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[sriracha john]

She ain't Scottish!

She is half Thai, half American.

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The controversy rages on :

Kathaleeya McIntosh, or Mam as she is often called, was born on November 10th, 1972 in Bangkok Thailand. This 170 cm tall English-Thai beauty was born to William and Yuraporn McIntosh.

http://www.wildaid.org/index.asp?CID=17&PID=343&SUBID=360

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sriracha john , you must be FBI

Bambi

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shhhhhhh...... or you'll ruin my cover....

[SiamOne]

so William McIntosh was ENGLISH!!?

[sriracha john]

Actually, I believe the definitive answer can be found in this rather lengthy report posted here:

Life imitates art for Scots soap star

Her pale complexion and striking eyes, inherited from her beloved Scottish father, have made Kathaleeya McIntosh one of Thailand’s most beautiful and bankable stars. In a country of dark-eyed Asian women, the half-Scottish actress was regarded as an exotic foreigner when she shot to stardom playing a virtuous heroine in the lucrative world of Thailand’s television soap operas.

But last week the mass adulation evaporated in an instant when McIntosh announced “the best news of my life” — that she was five months’ pregnant. As millions of dedicated Thai soap fanatics know, the actress is not married. The revelation has caused a national scandal.

Indeed, so much heat has been generated by the furore that McIntosh and most of her family, including her boyfriend, have fled Thailand to stay with relatives in Detroit until the baby is born.

Of course, had the 33-year-old actress chosen to pursue her acting career in Scotland, her status as an unwed mother would hardly have raised an eyebrow. Half a world away, however, the discovery has provoked howls of outrage and denunciations of a woman formerly held in the highest regard.

It seems the differences that won McIntosh so many admirers — her light-skinned appearance and Scottish heritage — are not enough to excuse her private life. Looking like a glamorous westerner is one thing, behaving like one quite another.

The daughter of an airline pilot and his Thai wife, McIntosh was well acquainted with Thailand’s confusing moral code. She and her elder brother, also an actor, grew up in a large house in one of Bangkok’s most salubrious suburbs. Her father, William, settled in Thailand in the 1960s when the company he worked for, Scandinavian Airlines, forged a business alliance with Thai Air. He met his wife, Yuraporn, an air hostess, in Bangkok and decided to stay.

When McIntosh was growing up the family steered clear of Bangkok’s thriving expat community. McIntosh Sr is said to have been very proud of his provenance, but chose to bring up his children to be aware of their heritage while at the same time living like Thais.

His daughter is also very proud of those Scottish roots. She had a close relationship with her father until his death in February last year, at 75. William had suffered many years of ill-health, including heart problems and kidney failure, and his daughter dedicated much of her spare time to nursing him.

It was after she had studied business and arts at college in Bangkok that McIntosh came to wider public prominence. Her good looks attracted the attention of a model scout, who spotted her when she was out with her brother, aged 16 and still sporting braces on her teeth.

She appeared in a series of adverts, and then moved into television, where she hosted a chat show, before being cast in a number of top-rated soap operas with such diverse titles as The Pork Vendor’s Daughter and The Spell of Country Music.

The shows changed, but the essence of her role remained the same — a leading lady of great devotion and virtue, pursued by a hero who is thwarted at every turn by a cast of villains. The sagas attracted huge audiences, hooked on every clichéd twist and turn of the predictable plot.

What seems to have confused and angered many viewers is the discovery that the actress and the character are not, in fact, the same person. This might explain why they are treating her pregnancy like a personal betrayal. Friends say that for most of last year, her lingering grief for her father may have played a part in her decision not to talk publicly about her pregnancy.

Speculation about her weight gain in the weeks leading up to her announcement was dismissed by McIntosh’s spokesman as an adverse reaction to a herbal remedy she had been taking. But the truth could only be hidden for so long.

Everyone in celebrity-obsessed Thailand knew about McIntosh’s relationship with her boyfriend, Songkran Krajannet, a 30-year-old high-flying property dealer. The couple were photographed at Bangkok’s trendiest nightspots and restaurants.

But what went on behind closed doors was strictly off-limits. As McIntosh was only too aware, there is one quality the Thais prize above all others in their soap heroines, and that is virginity. As Thailand’s tabloid press relentlessly pursued the story, McIntosh had little choice but to make an announcement. She convened a press conference, with her mother by her side, where she told reporters: “I have been pregnant for about the last five months, but I wasn’t aware of it until my doctor informed me yesterday.”

The fury erupted immediately. “I hate you!” fulminated one newspaper columnist. One of Bangkok’s most popular websites crashed as readers clamoured to get the full text of the confession. Television and radio programmes cleared their schedules of Hurricane Katrina and Iraq to devote hours of head-shaking analysis to the issue.

One western manager working in the city could not believe the reaction. “All my staff rushed over to the televisions,” he says. “At first I thought a bomb had gone off.”

Can this be the land of a thousand go-go joints? Where painted ladyboys or bikini-clad teenage girls pursue tourists into bars in the hope that they will buy them drinks or pay for sex? The place where the police can be bought, pleasure is for sale, and every man of substance maintains a mistress? There is, as McIntosh has found out the hard way, another Thailand. “See what happens to Thai stars when they admit they’re not virgins?” asks the newspaper columnist Jeerawat Na Thalang, contrasting McIntosh’s plight to the scorn heaped on Andy, the hero of The 40-Year-Old Virgin, the comedy currently ruling the US box office.

“If the movie was made in Thailand, the director would have made Andy heroic. Virginity here is sacred, not a source for jokes.”

