Linda Le (Vampy) | |
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![]() Linda Le dressed as Psylocke in 2013 | |
Born | Okmulgee, Oklahoma, U.S. | December 15, 1982
Alma mater | San Jose State University |
Partner | Jesse Yu [1] [2] |
Modeling information | |
Height | 5 ft 2 in (157 cm) [3] |
Hair color | Black |
Eye color | Brown [3] |
Linda Le (born December 15, 1982) [4] [3] is an American cosplayer, costumer, model, artist and Internet personality of Vietnamese descent. [5] [6] She is also known as Vampy Bit Me, [7] or just Vampy or Vamp; "Vampy" is also a name she has given to her own fictional character persona. [6] [8] [9]
Born in Okmulgee, Oklahoma to a family of Vietnamese immigrants, [6] Le moved to and grew up in San Jose, California [3] where she graduated with a business degree from San Jose State University while doing various odd jobs. [10] She later studied hairstyling from Paul Mitchell's in the U.S., Toni & Guy in London, [6] as well as in Tokyo, [4] before returning to America where she began teaching makeup and modeling. She has been dressing up as classic anime and video game characters since she was 12. [8]
Her early fame came after some of her cosplays were featured in the showcase book Otacool 2 [11] by Japanese toy and collectible company Kotobukiya. [12] Le then collaborated with Street Fighter artist Long Vo to create artwork and a comic for Udon Entertainment's book VENT, as well as with Sideshow Collectibles' sculptor Tim Miller, theCHIVE, [13] [14] Gibson Guitar Corporation, [15] KusoVinyl, [8] Myx TV, [16] [17] Manga Entertainment UK and Bang Zoom! Entertainment, [18] Jessica Chobot, [19] and other artists and companies in the USA and Japan. [20] Le is a part of costume and armor prop-making group Team Mantium Designs, [20] later renamed Mantium Industries, [21] and a video gamer sponsored by Mad Catz. [20] Le has been writing a column for YouBentMyWookie [22] and in 2012 she joined Nerdist Industries to produce Just Cos, an Internet show about the world of cosplay, co-hosted by Chloe Dykstra. [23] Le was a member of Kat Gunn's professional gaming and cosplay team, Less Than 3 (LT3), which was also sponsored by Mad Catz. [24] FHM Singapore featured her in the December 2013 issue, including on the cover. [25] [26]
She is a particular fan of Psylocke from X-Men , [27] [28] of whom she cosplayed in every version of the character, [29] and of Morrigan Aensland from Darkstalkers . [4] [28] [30] [31] In 2013 interviews, Le said she works "almost 15 hour days and sleep about the maximum is around 4 hours", her favourite costume so far was the one of Teresa from Claymore , [12] the most ambitious costume was Morrigan's, and the oddest costume request she has got was "the almost-naked Kasumi from Dead or Alive ." [26] She has been to over 200 American fan conventions between 2008 and 2013, [6] when she has decided to "take some time off" later that year. [32] Amped Asia in 2010 called her "probably the #1 most universally attractive Asian girl on the planet due to her geekiness (and sexiness too)." [31] IGN in 2011 opined "her cosplay skill is off the charts." [4] According to Kotaku in 2012, "Linda is a cosplay machine, renowned not just for the quality of her costumes, but their variety as well;" [33] Kotaku has also previously described her as "incredibly attractive" and her works as "amazing". [34] Asked in 2013 as where she sees herself in 20 years from now, Le answered: "Cosplay is great, but I can't be doing it forever ... Hopefully, I'll have my own costume line, come up with toys and do something related to the arts scene." [6]
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