Miss World

Miss World 2007 Zhang Zilin

Zhang Zilin Zhang was born in Shijiazhuang, Hebei, in 1984 (23-year-old 6 foot beauty ,wow! 6 feet!) then moved to the capital, Beijing. She attended the University of Science and Technology Beijing and attained a Degree in Business Administration, and is now working as a fashion model.
She and is now working as a company secretary. Hobbies and sporting interests include: travel; reading; watching movies, writing, sports; 100 meters jump & hurdle, triple jump, swimming, both classical and folk dancing, and listing to folk music. Her favourite food is; fruit, chocolate, and ice cream. Zi Lin’s personal motto is “Where there’s a will there’s a way”.

Miss World 2006 Tatana Kucharova Name: Tatana Kucharova
Age: 18
Height: 177
Tatana was born in Trnava and grew up in Opocno. She is a High School student, her future ambition is to attend university, graduate, have a modelling career which she hopes will enable her to travel; and to be a good parent one day.Her Hobbies are: Tennis, volleyball, horse riding, ice skating and many other sports, she also enjoys dance and listening to music with a nice melody. Tatana likes to spend time with her many pets, she has: cats, guinea pigs, rabbits, a bird and a turtle. Favourite food is Chicken.Personal motto would be ‘Always be an optimist’. Miss World 2005 Unnur Birna Vilhjálmsdóttir
Unnur was born in the capital Reykjavik but grew up in a small town called Seltjarnarnes. In Iceland you can see a tremendous icecap, several glaciers, spouting geysers, steaming solfataras, volcanoes (hopefully dormant), raging rivers and magnificent waterfalls, a multitude of birds and cavorting whales. Iceland can boast of many offbeat sports and attracts many visitors as summers are surprisingly warm and winters not as cold as you might expect. For the past year unnur has been studying anthropology at the university and next fall she will commence her studies in law as she plans to graduate as a lawyer as well as an anthropologist. She is chairman of the college social club and teaches dance, she also enjoys acting, singing, all types of dancing, snow-boarding, hiking, camping, horsemanship and has a special talent for choreography and playing the piano. During her summer holidays this year unnur was working as a police officer at the airport. Her favourite motto is “you are what you do” or “you are what you make”.She was crowned Miss World 205 on December 10, 2005.Height: 173 How would you describe yourself in three words?Organised, ambitious, good-humoured Do you have a special or unusual talent? (what is it?)I am a very versatile person in life. I am studying law, teaching young children to dance, I have my own tv show and I compete as a rider on the icelandic horse in tournaments. Where would you most like to visit in the world and why?I would like to visit africa to experience the extremely different culture than that which I am used to. What is the best thing about your country?The freedom, it’s more secure than most countries in the world, criminal offences are not common and there is no risk of a terrorist attack. The climate is unadulterated, the nature is pure and there are the happiest people in the world. What is your favourite…..Film: 'Finding Neverland' Music: Alternative and Eighties music Singer/band: Sigurrós and Coldplay Book: So far, 'The da Vinci Code' by Dan Brown If you were granted one wish, what would it be?That the people on this planet could live in peace and respect each others culture and their religious beliefs. If you were stuck on a desert island with one other person (famous or not whom would you choose?My mom, because she is not only my mom, she is also my best friend.What is your message to all the other miss world contestants?Enjoy, be