Today we’d like to introduce you to Yvon Nguyen. They and their team shared their story with us below:
Yvon Nguyen grew up in a small city outside of Dallas, Texas, called Rowlett. Being such an outgoing kid, Yvon played various sports and was super involved within her small community in Texas. Yvon is Portuguese and Vietnamese and has been embedded into her Vietnamese heritage since her youth following to adulthood.
Her parents both worked in the medical field (Dad ‘Bobby Nguyen’: firsthand assist plastic surgeon) (Mom ‘Anabela Nguyen’: surgical preparation nurse), and she grew up with her older and younger sisters (Ana Older) (Mia Younger)
It wasn’t long after Yvon was born that her mother was diagnosed with Lung Cancer. Her mom (Anabela Nguyen) fought her battle with cancer for 3 years but unfortunately lost the battle the day after Mother’s Day of 2013.
Yvon’s father quickly had to take on the role of being a single dad and business owner. Yvon believes that she got her determination and business mind from her father. Shortly after losing her mom, Yvon’s father was diagnosed with Leukemia, and it was the same nightmare again. My sisters and I made the hospital our playground and made the most of what we had when our parents were sick.
Yvon’s father fought his battle with cancer for 2 years until he passed away on September 11th of 2015, leaving Yvon and her two sisters as orphans and kids preparing for a Foster Family to move into their paid-off family home from their father. The Foster Mother and her children were highly abusive mentally, physically, emotionally, and financially to the 3 Nguyen Sisters, to whom her family member from California took over custody; from then, the 3 girls packed their bags and headed to Orange County, California.
Moving to California truly opened Yvon’s eyes to a world that could be possible for an orphan like herself. It started when her teacher asked her to be a part of the local city pageant. Although Yvon did not win, she realized that being an orphan does not define her or her future. From there, Yvon continued to compete in pageants, winning the Miss San Diego Teen USA and Teen Miss California USA titles in 2022, placing in The Top 10 at Nationals, as well as starting her own business, Yvon’s Non-Profit Modeling Agency. Once Yvon turned 18, she moved from Orange County to Oceanside, California.
Since being a little girl, Yvon has always dreamed of becoming a model and traveling the world for jobs but never felt like she was able to do so because of her situation at home and financially. Yvon went out and chased this dream by doing a photoshoot with a classmate in middle school. From there Yvon was able to create her credibility on Instagram and began to read out to multiple videographers and photographers for collaborative work. That’s when Yvon’s modeling career truly started to take off. Then she modeled for her first fashion show, and then its history from there. Yvon has now traveled all over the world for magazines, photoshoots, and commercial projects, as well as seen a ton of issues within the industry… bullying, dangerous people gatekeeping, financial burden, etc. A lot in which set Yvon back from her fullest potential as a model. That is why Yvon decided to start Yvon’s Non-Profit Modeling Agency. To give upcoming and aspiring models the cache space to come in, grow, and learn about the modeling industry without having to worry about all the underlying issues of the industry.
Yvon founded YNPMA when she was 18 years old. Now just turning 21, she has been able to help over 400+ models in the SoCal area and hopes to continue to expand to NorCal, Nevada, and then hopefully nationwide.
Yvon wants to continue her message to lead with your heart and chase the dreams you have always desired. From her experience, she is able to say that regardless of who you are or where you come from, YOU can make a difference, go after your dreams, and change the world with your voice and actions.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
That’s a hard question… No, because of all I have had to endure with losing my parents, foster care, and moving across the country, but at the same time, I think of my life now and how it’s been the life I have always wanted for myself, and I can’t help to think that it’s a smooth road from here. I think the hardest bump to get over I not having my parents to watch and help me grow up. There have been so many times where I wish I could just call my mom or dad for advice, support, or even just a simple conversation.
Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
Instagram has always been the best way for me! As someone who is a part of Generation Z it has been awesome being able to watch the evolution of Instagram and what it now does for businesses and content creators.
Contact Info:
Image Credits
@capturedbyweinchez
Sam and George Weinchez
