Linda Le (Vampy)
Linda Le dressed as Psylocke in 2013
Born (1982-12-15) December 15, 1982
Okmulgee, Oklahoma, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Alma materSan Jose State University
PartnerJesse Yu[1][2]
Modeling information
Height5 ft 2 in (157 cm)[3]
Hair colorBlack
Eye colorBrown[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]

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 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]

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[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]

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. Archived from the original on 2014-12-20. 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. Archived from the original on 2014-11-05. Retrieved 2014-06-24.
  7. ↑ "Vampy Bit Me Cosplay Profile". Cosplay News Network. 2017-08-13. Retrieved 2018-10-10.
  8. 1 2 3 "Exclusive Interview : Linda Le". KusoPop. 2010-12-13. Archived from the original on 2014-08-17. Retrieved 2014-06-24.
  9. ↑ Charles, Chris (2013-11-23). "Linda Le's FHM Cover Shoot". Idol Features. Retrieved 2014-06-24.
  10. ↑ "Vampy Cosplay". GeektheNews. 2012-10-22. Retrieved 2014-06-24.
  11. ↑ "Vampy Bit Me". POPCulture Online. Retrieved 2014-06-24.
  12. 1 2 "Interview with Vampy Bit Me :: Features :: Around Town". Time Out Singapore. 2013-07-29. Retrieved 2014-06-24.
  13. ↑ "linda le the boom headshot girl revealed". theCHIVE. 2010-05-21. Retrieved 2014-06-24.
  14. ↑ "Linda Le Chivette of the Week". theCHIVE. 2011-08-25. Retrieved 2014-06-24.
  15. ↑ "Impulse Gamer Interviews Linda Le Interview (Vampy Returns)". www.impulsegamer.com. Retrieved 2014-06-24.
  16. ↑ "Grow Up Voltron: Falling in Love". YouTube. 2012-08-07. Retrieved 2014-06-24.
  17. ↑ "MYX-Rated MYX TV Linda Le aka Vampy Interview". YouTube. 2011-08-21. Retrieved 2014-06-24.
  18. ↑ "Freakin' Awesome Network | Interview Time! Vampy". Freakinawesomenetwork.net. 2011-08-03. Retrieved 2014-06-24.
  19. ↑ "Halloween Cosplay Blowout - IGN". Uk.ign.com. 2011-10-31. Retrieved 2014-06-24.
  20. 1 2 3 "Linda "Vampy Bit Me" Le". Mad Catz. Retrieved 2014-06-24.
  21. ↑ "home". Mantiumindustries.com. Archived from the original on 2014-02-12. Retrieved 2014-06-24.
  22. ↑ "Linda Le". YouBentMyWookie. 10 June 2011. Retrieved 2014-06-24.
  23. ↑ "Just Cos and Effect: Dressing the Part with Chloe Dykstra, Linda Le and Seth Herzog « Nerdist". Nerdist.com. 2012-05-18. Archived from the original on 2015-01-08. Retrieved 2014-06-24.
  24. ↑ "Mad Catz Announces Partnership with Less Than 3". Madcatz.com. 2013-02-14. Archived from the original on 2016-05-09. Retrieved 2015-09-11.
  25. ↑ "Linda Le aka Vampy Bit Me – FHM Magazine (Singapore) – December 2013 Issue". CelebMafia. 2013-12-13. Retrieved 2014-06-24.
  26. 1 2 "Cover Girl: Vampy Bit Me - FHM on xinmsn Lifestyle". Lifestyle.xin.msn.com. 2013-12-02. Archived from the original on 2014-03-11. Retrieved 2014-06-24.
  27. ↑ "YBMW Girl Of The Month: Linda 'Vampy' Le". YouBentMyWookie. 14 January 2010. Retrieved 2014-06-24.
  28. 1 2 "Cosplay Interview: Linda Le aka Vampy |". Nerdsociety.com. 2010-12-14. Retrieved 2014-06-24.
  29. ↑ "Linda Le (Vampy Bit Me) Psylocke Cosplay - SDCC 2013". GameSpot. Retrieved 2013-10-20.
  30. ↑ "Interview de Vampy (Linda Le) - Blogs - Forums de discussion jeux vidéo Gamekult". Gamekult.com. Retrieved 2014-06-24.
  31. 1 2 "Linda Le aka Vampy". Amped Asia. 2010-10-07. Retrieved 2014-06-24.
  32. ↑ "LBCHC 2013: Linda Le (Vampy Bit Me)". Comic Vine. 2013-11-25. Retrieved 2014-06-24.
  33. ↑ Luke Plunkett (2012-04-02). "The Very Best In Cosplay: Linda Le". Kotaku.com. Retrieved 2014-06-24.
  34. ↑ Mike Fahey (2010-08-24). "One Mother Loving EarthBound Cosplayer". Kotaku.com. Retrieved 2014-06-24.
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