happy, be friends and return back home with valuable experiences.For the past year she has been studying anthropology at the University of Iceland and next autumn she will commence her studies in law as she plans to graduate as a lawyer, as well as an anthropologist. During the summer of 2005 Unnur Birna temped as a police officer at Keflavík International Airport. She is the chairman of the college social club and teaches dance. She enjoys acting, singing, all types of dancing, snow-boarding, hiking, camping, horsemanship and has a special talent for choreography and playing the piano.Her mother, Unnur Steinsson, won the Miss Iceland pageant in 1983 and was a finalist at the 1983 Miss World pageant. Unnur's mother was 3-4 months pregnant during the 1983 pageant. This was against the pageant rules and warrants disqualification. However, this was not found out until after the pageant was over. Unnur is the third Miss World from Iceland, the former two were Linda Pétursdóttir in 1988 and Hólmfríður Karlsdóttir in 1985.She stands 173 cm (5'8") tall. Unnur's reign only lasted 9 months because the pageant was scheduled for September 2006.She is succeeded by Sif Aradottir who represented Iceland at the 2006 Miss Universe in Los Angeles, California.She crowned her successor, Taťána Kuchařová of Czec Republic, on September 30, 2006.
Miss World 2004 Maria Julia MantillaMaría
Julia "Maju" Mantilla García was born in 1984 in Trujillo, a city in Peru's northern coast. On December 4, 2004, in the Beauty Crown Theatre located in the Chinese beach city of Sanya, she was crowned Miss World 2004 by the reigning champion, 2003's Miss Ireland Rosanna Davison, daughter of singer Chris de Burgh. During her reign, Mantilla performed a variety of duties focused on fundraising for charitable organizations. She has travelled to Indonesia, Russia, Peru, United States, Russia, Czech Republic, China and many other countries during her reign. She also resided in London, England during her year as Miss World. Popularly known in her country as "Maju" Mantilla, her aunt Maria Julia Mantilla Mayer was Miss Peru 1969. She won the right to represent Peru in the Miss World contest as runner-up to Liesel Holler (Miss Peru Universe 2004) and was one of the major favorites in the run-up to the pageant, which was decided by a global television/telephone/online vote. The Dominican Republic's Claudia Cruz and the USA's Nancy Randall were the first and second runners up. Other contestants who made it into the final five were 20-year-old Miss Philippines, Maria Karla (Rabanal) Bautista, and 19-year-old Miss Poland, Katarzyna Borowicz. The final contest was held in the southernmost Hainan province. The pageant, in its 54th edition, included contestants from 107 nations and attracted about 2.5 billion TV viewers around the world. Mantilla is studying to become a high school teacher and plans to start a second career in tourism. Mantilla is the older of two sisters. She has worked as a model and as the Hostess of a popular TV show in Peru. She is currently studying to become a high school teacher and plans to start a second career in Tourism. One of her dreams is to own an online tourism company to promote her native town and country all over the world. Her city, Trujillo, is a mixture of colonial and pre-Columbian architecture. In 2001, Maria Julia became the Peruvian national champion of Triathlon and Penthathlon, and was elected national athlete of the year. She is a professional in The Marinera, a typical local dance. With a group of ladies, developed a program in Trujillo to give breakfast to hundreds of kids in the poor areas. Her personal motto is: My family is my strength. On December 10, 2005, She crowned her successor, Miss Iceland, Unnur Birna.

