The international reach of Thai television continues to demonstrate its power on the internet. Actor Sirilak Kwong, known across Asia as Lingling Kwong, has won first place in Netizens Choice Magazine’s “Most Beautiful Woman Alive 2026” rankings.
The publication announced the results following a multi-month polling campaign across its application, website, and social channels. Kwong claimed the title after collecting more than 22 million votes from fans worldwide. She finished ahead of Turkish actor Sıla Türkoğlu, the 2025 winner who took second place with 18.5 million votes, and third-place Turkish actor Yağmur Yüksel.
The victory also secured Kwong an unprecedented double honour. In the newly introduced regional category, she finished first in the “Most Beautiful Thai Actresses 2026” poll with more than 10 million votes. Organisers confirmed she is the first personality in the competition’s history to win both global and national titles in the same season.
An Unplanned Path to Screen Stardom
Born in Hong Kong to a Hong Kong father and a Thai mother, Kwong relocated to Thailand at seventeen to complete her education. A career in front of the camera was not her original goal. She entered the entertainment world after participating in a local beauty pageant, stepping onto sets without prior formal acting experience.
Her major breakthrough arrived in 2024 with the television series The Secret of Us, followed by the 2025 production Only You. Both projects paired her with co-star Orm Kornnaphat Sethratanapong, establishing the duo as one of Thailand’s most recognisable on-screen partnerships.
The public response to those series helped build an energetic, cross-border fan community that mobilised heavily throughout the voting period.
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Strong Thai Representation Across Global Rankings
The 2026 poll results highlighted a broader rise in international interest in Thai performers. Five Thai actors secured positions within the global top twenty.
Kwong’s co-star, Orm Kornnaphat, took fourth place worldwide with more than 11 million votes, while finishing second in the national category. Other Thai performers in the top tier included Freen Sarocha Chankimha at fifteen, Becky Rebecca Patricia Armstrong at seventeen, and Yoko Apasra Lertprasert at eighteen.
The upper ranks of the global survey also featured Chinese stars Bai Lu and Dilraba Dilmurat in sixth and seventh place, with Hollywood actor Scarlett Johansson finishing ninth.
The polling milestone follows an active year of international travel for Kwong. Alongside private commercial engagements in Southeast Asia, she and Kornnaphat hosted a major regional fan gathering in Singapore earlier this year, reinforcing how television exports from Bangkok now command large, dedicated audiences across Asia.
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