Payengxa Lor biography: 13 things about Miss Universe Laos 2022

Payengxa Lor (ນາງ ປ່າເຢັ້ງຊາ ລໍ່) is a Hmong teacher, model and beauty queen from Vientiane, Laos. Her family grew rice and operated a farm in the countryside before moving to the city.

Born and raised in a mountainous village in Xiangkhouang, Laos, Lor attended The Lao-American College in Vientiane. Before becoming a beauty queen, she won a silver medal in taekwondo.

In January 2023, Lor became the first Hmong woman to compete in Miss Universe. She is also the first candidate from Laos to place in the competition.

Lor is fluent in Lao and English and she is 5’4″ tall. Here are 13 more things about her:

1. In February 2018, she started teaching English via Learn English with Payengxa.
2. In July 2020, she co-founded ຜູ້ມີຄວາມຫວັງ ແບ່ງປັນນ້ໍາໃຈ.
3. In October 2020, she co-founded ເຈົ້າເຮັດໄດ້ You can do it.
4. In March 2022, she co-founded Hmong Woman Network.
5. On October 8, 2022, she competed against 19 other candidates at Miss Universe Laos 2022 at the Grand Ballroom of Mekong Riverside Hotel in Vientiane and won the title along with three special awards namely Miss Perfect Skin by Renita Beauty Center, Miss Confident Smile by 4U Spa Dental and Scent of Beauty by Madame Fin.
6. She left Laos on December 22, 2022 and arrived in the United States on December 24, 2022, marking the longest travel of a Miss Universe 2022 candidate and her first time to be in the U.S. On December 25, 2022, she was welcomed by the Laotian community in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
7. On December 30, 2022, she visited the Community School of Excellence in Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA.
8. On January 14, 2023, she represented Laos at Miss Universe 2022 and competed against 83 other candidates at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. She finished in the Top 16.
9. On January 19, 2023, she arrived in Laos and received a warm welcome from her supporters and members of the press.
10. On April 31, 2023, she was officially appointed as the new brand ambassador of Indochina Bank. 
11. On May 23, 2023, she and Miss International Laos 2018 Piyamarth Phounpaseuth attended the 76th edition of Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France.
12. On June 26, 2023, she attended the meeting of the city council of Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, which issued a proclamation to declare June 30 as Paxengxa Lor Day.
13. She was 22 years old when she crowned her successor Miss Universe Laos 2023 Phaimany Lathsabanthao on July 23, 2023 at the National Convention Center in Vientiane.