Angie Vu poses in a provocative photo shoot before her November arrest.

Vietnamese beauty queen Angie Vu has spent the past six months at Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn after she was arrested last November on parental kidnapping charges, one day after losing custody of her child.

US marshals caught Ms Vu at Kennedy Airport as she was about to board a flight to China with her 12-year-old daughter, Isabella, in a bid to flee the US.

Court documents revealed she allegedly broke an agreement with the child’s father, Richard Froger, who allowed his daughter to travel to America and stay with her mum during summer vacation. Ms Vu failed to return her daughter to France on August 29, and told Mr Froger she would be taking the child to Vietnam for one year.

But almost three months later, Mr Froger convinced French authorities she was a fugitive, and obtained a warrant for his former lover’s arrest. She was busted when she bought tickets for a same-day flight moments before her escape — and charged.

Isabella has since been reunited with her father.

And while Ms Vu faces extradition for parental abduction charges in France, and possibly three years in prison, on extremely serious charges, it seems she has more important things on her mind.

“This place is so horrible, there’s no sunlight ever,” Vu told the New York Daily Newsof prison life at Metropolitan Detention Center, where she shares an open dormitory with 100 female inmates.

“I have been under the harsh light 24/7 and turned pale. I need a good supply of Guerlain’s (skin) moisturiser in here.

“I miss my Versace dresses and Louboutin heels. My nails are nicely trimmed but I’m dying to have some colours on them. The torture is real.”

Ms Vu has spent the past six months crammed into a cell block with 100 other female inmates, and hasn’t spoken to her daughter since her incarceration.

She can’t apply for bail because France’s extradition request disqualifies her from release, thanks to an international treaty covering extradition arrangements.

But that hasn’t stopped her worrying about the important things in life.

“There’s no real mirror in prison,” she said.

“We all buy this tiny piece of plastic ... but the images are distorted. I wish there should be at least one full-length mirror in here. I haven’t looked at myself for months. It’s cruel.”

But at least she’s had time to contemplate what’s really important in life.

“Last year became the dark year of my life. I had abandoned my jobs, my fans and pushed away all other fabulous hungry men and all the young sexy model boys that were chasing me.

“I’m not supposed to be worried about anything. It gives me wrinkles. ... Do I feel ashamed for being here? The answer is no. I’m here for a great cause, for protecting my child. This injustice won’t crash my spirit. I’m still rocking and rolling.”

But there is an upside to all this modern-day misery. She’s found a higher power.

“A lot of lesbians around here and a few blondies are hitting on me. But I prefer to read my Bible for now.

“I realised how tough I am. I thought I couldn’t last for two days and it’s now three months. I came to God and got saved so I spent time to pray and read the Bible, too.

“I tried my best not to get in any fight. I thought prison could be much worse, though. Only saw prison on TV, I was ready for gang rape, getting beaten up and vowed to protect my face at all cost. So my social skill became handy.”

Meanwhile, Ms Vu has filed her own lawsuit that portrays Mr Froger in a different light; the reluctant father who abandoned his baby until she was a five-year-old.

“I never wanted to have a baby with you,” emails obtained by the New York Daily News read.

“I still remember when I asked you if you used contraception pills!!!” Froger allegedly wrote in a 2006 email.

“You lied me and I don’t feel guilty about nothing.”

Vu replied, in her most magical manner:

“I was sad when I read your email before but now I think its ridiculous that you think I have to use a baby to trick you.

“First, I’m not the kind of women who r ugly, stupid or uneducated that I cannot get a man.

“I thought you were a handsome kind gentleman that I had feelings for even though I didn’t expect anything from you as I wrote.”

The case comes at a time when Australians empathise for the mother at the centre of the child snatch scandal with a 60 Minutes crew in Lebanon.

The dramatic events of the last few weeks that saw Ms Faulkner jailed in Lebanon, along with members of a 60 Minutes television crew and child recovery agency, followed a months-long campaign for the Brisbane mother to bring attention to her situation.

Do you have a story to share? — youngma@news.com.au