Linda Le

Linda Le (Vampy)

Linda Le dressed as Psylocke in 2013
Born (1982-12-15) December 15, 1982
Okmulgee, Oklahoma, United States
Nationality American
Alma mater San Jose State University
Partner(s) Jesse Yu[1][2]
Modeling information
Height 5 ft 2 in (157 cm)[3]
Hair color Black
Eye color Brown[3]

Linda Le (born on December 15, 1982 in Okmulgee, Oklahoma[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, or just Vampy or Vamp; "Vampy" is also a name she has given to her own fictional character persona.[6][7][8]

Biography

Early life

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 business degree from San Jose State University while doing various odd jobs.[9] She later studied hairstyling from Paul Mitchell's the U.S. and at 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.[7]

Cosplaying

Linda Le posing as Jun from Gatchaman in 2013

Her early fame came after some of her cosplays were featured in the showcase book Otacool 2[10] by Japanese toy and collectible company Kotobukiya.[11] 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,[12][13] Gibson Guitar Corporation,[14] KusoVinyl,[7] Myx TV,[15][16] Manga Entertainment UK and Bang Zoom! Entertainment,[17] Jessica Chobot,[18] and other artists and companies in the USA and Japan.[19] Le is a part of costume and armor prop-making group Team Mantium Designs,[19] later renamed Mantium Industries,[20] and a video gamer sponsored by Mad Catz.[19] Le has been writing a column for YouBentMyWookie[21] and in 2012 she joined Nerdist Industries to produce Just Cos, an Internet show about the world of cosplay, co-hosted by Chloe Dykstra.[22] Le was a member of Kat Gunn's professional gaming and cosplay team, Less Than 3 (LT3), which was also sponsored by Mad Catz.[23] FHM Singapore featured her in the December 2013 issue, including on the cover.[24][25]

She is a particular fan of Psylocke from X-Men,[26][27] of whom she cosplayed in every version of the character,[28] and of Morrigan Aensland from Darkstalkers.[4][27][29][30] 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,[11] the most ambitious costume was Morrigan's, and the oddest costume request she has got was "the almost-naked Kasumi from Dead or Alive."[25] 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.[31] Amped Asia in 2010 called her "probably the #1 most universally attractive Asian girl on the planet due to her geekiness (and sexiness too)."[30] 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;"[32] Kotaku has also previously described her as "incredibly attractive" and her works as "amazing".[33] 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] Linda Le was named one of the top ten most popular Cosplayers in 2014.[34]

References

  1. ↑ Duhaime, Arielle (2013-07-22). "Being Spider Girl: a day at Comic-Con with a master of make-believe". The Verge. Retrieved 2014-06-25.
  2. ↑ "J★RYU and Vampy Customs for Retail and Web! | Kidrobot Blog". Blog.kidrobot.com. Retrieved 2014-06-25.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Vamp Beauty Linda - Model - San Jose, California, US". ModelMayhem.com. Retrieved 2014-06-24.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Linda Le: Cosplay Extraordinaire - IGN". Uk.ign.com. 2011-03-07. Retrieved 2014-06-24.
  5. ↑ Miniboss (2012-09-12). "Linda Le - Cosplay and Social Media (Part 3)". GameWads. Retrieved 2014-06-24.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Yuen Sin of The Straits Times (2013-09-04). "8 questions with Vampy With Me, AsiaOne Showbiz News". News.asiaone.com. Retrieved 2014-06-24.
  7. 1 2 3 "Exclusive Interview : Linda Le". KusoPop. 2010-12-13. Retrieved 2014-06-24.
  8. ↑ Charles, Chris (2013-11-23). "Linda Le's FHM Cover Shoot". Idol Features. Retrieved 2014-06-24.
  9. ↑ "Vampy Cosplay". GeektheNews. 2012-10-22. Retrieved 2014-06-24.
  10. ↑ "Vampy Bit Me". POPCulture Online. Retrieved 2014-06-24.
  11. 1 2 "Interview with Vampy Bit Me :: Features :: Around Town". Time Out Singapore. 2013-07-29. Retrieved 2014-06-24.
  12. ↑ "linda le the boom headshot girl revealed". theCHIVE. 2010-05-21. Retrieved 2014-06-24.
  13. ↑ "Linda Le Chivette of the Week". theCHIVE. 2011-08-25. Retrieved 2014-06-24.
  14. ↑ "Impulse Gamer Interviews Linda Le Interview (Vampy Returns)". www.impulsegamer.com. Retrieved 2014-06-24.
  15. ↑ "Grow Up Voltron: Falling in Love". YouTube. 2012-08-07. Retrieved 2014-06-24.
  16. ↑ "MYX-Rated MYX TV Linda Le aka Vampy Interview". YouTube. 2011-08-21. Retrieved 2014-06-24.
  17. ↑ "Freakin' Awesome Network | Interview Time! Vampy". Freakinawesomenetwork.net. 2011-08-03. Retrieved 2014-06-24.
  18. ↑ "Halloween Cosplay Blowout - IGN". Uk.ign.com. 2011-10-31. Retrieved 2014-06-24.
  19. 1 2 3 "Linda "Vampy Bit Me" Le". Mad Catz. Retrieved 2014-06-24.
  20. ↑ "home". Mantiumindustries.com. Archived from the original on 2014-02-12. Retrieved 2014-06-24.
  21. ↑ "Linda Le". YouBentMyWookie. Retrieved 2014-06-24.
  22. ↑ "Just Cos and Effect: Dressing the Part with Chloe Dykstra, Linda Le and Seth Herzog « Nerdist". Nerdist.com. 2012-05-18. Retrieved 2014-06-24.
  23. ↑ "Mad Catz Announces Partnership with Less Than 3.". Madcatz.com. 2013-02-14. Retrieved 2015-09-11.
  24. ↑ "Linda Le aka Vampy Bit Me – FHM Magazine (Singapore) – December 2013 Issue". CelebMafia. 2013-12-13. Retrieved 2014-06-24.
  25. 1 2 "Cover Girl: Vampy Bit Me - FHM on xinmsn Lifestyle". Lifestyle.xin.msn.com. 2013-12-02. Retrieved 2014-06-24.
  26. ↑ "YBMW Girl Of The Month: Linda ‘Vampy’ Le". YouBentMyWookie. Retrieved 2014-06-24.
  27. 1 2 "Cosplay Interview: Linda Le aka Vampy |". Nerdsociety.com. 2010-12-14. Retrieved 2014-06-24.
  28. ↑ "Linda Le (Vampy Bit Me) Psylocke Cosplay - SDCC 2013". GameSpot. Retrieved 2013-10-20.
  29. ↑ "Interview de Vampy (Linda Le) - Blogs - Forums de discussion jeux vidéo Gamekult". Gamekult.com. Retrieved 2014-06-24.
  30. 1 2 "Linda Le aka Vampy". Amped Asia. 2010-10-07. Retrieved 2014-06-24.
  31. ↑ "LBCHC 2013: Linda Le (Vampy Bit Me)". Comic Vine. 2013-11-25. Retrieved 2014-06-24.
  32. ↑ Luke Plunkett (2012-04-02). "The Very Best In Cosplay: Linda Le". Kotaku.com. Retrieved 2014-06-24.
  33. ↑ Mike Fahey (2010-08-24). "One Mother Loving EarthBound Cosplayer". Kotaku.com. Retrieved 2014-06-24.
  34. ↑ "10 Of The Most Popular Cosplayers In The World". therichest. Retrieved 2016-01-30.
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