Sumanee ensures her lasting legacy
That's not Barbie on the cover of the English-language 2 magazine, but millionaire socialite Sumanee Gunakasem, who despite her youthful, doll-like appearance is in her 70s.
Aside from her looks and love of playing dress-up, she’s best known for her massive antique collection, worth billions of baht.
A serious collector, she once outbid the Sultan of Brunei and is well known at the big-name auction houses.
The well-preserved Sumanee intends that her legacy will remain long after she has gone, and that her apartment full of priceless furniture, art and jewellery, will be turned into a museum.
She has set up the Maneemoncha foundation to handle the task. She has a son, but he’s unmarried, and she doesn’t believe he would have time to manage it.
“I spent my lifetime collecting and even though my collection can’t compare to the world’s top collections, I think it’s good for the public to have a chance to view it,” she said earlier this year.
In the meantime, she plans to launch a pocketbook series. Expect the books to be jammed with photos of her. She already has 180 dresses laid out for the photo sessions – 60 out of them specifically designed for the project.
Na Nake break over
Ubiquitous TV presenter Ketsepsawat “Na Nake” Palakawong made headlines early this year when he said he was quitting his job as host of 11 shows.
Now, as 2012 closes out, Na Nake says he’ll be back.
“I have rested for a year. I am ready to return as a host or producer.”
Now, before you accuse Na Nake of going back on his word, he asks you to check the video of his “retirement” announcement.
“I did say that I would stop working as host but when I announced it I still had contracts remaining on two programmes – ‘Thailand’s Got Talent’ and ‘Take Me Out Thailand’. I said clearly that I would do no more new programmes in 2012 and I didn’t accept any.”
Right. We got that. He wasn’t quitting for good – we just didn’t expect him to come back so soon.
