『 lana condor, twenty-three, cis woman, she/her. 』 can you believe it’s a new season of sweethearts? i’m rooting for daphne “duckie” pham. they’re the surfer from newcastle, nsw, australia. back home, they’re often described as +whimsical and +adventurous, which i guess i could get behind. their -impulsive and -irresponsible side makes great television, though. you know, they kind of remind me of twirling around with your arms in the air, always finding a silver lining, & the scent of saltwater & bonfires. i wonder who their match is. i guess i’ll have to tune in to mtv to find out.
hello, hello !! your favorite kid maeby coming in hot and so stoked to be here ♡ i’m 25, out here in the mst this time of year, and use she/they pronouns. i’m truly so freakin’ jazzed to be playing my favorite lil pea, duckie ! she is my teeny-tiniest, sunshine-iest dork and i can’t think of a better place for her to be ! without further ado…
▻ STATS
given name: daphne elaine pham preferred name: duckie - given as a child, an offshoot of “daffy duck” other nicknames: duck, goose, daph, pham zodiac: leo sun, sagittarius rising, aquarius moon orientation: pansexual, panromantic hobbies: surfing, skateboarding, rock climbing, found object sculpture, amateur filmmaking, acoustic guitar, dance dance revolution favorites: clueless (1995), 10 things i hate about you (1999), moulin rouge (2001), homemade nachos, pizza with white sauce, chocolate lava cakes, psychedelic indie folk pop, richard linklater character inspo: ferris bueller (ferris bueller’s day off), aimee gibbs (sex education), penny lane (almost famous), dani rojas (ted lasso), joey tribbiani (friends), phoebe buffay (friends), jack dawson (titanic)
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▻ BIOGRAPHY
daphne “duckie” pham’s story began when her father, professional surfer daniel pham, met the woman who would be daphne’s mother, leona tran, while just trying to get a burger after a long day. in a mix-up at a diner in leona’s australian hometown where daniel was visiting for a surf competition, they were given the other’s food. when they realized the mistake and went to fix it, they couldn’t stop talking until well after midnight. they were from wildly different worlds, but they couldn’t find it in themselves to care. duckie’s older brother was born nine months later and though her parents weren’t actually married until a few years ago, that hopeless romanticism was a constant theme in duckie’s life. duckie herself didn’t put much effort into dating or romance for a long time, but she did enjoy making matches for her friends’ lonely hearts and made something of a name for herself in school doing just that.
while the rest of the people her age seemed to be in the middle of crazy schemes to try to get boyfriends and girlfriends (often that she came up with), duckie was busy trying to learn how to kickflip, running around filming everything around her, learning how to play bad covers on her dad’s old acoustic guitar, and surfing newcastle’s ample waves. by far the closest to her heart, surfing took up the majority of her attention and love. until her dad retired from competition, duckie spent a good chunk of the summers chasing the greatest waves and surf competitions in the world with him. she learned how to make friends everywhere they went, making lifelong friends thousands of miles from home. eventually, she started entering the junior competitions and surprised everyone, including herself, by rising through the ranks until she was finishing third or fourth even on a bad day. but what she loved more than winning were the new cities, beaches, and waves she was introduced to around the globe.
when her father did retire, they went back to living in newcastle year-round and became thick as thieves with her mother and brothers like no time had passed at all. if people thought she was adventurous before, they had another thing coming after duckie blossomed in the ocean surf of multiple continents. restless and stuck in newcastle, she begged to do something new every weekend and her parents never disappointed. her mother taught her how to paint the sunflowers in their garden and sculpt with the things they found on the beach. her father encouraged her to rock-climb with him until eventually they were climbing mountains together. in the age of the internet, duckie’s father started gaining notoriety as a cult icon, became the subject of a popular meme, and soon became more famous than he had been during his surf career. that name recognition started to take time away from his family, but given that much of that time was spent doing charity work for several conservation and clean water nonprofits around the world, duckie never ceased to be so proud of him.
with duckie’s graduation from australia’s public education system in the rearview mirror, everything in duckie’s life came to a standstill. there was nothing left to dictate what she did with her time and effort. the all-important question on everyone’s mind (and tongue) loomed over her: what now? with her father gaining name recognition online, there were more opportunities around her than ever. right after graduation, one of the clean water charities her father worked with offered her the chance to volunteer in an effort that would span sierra leone, kenya, and uganda, and duckie couldn’t say no. they were twelve of the craziest months of her life, but left her stronger than before; in and out. but once again, she was faced with the ever-imposed what now? for the next few years, duckie did what she knew best and started surfing full time. even as she started to rise through the ranks like she had as a teenager, she knew it was little more than an excuse to jet off to places like brazil, south africa, and portugal. it was lonely and left her feeling empty, so far from home, and she found herself coping in increasingly unhealthy ways.
those years of directionless partying in los angeles during the off-season started to weigh heavily on duckie’s heart and before too long she cracked, flying home to figure out what she was supposed to do next. she applied to the sweethearts reality show as soon as she saw the ad, not three days after she landed back home in newcastle. at the behest of her mother, who had always been the reasonable parent, she applied to a few other options – jobs, competitions, even colleges – but she couldn’t stop thinking about sweethearts and whether or not she would be accepted. the day duckie found out that she had been chosen as one of the souls lucky enough to find their soulmates in alaska was one of the best days of her entire life. despite a thousand crazy adventures with her dad and as many thoughtful, heartfelt moments with her mom, she felt like she couldn’t stay in newcastle forever and something about the show just felt right. the promise of a completely unique experience felt like the doorway to the rest of her life.
was she concerned about all of her most private moments becoming permanent on the internet and looking like an airhead on national television? mildly. was she ready to get this ultimate adventure started any damn way? absolutely.










