Dr Pakpilai Thavisin is feeling heat from the media spotlight after her husband Srettha Thavisin became Thailand’s 30th prime minister. But this is far from her first taste of fame.

With her high-flying career and fashionable dress sense, Pakpilai has been a favorite subject of gossip columns for years. She has also aired her views in media interviews.

Last year, she ranked among the five winners of Hello! Magazine’s honorary awards. The accolade was granted in recognition of her significant contributions to Thailand’s beauty and healthcare industry.

Brainy beauty

Pakpilai was born in 1961 to Pol Lt-General Pon Paladraksa and his wife Udomsi. Her maternal grandfather was Phra Ram-indra, who rose to become chief of the Royal Thai Police.

Though having grown up in Bangkok’s busy Sukhumvit area, Pakpilai recalled running in a paddy field, chasing buffaloes, and shopping at a small local market by the Saen Saeb Canal during her childhood. She said she also spent her free time helping with house chores and cooking.

Inspired by her father, Pakpilai studied hard and considered herself a nerd back in her school days. She studied at the Prasarntmit demonstration school and then at Pathumwan Demonstration School.

“At high school, I twice won scholarships to study in Japan but relinquished my place because of opposition from my dad. He was worried about me going overseas at a young age,” Pakpilai recalled.

Her educational path led instead to Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Medicine. Studying on a royal scholarship, Pakpilai demonstrated strong skills in surgery and at that time was reportedly the only Chula medical student able to cut surgical thread with her left hand.

She also earned a reputation as the boldest dresser in the faculty – wearing red heeled shoes, matching playful earrings, and even ankle bracelets.

Bright career

After graduating from the university with second-class honors, Pakpilai studied skincare at the Lions Suphannahong Medical Center between 1986 and 1987. Later, she flew to the United States to study laser treatments under Dr Leon Goldman, a pioneer of laser surgery and a leading educator in the field.

When she returned to Thailand, she joined the Rajdhevee Clinic and helped it to launch laser skincare treatments. “The clinic is the first facility to use laser devices for skincare in Thailand,” Pakpilai stated proudly. At the clinic, she treated between 120 and 150 patients a day.

Anti-aging guru

Pakpilai became interested in the field of anti-aging after losing her mother and elder brother to cancer. Witnessing how medical treatments barely helped them during their final days, she started looking deeply into alternative medicine.

“I decided to study Post-University Education in Anti-Aging Medical Therapeutics from the World Society of Anti-Aging Medicine between 2004 and 2005, and became the first Thai to have completed the course,” she explained.

In good shape both in terms of her health and appearance, Pakpilai looks much younger than her age. She currently serves as a specialist in anti-aging medicine, lasers & aesthetics at Bumrungrad International Hospital’s VitalLife Scientific Wellness Center.

Although she’s a busy working woman, Pakpilai has always found time for regular workouts, which she describes as her happy time.

“I also enjoy going to the spa. These activities boost my happiness hormones,” she said.

Family life

In 1989, Pakpilai married business tycoon Srettha. The couple have three children together – all reportedly doing well for themselves as young adults. Their eldest son earned a bachelor’s degree from Oxford University and a master’s from Harvard Business School. Their second son graduated from Standford University. Their youngest child and only daughter is a graduate of Columbia University’s, Barnard College.

Pakpilai often posts pictures featuring her and her husband side by side on social media. On special occasions like their wedding anniversary, she is also not shy about declaring that she loves him very much.

By Thai PBS World’s Political Desk