Miss World 2003 Rosanna Davison
Rosanna Davison became famous after winning the title of Miss World 2003. An Irish model, Rosanna has made appearences on shows like "The Meteor Ireland Music Awards 2004", "Comic Relief: Red Nose Night Live 05", "The Late Late Show" and "The Frank Skinner Show."Miss World 2002 Azra Akin Azra Akin (Turkish: Azra Akın) is a Turkish model, who was crowned Miss World 2002 at the annual pageant held on December 6 2002 at Alexandra Palace in London, England , representing Turkey. She was born on December 12 1981 in the Dutch town of Almelo, and was raised in the Netherlands by Turkish parents.


Miss World 2002 Azra Akin
Azra Akin (Turkish: Azra Akın) is a Turkish model, who was crowned Miss World 2002 at the annual pageant held on December 6 2002 at Alexandra Palace in London, England , representing Turkey. She was born on December 12 1981 in the Dutch town of Almelo, and was raised in the Netherlands by Turkish parents.

Miss World 2001 Agbani Darego Nigeria's Agbani Darego was crowned Miss World in 2001, making her the first black woman from an African country ever to win the pageant. Darego spent much of her Miss World year making public appearances around the globe and serving as an unofficial ambassador for her country, and even her continent. "People think that Africa is a backward, poverty-stricken place, that everyone who lives there is suffering," she told Lesley Garner of the Evening Standard, a London newspaper. "There are parts that are like that, but in Nigeria a lot of people are well-to-do."Born in 1982, Darego hails from a town called Abonnema in the Rivers State area of southern Nigeria. Her full name is Ibiagbanidokibubo Asenite Darego, and she was the sixth of eight children in her family. Her father was a customs official, while her mother, Inaewo, had a rice-trading business which necessitated frequent travel; on her trips Inaewo bought clothing and sold it in a clothing boutique where Darego spent many hours as a little girl, paging through foreign fashion magazines. But Darego was sent off to a boarding school when she was ten years old. Two years later, her mother died of breast cancer, and Darego later realized she had been sent away to shield her from her mother's condition. "I wasn't too happy at first, but it prepared me for my life now," she reflected about being away from home in an interview with Julia Llewellyn Smith of the Mail on Sunday. "I learned to be on my own. It makes you independent."During her teens, Darego dreamed of becoming a model, a career plan dismissed by her father. At six feet, she was unusually tall for a Nigerian—all in her family are of above-average height—and she was slimmer than the prevailing standard of beauty. "The way most women look in Nigeria is not the Western ideal," she explained to Garner in the Evening Standard interview. "In my country, short, curvy women are thought beautiful, not me." Such extra pounds are considered a sign of health and prosperity, and some brides-to-be in Nigeria even cloister themselves in what is known as a "fattening room" two weeks before the wedding in order to gain weight.Darego had a back-up plan, to study computer science, and had won a place at a university. She deferred it, however, and began making the rounds of modeling agencies in Lagos, Nigeria's main city, and began entering pageants. In "The Face of Africa" modeling contest, she placed as a runner-up. In January of 2001 she won the "Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria" contest, which made her eligible for the Miss World pageant later that year. The global-beauty event was held in Sun City, South Africa, and that year was hosted by American television personality Jerry Springer. Initially, Darego was a long shot to win, but that year's contest had a new feature: television viewers could phone in a vote for their favorite contestant. On that November evening, Darego became Miss World 2001, and failed to erupt in tears—the first time in recent memory that the winner had maintained her composure.Darego was the first Nigerian to win the Miss World crown, but more importantly was the first black woman from an African country to win it. Black women had won the title before, but they hailed from Caribbean lands. Three other women from African nations had taken the crown over the years, but two were white women from South Africa, and the other an Arabic contestant from Egypt in the 1950s. There were massive celebrations in Nigerian cities the same night that Darego was crowned, and when she returned to Nigeria for her first official visit she met with government ministers and took part in a four-day celebration. She was even made an honorary member of the Council of Chiefs in Lagos, an extraordinary honor for a woman as young as she was and one that made her the country's youngest chief.

Miss World 2000 Priyanka Chorpa
Miss World 2000, Priyanka Chopra was Born on 18th July 1982 to the family of Capt. Dr. Ashok Chopra & Dr. Madhu Chopra. Priyanka Chopra had a very varied upbringing. She started her Education from La Martiniere Girls College in Lucknow as a resident student, A short stay at Maria Goretti College in Bareilly prepared her for further studies in the USA. Having completed class 10th from Boston USA she decided to become a software Engineer or a Criminal Psychologist. This 5'8" girl likes Indian music and dance, flair for writing poetry and short stories, enjoys reading, especially biographies, and has worked for a lot of social welfare programmes. She aims for the stars after completing her education. She is a movie buff and would love to join the galaxy if a good offer comes.


Miss World Yukta Mookhey 1999 The Miss World '99, 5 feet 11 inches tall Yukta Mookhey was born in 1977 to Mrs.Aruna and Mr.Inderlal. Yukta’s mother Aruna runs a grooming workshop, Swiss Chalet, at Santa Cruz here while her father Inderlal is the managing director of Ragz Clothing Company. A third year student of zoology at Mumbai's Kelkar College, Yukta has also won a number of essay and public speaking competitions and is looking to a career in mass communications and computer graphics. Yukta Mookhey wins the Miss World '99 crown and sets a record. Three Indian Miss World in the past one decade. This dark haired 20-year-old from Mumbai was chosen Miss World 1999 over 93 other contestants. Yukta wins $100,000 and a year of travel around the world. Mookhey, who hails from Mumbai, was chosen for the title from among 94 hopefuls in a keenly-contested pageant which saw Miss Venezuela Martina Thorogood and Miss South Africa Sonia Raciti win the second and third places respectively.