McIntosh may have become famous for being half-Scottish, but she was expected to adhere to traditional Thai values, which insist upon a woman maintaining her virtue until marriage.

Not surprisingly, such values can be confusing to outsiders. The proof can be seen in the middle-aged western men, frequently tattooed and wearing vests, groping their Thai girlfriends as they ride Bangkok’s public transport, while Thai teenage couples, who would barely dream of touching one another in public, look on in consternation.

Until now, McIntosh reaped the benefits of her high-profile role in Thai society. Four years ago she was appointed the country’s Unicef youth envoy in recognition of her work with children.

It may be that her real offence in the eyes of Thailand is against manners, not morality. Since the days of old Siam, custom has valued discretion over display.

And then there is the explanation preferred by many of the betrayed fans, who see the father of McIntosh’s baby as a villain straight out of one of her soaps. His role has become that of an evil seducer taking advantage of a virginal heroine. They claim, in true soap style, he is only after her money.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2090-1783566,00.html

[Neeranam]

Strange, I heard from a usually reliable source, who knows the family well, that Willie McIntosh's father was American. Are they only half-brother, sister?

[RDN]

...What seems to have confused and angered many viewers is the discovery that the actress and the character are not, in fact, the same person....

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Sums it up, I think. I just wish Den and Angie would get back together.

[sriracha john]

UPDATE

Just to keep everyone up to date on this gossipy story

Congrats to Mom "Mam":

Secretive starlet gives birth to baby boy

Published on Oct 11 , 2005

Popular model and TV host Kataleeya "Mam" McIntosh has delivered a healthy baby boy just a month after shocking the public with her announcement that she was pregnant.

Her brother Ruangrit "Willie" McIntosh, who is also in the entertainment industry, told a press conference that Kataleeya gave birth to a boy weighing 2.7 kilograms on September 29. The birth was performed by caesarean section in the United States.

Her boyfriend, Songkran Krajangnetra, was with her at the time, Ruangrit said.

Ruangrit said he had spoken to Songkran just before he left for the United States. "I told him to take good care of my sister for me as I had work commitments to attend to."

It remains to be seen how Kataleeya's fans will react to the news.

Her announcement in early September triggered a storm of criticism, largely because she initially denied speculation that she was pregnant.

Mam was widely considered as a perfect Thai role model who espoused traditional values including a negative stance on premarital sexual relationships.

Poly Plus Co, producer of "Samakom Chom Dow" (Club of Star Admirers) on Channel 3, announced an abrupt end to its 10-year-old variety show, following co-host Kataleeya's shock announcement.

"I apologise to the Thai public and the media who have paid so much attention to my family over the past few weeks," said Ruangrit.

He also urged the public to try to understand Mam's situation. "I urge you all to recall when she brought you smiles. Please don't judge my family too harshly, everyone makes mistakes. Unfortunately, it now seems whatever good she has done has been completely erased from peoples' minds."

He added that since his sister's departure to the US, he had had to bear a major business burden for the family.

"I have just received the news from my mom. I haven't contacted my sister at all [since she left] as I just want her to rest and be with her family, although I would love to see my nephew."

He also said he didn't know whether Mam planned to have a wedding ceremony in the near future. "But deep down, I believe that when she is ready and relieved, she will definitely want to show off her beautiful son."

Willie added that his new role as an uncle made him feel a little old, but that he was delighted to have a new nephew. "I just hope from now on there will be only good things in our lives."

Willie also said that he had been saving money in order to present his nephew with a special gift, adding, "I just want to give him the best in life."

[sriracha john]

I'm sure everyone on Thaivisa has been chomping at the bit for further news on Maem.... so here it is:

UPDATE

'Maem' set to return from US

Showbiz princess Kataleeya ''Maem'' McIntosh is set to return to Bangkok in mid-March from her hiatus in Michigan with her four-month-old son Siri ''Mac'' Krachangnate.

''We are very happy and very much in love. Maem is devoting everything to our son. She's a terrific mother,'' her partner Songkran Krachangnate told a press conference yesterday.

Mr Songkran said a wedding would follow in May but added that the details are not ready to be revealed yet.

The press conference was prompted after months of speculation and some of Miss Kataleeya's family photos being leaked and disseminated on the internet.

''We've been meaning to introduce our son to the public. Unfortunately, pictures which we don't know how got out have been circling the web,'' he said.

Following her pre-marital pregnancy admission on Sept 2 last year which stunned the public, Miss Kataleeya left the country to stay with her aunt in Michigan in the United States where she gave birth to a son.

There have been no formal statements from Miss Kataleeya and Mr Songkran until now.

Asked whether she will resume her show business career upon her return, her actor brother Willy said the ball is not in her court now.

''I don't think it's up to her. It's up to the public whether they want to see her working again,'' he said.

- BP

[Gazza]

Willy McIntosh? Why does this name make me titter?

[barryofthailand]

And he's based in the States.

So what are you trying to imply?

Barry

[cdnvic]

And he's based in the States.

So what are you trying to imply?

Barry

Uh, you're trying to reply to a post someone made in September.

cv

[sriracha john]

And he's based in the States.

So what are you trying to imply?

Barry

Uh, you're trying to reply to a post someone made in September.

cv

gotta be careful with responding on these updated threads....

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even more amusing...

'Eric Davis' Last Active 2006-01-19 12:18:02

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but most amusing...

'Eric Davis' Member Group: Banned

Edited February 25, 2006 by sriracha john