69Th MISS UNIVERSE Delegates and Bios
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COUNTRY First Name Last Name AGE (ON MAY 16) Albania Paula Mehmetukaj 23 Argentina Alina Luz Akselrad 23 Armenia Monika Grigoryan 21 Aruba Helen Hernandez 20 Australia Maria Thattil 28 Bahamas Shauntae Miller 28 Barbados Hillary-Ann Williams 25 Belgium Dhenia Covens 23 Belize Iris Salguero 24 Bolivia Lenka Nemer 24 Brazil Julia Gama 27 British Virgin Islands Shabree Frett 24 Bulgaria Radinela Chusheva 25 Cambodia Sarita Reth 26 Cameroon Angele Kossinda 28 Canada Nova Stevens 26 Cayman Islands Mariah Tibbetts 27 Chile Daniela Nicolas 28 China Jiaxin Sun 23 Colombia Laura Victoria Olascuaga 25 Costa Rica Ivonne Cerdas 28 Croatia Mirna Naiia Maric 22 Curaçao Chantal Wiertz 22 Czech Republic Klára Vavrušková 21 Denmark Amanda Petri 23 Dominican Republic Kimberly Jimenez 24 Ecuador Leyla Espinoza Calvache 24 El Salvador Vanessa Velásquez 25 Finland Viivi Altonen 24 France Amandine Petit 23 Ghana Chelsea Tayui 25 Great Britain Jeanette Akua 29 Haiti Eden Berandoive 24 Honduras Cecilia Rossell 25 Iceland Elísabet Hulda Snorradóttir 22 India Adline Castelino 22 Indonesia Ayu Maulida Putri 23 Ireland Nadia Sayers 26 Israel Tehila Levi 19 Italy Viviana Vizzini 27 Jamaica Miqueal-Symone Williams 24 Japan Aisha Harumi Tochigi 25 Kazakhstan Kamila Serikbai 18 Korea Hari Park 21 Kosovo Blerta Veseli 23 Laos Christina Lasasimma 27 Malaysia Francisca Luhong James 25 Malta Anthea Zammit 26 Mauritius Vandana Jeetah 29 Mexico Andrea Meza 26 Myanmar Thuzar Wint Lwin 22 Nepal Anshika Sharma 24 Netherlands Denise Speelman 24 Nicaragua Ana Marcelo 24 Norway Sunniva Frigstad 21 Panama Carmen Jaramillo 26 Paraguay Vanessa Castro Guillén 28 Peru Janick Maceta Del Castillo 27 Philippines Rabiya Mateo 24 Poland Natalia Piguła 27 Portugal Cristiana Silva 19 Puerto Rico Estefania Soto Torres 29 Romania Bianca Lorena Tirsin 22 Russia Alina Sanko 22 Singapore Bernadette Belle Ong 26 Slovak Republic Natália Hoštáková 26 South Africa Natasha Joubert 23 Spain Andrea Martínez 27 Thailand Amanda Obdam 27 Ukraine Yelyzaveta Yastremska 28 Uruguay Lola De los Santos 23 USA Asya Branch 23 Venezuela Mariangel Villasmil 25 Vietnam Khanh Van Nguyen Tran 26 HOMETOWN Tirana, Albania Cordoba Vanadzor Oranjestad Melbourne Nassau Christ Church Antwerp San Pedro La Paz Porto Alegre Tortola Sofia Phnom Penh Douala Vancouver Grand Cayman Copiapo Beijing Cartagena San Jose Zadar Willemstad Rychnov nad Kněžnou Copenhagen La Romana Quevedo San Salvador Tampere Paris Keta, Volta Region London Aquin Copan Mosfellsbaer Mangalore, Karnataka Surabaya Omagh Yavne Caltanissetta Kingstpn Tokyo Kizylorda Korea Gjilan Laos Kuching, Sarawak Zebbug Central Flacq Chihuahua Yangon Jhapa Netherlands Estelí Vennesla Panamá Caacupé Lima Iloilo City Łódź Paços de Ferreira Puerto Rico Arad, Romania Moscow Upper Bukit Timah Považská Bystrica Pretoria León Phuket Kyiv Paysandú Booneville Ciudad Ojeda Ho Chi Minh City BIO Paula Mehmetukaj is an MBA student and founder of the Bashke Foundation. The word Bashkë means “together” in Albanian and perfectly explains the core of her project: building a community together. The Bashkë Foundation uses public art to rejuvenate public places to build stronger communities. She’s also an activist for women's rights, environmental protection and advocates against animal abuse. Paula believes it’s important that women support each other and come together to fight for their rights. She’s dedicated herself as Red Cross volunteer and also plants trees with the Municipality of Tirana. In the future, she hopes to enter the TV and entertainment industry so her voice can be heard everywhere in the world. Alina Luz Akselrad is dedicated to helping women build their confidence and considers philanthropy a lifestyle. She has certificates in persuasive writing and children’s rights from Harvard University and recently published her own book that offers guidance and empowerment to young women. Alina also volunteers in different organizations that fight against child malnutrition and has her own advocacy campaign, “Embrace Your Power,” that aims at improving women's self-confidence from childhood, since she experienced bullying when she was a little girl. Alina is also an advocate for cancer prevention and lends her support to pediatric oncology patients upon watching her own mother beat the disease. Currently, she hosts a radio show with her mother, “Mundo de Reinas”, and co-hosts a TV show about fashion trends and pageant news. Monika Grigoryan is 21-years-old from Vanadzor, Armenia. She is currently a senior student at the Yerevan Brusov State University of Languages and Social Sciences majoring in linguistics and foreign languages. Monika works as a communications specialist within public relations at a logistics company and works as a translator for people all across the globe. She also spends time working at a children’s modeling agency and teaches