On 9 April 2014, Malaysian model Sheena Liam was named the winner of the second season of Asia’s Next Top Model. Many viewers had expected Jodilly Pendre of the Philippines to take the title. The finale aired that Wednesday night, and Liam’s win came as a surprise to many fans and, by her own account, to her too.
That afternoon, with the result still secret, she spoke by phone from her hometown of Kajang about the moment she nearly gave up on the show. She said she had told no one, not even her family, and had not celebrated at all.
The jungle episode that changed her mind
By her own account, Liam came close to going home halfway through the season. The turning point was episode nine, a jungle-themed shoot in Borneo. She said she told judges Adam Williams and Mike Rosenthal that she was working as hard as she could but did not understand why it was not enough. It was the first time she had asked them directly what they wanted from her.
Liam had wanted a quieter season. Speaking to a Philippine outlet around the finale, she said the level of competition forced her to push much harder before every shoot. She was also called out in episode four for playing it too safe, and she said she took that feedback on board.
How the finale played out
The finale was held at Tanjong Jara Resort in Kuala Terengganu, with a shoot on the theme of kampung life and a final runway show. Rodriguez was the first to be sent home. In the final deliberation, Williams called Pendre’s performance “spectacular”, but Liam’s overall look won it for her. The judges described her as current and the “face of modern Asia”.
Fans were divided. Pendre had been considered a favourite, and many viewers online said they were disappointed. Pendre and Rodriguez both publicly congratulated Liam afterwards.
The prize package included a three-month contract with Storm Model Management in London, a Harper’s Bazaar Singapore/Malaysia spread and cover, a cash prize from FOX International Broadcast, a Subaru XV and a TRESemmé campaign for 2014.
Friends, frenemies and a surrogate mum
The season was known for arguments. Liam said the emotions were real and not scripted, but that the 16 contestants had stayed in touch through a group chat and a private Facebook group. She defended two contestants who had been cast as the show’s drama queens. She said Janice Hermijanto of Indonesia was one of the coolest people she had met, and that she later stayed with her in Indonesia. She called Nicole Lee of Singapore one of the sweetest, recalling that Lee gave her own shoes to Liam after Liam cut her feet in the jungle.
Her closest ally was fellow Malaysian Josephine Tan. Liam said she vented to Tan in private, which was why she rarely picked fights on camera. When Tan was eliminated, she said, it felt like losing her mum.
Coco Lee, Tyra Banks and a very particular type of crush
The guest appearance that thrilled her most was pop star Coco Lee’s, whose music videos she and her school friends used to copy dance moves from. She said the cheering from the other contestants that day helped produce her favourite photo of the season. She named Tyra Banks as the person she most wanted to work with, since Banks started the Top Model franchise, but she said the contestants never got to meet her.
Asked about romance, she called her love life non-existent. She said she had many close male friends who acted like older brothers and escorted her to events. She said her celebrity crushes were always the funny ones.
What she wanted next, and what she does now
In April 2014, Liam was about to fly to London for her Storm contract. She said she hoped to keep working in Europe, and named Marc Jacobs as the label she most wanted to walk for. She also said that if modelling did not work out, she would write for fashion magazines, as she already did on the side.
Her path has since broadened. A New York gallery’s artist page, updated in July 2026, describes her as an embroidery artist behind the Instagram account @times.new.romance, and as a working model. Her embroideries are usually based on herself, and hair is a recurring element. She picked up embroidery, a childhood hobby, to fill the waiting time on shoot sets. She also showed work in a solo exhibition at Item Gallery in Paris in 2018.
Sheena Liam remains the winner of the second cycle of Asia’s Next Top Model.