Miss World 1998 Linor Abargil
Linor Abargil, Israeli model, who was the winner of the Miss World beauty pageant in 1998, after she had been crowned Miss Israel. She is 176 cm (5 ft 9 in) tall. Two months before being crowned Miss World, Abargil was raped in Italy by an Egyptian born Israeli Shlomo Nur, who was working as a travel agent in Milan. She made her case public and Nur was arrested in Israel, charged with and found guilty of rape. Abargil called for other women to follow her example.February 2006 newspapers announced that Lithuanian basketball superstar Šarūnas Jasikevičius proposed to Linor Abargil, and the two started planning their wedding.Soon after Ynetnews announced that Baruch Marzel, the Chairman of the Jewish National Frontparty, wrote a letter to Linor Abargil, in which he called on her to turn down Šarūnas' marriage proposal unless he converts.Abargil and Jasikevičius married in a ceremony near Barcelona, Spain, in July, 2006. Miss World 1997 Diana HaydenDiana Hayden, Miss World of 1997, 5'10" tall born in 1973. She is an Anglo Indian from Hyderabad, she comes from parents who are separated, but her family was still very close-knit. As a teenager, she was a tomboy. She graduated from Osmania University in English by correspondence. She then moved to Bangalore, and later to Bombay and earned her living by doing odd jobs, small time modeling, managing fashion shows, working her way through her studies without assistance from home. This made her a very independent and confident woman. Her break was her job with BMG, where she managed artists like Anaida and Mehnaz. It was Anaida who forced her to send her pictures for the Miss India Contest. She went on to win the Miss World Contest held at Seychelles in 1997. She is the only Miss World to have won a hat-trick at the event (Miss Photogenic, Miss Beach-wear/swimsuite competition, Miss World 1997). and the only Indian model ever to appear on International television modeling products (L`oreal ads were broadcasted in several countries such as London, Paris, Milan, New York etc.....). CAP- Child And Police- a rehabilitation project under Dr. Reddy’s Foundation, Hydrebad, which is her pet project, where she is an advisor to the board of the foundation. The project deals with the police taking off children from the streets and educating them. She has completed a 5 weeks course on Shakespeare at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London and is engaged in a year long training at Drama Studio, London. The buzz, is that her director boyfriend, Kaizad Gustaad is scouting for the proper script to launch this world-famous beauty. Diana finds the words marriage and commitment very daunting. She plans to give her best to her career and, only then will she go the family way. Miss World 1996 Irene Skliva
Irene Skliva (Irini Skliva) in Greek: Ειρήνη Σκλήβα (born April 4, 1978) is an Athens native and former 1996 Miss World winner. After winning the Miss Hellas pageant she represented Greece in Bangalore, India during the Miss World contest in 1996.


Miss World 1995 Jacqueline Maria Aguilera Marcano Miss World 1995Jacqueline Maria (born c. 1976) was Miss World 1995, representing Venezuela. Jacqueline was born to a Peruvian-Brazilian mother of Portuguese, Lebanese and Native-Peruvian descent, and a Argentine-Venezuelan father of Spanish, French, Greek, Basque and Italian descent.Aguilera represented the state of Nueva Esparta at the 1995 Miss Venezuela pageant. She placed second to Alicia Machado who went on to become Miss Universe 1996.At the Miss World Pageant on November 18, 1995 in Sun City, South Africa, she won the crown as the 45th Miss World, as well as the Miss Photogenic recognition and the Top Model of the World held in Miami in 1995.
Miss World 1994 Aishwarya Rai
Aishwarya Rai was born in the South indian state of Karnataka in Manglore on 1st Nov 1973. She was younger of the two siblings, her brother being 3 years elder. When she was about 4 years old, her family moved to Bombay permanently. Her father worked as a merchant navy officer. Aishwarya did her schooling at Arya Vidya Mandir, Santacruz. Academically, she did very well and earned her position as the head girl of her school. Ash chose the science stream while at DG Ruparel College, her favorite subject being Zoology. Aishwarya wanted to do medicine, but circumstances didn't let her. Instead she chose Architecture and passed the interview at Raheja College with flying colors.By this time, Aishwarya had started getting modelling assignments. She then decided to take a break from architecture and concentrate on modelling. This green-blue eyed beauty stole ads for many prestigious firms, the ones which brought her into the limelight were the garden sari and the pepsi ad. Crowned Miss femina '94 runner up, she was a hot favorite to win the miss world title, which she did ! Her beauty and charm made her India's darling.Aishwarya Rai is the only Indian woman in world's Top 10 looking women.