catwalk lessons to improve the confidence in the aspiring talent. Monika has also had the opportunity to star in 24 Armenian and Indian music videos over the years. Volunteering plays an important role in Monika’s life. After her father died, she struggled psychologically and emotionally. She’s created a team of volunteers that help bring light to children struggling with disease and poverty to help them with the issues she faced as a kid. She is hopeful for a future without war and spent the year uniting those affected. Helen Hernandez is 20-years-old with a great passion for numbers and business. She’s a third-year business administration student who runs her own car rental service. Helen also works as an events coordinator at one of the best known Italian restaurants in Aruba and is dedicating herself to becoming a professional wine sommelier. Helen volunteers her time as an ambassador for CEDE Aruba and Fundacion Pa Nos Comunidad, foundations aimed to improve the lives of those in need. Since the start of the pandemic, Helen has focused on improving the mental health of her community. Helen adores animals and believes her dog is the reason she smiles everyday. Helen believes all women must raise their voices and support each other, because one woman has a lot of power, but several women together can make a real impact on the world. Maria Thattil is a multi-hyphenate who is a founder, speaker, corporate professional, digital creator and fierce activist for inclusivity, equality and empowerment. Before she started training to be an accredited life coach, she graduated with a psychology degree with Honours, and then with a Masters degree in Management with First Class Honours, and was nominated for a scholarship to Harvard University. Maria’s biggest hobby is volunteering and is a member of the United Nations (UN) Association of Australia, works as an ambassador for the SisterWorks charity and volunteers for Mission Australia. As an Australian woman of Indian descent, a daughter of immigrants, and a product of a hybrid culture, Maria believes her upbringing has gifted her with unique experiences and fuels her passion for inclusivity. She is the founder of her own podcast ‘Mind With Me’ which is a curation of conversations and interviews on a myriad of critical and complex topics. Shauntae A Miller is a third generation track and field athlete and is passionate about health and fitness. She recently obtained a M.S.C in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and intends to work toward a doctorates degree in theology. She is the head coach for the youth division of a Non-Profit Athletic, Health and Fitness Club, Bahamas Speed Dynamics. Shauntae is a spokesperson and advocate for “Get Fit Bahamas,” an organization that promotes nutrition and living a healthy lifestyle as a preventative against obesity and non-communicable diseases. Additionally, Shauntae is the national ambassador for The Bahamas Red Cross Society and Bahamas AIDS Foundation. She’s also a member of Prophetic Destiny Ministries International church outreach program that provides for less fortunate and disenfranchised members of her country. Hillary-Ann Williams is by definition a survivor and a fighter. At just 25 years of age, she is a survivor of gender-based violence who has turned her story of hurt, shame and pain into becoming a very vocal advocate in the fight to end the cycle of abuse for all women. This courageous young woman has worked with the United Nations Women's Secretariat in Barbados and speaks about gender-based violence issues, through her platform as Miss Universe Barbados, at every chance she is given. A true global citizen with a unique history and background, this biracial 25-year-old’s diverse heritage and upbringing in both Barbados and Canada, allowed her to experience two very different cultures growing up She is a confident woman who has a message to share with the world and a deep understanding that the best attributes to have are empathy, and the ability to actively listen to others in order to truly be able to be there for them in the way that they need. Dhenia Covens is a 23-year-old living in Antwerp, the city of diamonds. She is a make-up artist and a manager at the Hollister storefront in her hometown. As an animal lover she adopted a tiger from the World Wide Fund for Nature, but at home her English Bulldog, Luiz, is her best friend. Dhenia is a very active individual who loves to dance. She’s practiced ballet and jazz since she was 5-years-old and is trained in tap dance, burlesque and Latin solo mix. Dhenia also trained in judo, a Japanese martial art, for three years. Her dedication for pageantry led her to coach various Miss Belgium delegates and she aspires to become a well-rounded pageant coach to help other women feel confident to take the stage. She wants to use her passion for pageantry to inspire young women to work hard for their dreams and to become strong and independent.