blog. The former internet star said the Nazi leader's "side of the story" was never made public because "he was not the victor" (via The Hollywood Reporter). She further downplayed the impact of the Holocaust and urged victims to shake off its effects, writing, "I understand the Jewish people went through some s*** too, but hey guess what?? SO DID THE MAJORITY OF THE PEOPLE WHO SUFFERED IN EVERY SINGLE WAR THST TOOK PLACE! You were NOT the only ones!" Tequila then shared and deleted a Facebook post of herself wearing a Nazi hat while posing in front of a concentration camp.

Her comments resurfaced in 2015 when she was cast as part of "Celebrity Big Brother: UK vs USA." Tequila had hardly settled in the house when online activists called for her removal. According to the BBC, a representative of the show said of her day two ousting, "The views Tila had expressed, and permitted to remain uncorrected, are totally unacceptable and, accordingly, her continued involvement in the programme was untenable." Tequila's trolling nature didn't end after she left TV. Her X, formerly known as Twitter, account was suspended after she shared a picture of herself at a white nationalist convention in November 2016.

Tila Tequila is no stranger to custody battles. When Johnson & Johnson heiress Casey Johnson, with whom she had a brief relationship, died in 2010, Tequila revealed her intention to get custody of Casey's adopted daughter, Ava Monroe. Six years later, Tequila's baby daddy, Thomas Whitaker, took her to court over the custody of their daughter, Isabella Monroe Nguyễn. Whitaker reportedly claimed that Tequila was not a suitable parent for their then-1-year-old.

In 2018, The Blast reported that Whitaker and Tequila were still battling for custody, with the former alleging that Tequila "engaged in a history or pattern of child neglect." Whitaker was reportedly asking for full guardianship of Nguyễn and suggested that Tequila should be allowed to have visiting hours.

When the exes came to an agreement in December 2019, their resolution was contrary to Whitaker's original request. Per court documents obtained by The Blast, Tequila maintained the authority to "direct the moral and religious training of the child" and would be Nguyễn's primary parent. Whitaker, on the other hand, was granted regular visits and required to part with $217-per-month in child support.