Thai trans model Mimi Tao (Phajaranat Nobantao) is gaining attention for her leading role in Crooks Season 2 as she steps into acting.

Thai trans model Mimi Tao, also known as Phajaranat Nobantao, is marking another milestone as she ventures into acting, earning acclaim for her lead role in the German thriller Crooks, now in its second season and streaming globally via Netflix.

She previously broke new ground as the first trans model to feature on the hit American reality TV series Project Runway, where some audiences may recognise her, and has since appeared on international runways, including New York Fashion Week. But she has also done advocacy work, including her role as a United Nations (UN) ambassador for the TogetherBand campaign.

Courtesy of mimi_tao

Starring alongside D Gerrard (Ukrit “Big” Willibrord Dongabriel), she takes on the role of his older sister. She reveals that she spent more than six months in Thailand while production was ongoing. Fans of Mimi’s modelling are likely to be delighted as she brings her familiar energy to the screen, this time set in the underworld of organised crime.

Mimi’s journey – from a childhood marked by struggle to being ordained as a novice monk and enduring harassment – is as inspiring as her determination to pursue new opportunities, whether in modelling or acting. She remains open to acting again if the right project comes along, and is particularly interested in roles featuring dialogue in the Isan dialect.

Crooks held a pre-world premiere event in Vienna, Austria, with fans hoping it lives up to the high bar set by its first season. The series follows Charly (Frederick Lau), who is pulled into a botched robbery that upends his family life in Berlin, putting him in the crosshairs of European crime lords. Where Mimi Tao and D Gerrard fit into the story – and why Thailand holds the key – is a twist waiting to be uncovered in the series.