From walking the red carpet at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York to launching her own entertainment company in Bangkok, the Thai actress has packed more into the past year than most manage in five. She tells Tama Miyake Lung why she’s only just getting started

When Sarocha Chankimha – the Thai actress, model, singer and entrepreneur better known as Freen – is asked to name the most memorable moment of 2025, she doesn’t hesitate. “Without question, it was the Met Gala,” she says. “It completely exceeded anything I could have imagined. I never thought I’d actually be there, in that room, surrounded by icons from all over the world. It felt so exclusive and so extraordinary. I think that memory will stay with me for a very long time.”

On May 5, 2025, Freen became the first Thai actress to attend “fashion’s biggest night out”, representing Valentino, the Italian fashion house that had named her its first Thai female ambassador in January 2025. For Freen, who started out appearing in music videos less than a decade ago, it was another milestone in a trajectory that shows little sign of slowing, or of following anyone else’s script.

Born in Bangkok, Freen was one of 15 finalists in Miss Teen Thailand at the age of 18. She went on to complete an honours degree in public relations and corporate communications before joining management company Idol Factory in 2020. Her acting career developed steadily from there, but it was girls’ love romantic comedy Gap: The Series that transformed her profile internationally, surpassing 900 million views on YouTube and earning Freen multiple awards, including Most Popular Actress at the Kom Chad Luek Awards. Her on-screen pairing with costar Rebecca Patricia Armstrong – affectionately known as “FreenBecky” – became a phenomenon in its own right.

Since then, she has taken on a historical drama (The Loyal Pin), a comedic horror film (Riders) and a queer romantic drama and sci-fi film (Uranus 2324, costarring Armstrong), building a body of work that spans tone and genre. “Acting is hard for me,” she shared in her first cover feature with #legend, in December 2024. “I need to go really deep into the character.”

That commitment is now being tested across three simultaneous projects. The first is 4 Elements, a girls’ love anthology series currently airing, in which Freen and Armstrong are among the leads of The Air, one of four standalone love stories within the series. Freen plays a lieutenant – a departure from anything she’s done before. “If anyone’s been curious to see a side of me they haven’t seen before, I think this will deliver,” she says. The second is The Stain, a film she is keen for audiences to see on the big screen.

And the third is The Witch of Siam, perhaps the most technically demanding project of her career to date: a fantasy series in which she plays a young witch named Irene opposite Nine Naphat, requiring her to perform in French. “It’s a fantasy world that requires a great deal of imagination,” she says. “Reading the script, I genuinely think it’s going to be brilliant. Every role is different – from the cool, cheeky type, to a psychologist, to a witch in a fantasy world. It keeps me on my toes, and I feel like I’m genuinely growing as an actress.”

Even with all the challenges of juggling so many roles, Freen says the most high-pressure experience of 2025 was starting her own company. “It was quite a lot, really, because it was the first time I had to manage absolutely everything myself,” she says of creating SOLENN Entertainment, which she describes on Instagram as “grand beginning of a new era defined by power, elegance and limitless dreams”. Her goals for SOLENN in 2026 are straightforward: “I want to push it further, to do more, to genuinely enjoy it and to find real happiness in the work.”

Freen’s relationship with Valentino, meanwhile, has been the most high-profile strand of a fashion career that has expanded rapidly over the past year. Her appearance at the brand’s autumn/winter 2025 show during Paris Fashion Week in March 2025 drew cheers and screams. That same month, she also became the first Thai actress to walk the runway at the 40th Mynavi Tokyo Girls Collection. After generating millions in earned media value for Valentino as its top-ranked influencer, Freen was also honoured as a member of the Business of Fashion 500’s Class of 2025.

For the current season, her fashion instincts run practical and warm. She is enthusiastic about large scarves – worn casually as headwear or tied as a bandeau at the beach – and considers sunglasses non-negotiable. “At the very least, we ought to be protecting our eyes in this heat,” Freen says. A “lovely little bag”, she adds, can lift an entire look. On colour, she is decisive: blue, pink and yellow. “Everything just feels that bit more alive.”

Dressing well for the season, it turns out, is the easy part. “I have a tendency to care rather too much about others, and at times I overanalyse whether I may have done something wrong,” she says. “I’d like to soften that habit a little.” She also wants to exercise more consistently, and to give herself permission to rest without guilt. “Some days I feel I ought to be doing something productive, when in truth it is perfectly acceptable simply to take a day off. Last year was so full of work and travel that whenever I had a spare moment, all I wanted to do was sleep. This year, I hope to find a healthier sense of balance.”

When it comes to 2026, Freen’s goals are a mix of professional and personal. She wants SOLENN to grow. She wants The Witch of Siam to land well. She has been renovating her house for over a year – “it barely resembles its former self at this point” – complete with a new curved staircase and a garden full of flowers for herself, her mother and her dog, Fluffy, and she wants, finally, to move in. “I’ve lived in condominiums my whole life. This year, I really want a proper home of my own, completely finished. I just want it to be warm and beautiful for everyone.” She would also like to find a second dog to keep Fluffy company.

The Met Gala may be Freen’s most memorable moment to date. Something tells us it won’t hold the title for long.

CREDITS

Creative Concept and Production / #legend_th
Photography / Somkiat Kangsdalwirun
Styling / Konthee
Hair / Teethory
Make-Up / Yostana Thongmanee

Also see: Cover Story: Donnie Yen and Cissy Wang on their filmmaking legacy and the power of family