Alexandra grew up in Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland and one of the most clean and safest cities in the world. A joyful and ambitious girl, Alexandra is determined to get the best out of life and achieve as much as possible. She is also kind and helpful to others. Alexandra believes that she has a great chance of getting high scores in all the three areas but she believes that she will score high in the interview session because at that time, the judges will know about her character and personality.
Name: Miss Alexandra Helga Ivarsdottir
Age:18
Height:180cm
Languages: Miss Alexandra speaks Icelandic, English and Danish languages.
Education: A major in Psychology, Alexandra is now in her senior years in college.
Favorite food: Reindeer steak, chicken salad.
Favorite designer: Valentino, the Italian designer.
Favorite three must have songs in her iPod:
- February Song, by Josh Groban;
- Bliss, by Muse
- New Born, by Muse
Favorite motto: "To be the change you wish to see in the World".
Favorite sports and other outdoor leisure activities: Alexandra likes to stayfit. She regularly participates in outdoor activities. She like to travel a lot.
Hobbies and other interests: In her leisure, Alexandra spends time with her family and takes care of her German shorthaired pointer dog. Alexandra also likes to listen to all kinds of music. She studied ballet dance for seven years and jazz ballet for four years.
Alexandra’s ‘Beauty with a purpose’ project: Alexandra is helping elderly people of her country, trying to make their lives better. She is also helping foreigners who have come t Iceland and to settle down. After winning Miss World 2008, she wishes to take part in more charitable activities.
Message to fellow Miss World 2008 participants:
Despite being competitors, we will be able to spend a great month together in Africa and our friendship will last forever. It will be and unforgettable experience. Looking forward to meet you all.
The first thing you will notice about Anne Katrin Walter is her beautiful expressive eyes (Don't know whether she wear contacts or not). She is a very beautiful woman and would get a lot of support in Miss World 2008. A part time model, Anne is very serious about her studies. Currently, Anne lives in a small city. It was a painful day for Anne, when she had to leave her parents’ home to go to college. She lives in a small city that does not have any night life. One would have to drive for couple of hours to get the test of night life but Anne does not go out much. Anne Katrin Walter believes that in the three segments of Miss World, she has a good chance in the interview session.
Name: Anne Katrin Walter
Age: 21
Height:172 centimeters
Languages: Anne Katrin can speak German, English and French.
Hometown, childhood and family: Anne Katrin was born in the city of Kiel, in Northern Germany and grew up in Spreewald, a biosphere reserve, famous for its market gardens and preserved vegetables.
Education: Anne Katrin just started her studies in the field of medicine.
Future plan: Anne Katrin wants to become a doctor.
Modeling career: Anne is a part time model.
Motto: "Aim for the stars but keep your feet on the ground."
Favorite three songs in her i-Pod:
- 4 Minutes;
- The Greatest Love of All;
- Dangerous.
Favorite sports and outdoor activities: Anne Katrin loves to travel.
Hobbies, leisure activities and other interests: Anne enjoys reading. Her favorite author is John Katzenbach. In her leisure times, she enjoys listening to classical music. She just started taking acting classes. Anne does yoga to get in touch with her inner self. She also likes to watch movies.
Favorite food: Anne likes all sorts of fish.
Favorite fashion designer: Roberto Cavalli.
Weirdest dream: I dreamt that I won the Miss World title.
Anne’s ‘Beauty with a Purpose’ project: In her spare times, Anne works for a German organization “A Star for Children.” Based in Hamburg, the organization provides computers to children in hospitals, so that, they can keep in touch with their dearest ones and learn useful information.
Message for fellow Miss World 2008 contestants: Hi girls, I look forward to meet you all! Hugs and love from Germany!
Independent, open-minded, determined, disciplined, creative, and reliable- that’s how twenty year old Leah Nicole Ryerse describes herself.Leah believes that she will do well in all the three segments of Miss World 2008 but the swimsuit segment is her most favorite because, Leah works very hard to keep her body fit and slim. She will enjoy the event very much and hopes that the judges would also appreciate her enthusiasm. Leah believes that her down-to-earth nature, determination and perseverance to achieve her personal goals will help her win Miss World 2008. She has the ability to relate to different types of people as she grew up in a multi-cultural society.
Name: Miss Leah Nicole Ryerse
Age:20
Height: 178 centimeters.
Languages: Leach can speak fluently in English. She knows conversational French.
Hometown, family and childhood: Leah was born in Hamilton, Ontario and raised in Stoney Creek. She is the first woman from Hamilton to win Miss World Canada title since Connie Fitzpatrick.
Education: A student at McMaster University, Leah has completed her second year. She is majoring in Health & Social Work.
Motto: “We can change the world with one random act of kindness at a time.”
Occupation: Leah is a professional model and works in Public Relations Promotions at Family Fitness Women’s Centers.
Modeling career: As a model, Leah walked the ramp for many famous designer fashion shows. She also walked the ramp at the famous Fashion Cares gala in Toronto.
Future plan: Leah wants to work with children who are suffering from mental health illnesses.
Favorite three must have songs in her i-Pod:
- Anything by the artist, Ne-Yo
- Bleeding Love, by Leona Lewis
- Lose Yourself, by Eminem
Favorite sports and outdoor activities: Since her school days, Leah has been a sports enthusiast. She played basketball until she completed her high school. Leah also enjoys fitness, power yoga, rollerblading, basketball and fishing.
Hobbies, leisure activities and other interests: Leah enjoys listening to all kinds of music, acting, belly dancing and hip hop. She likes to interact with children and animals.
Favorite designer: Leah’s favorite designer is Ralph Lauren. His fashions are very classy, sophisticated, and clean cut. From a very young age, Leah liked his designs.
Favorite foods: Leah enjoys eating everything healthy including Pizza.
Interesting fact: Leah is color-blind, and her eye colour is blue on the top and brown on the bottom.
Fashion and beauty secrets: Leah constantly changes her style but most of the time, she loves to dress the way she feels. Leah enjoys feminine, fitted clothes with clean lines and high heels. According to Leah, physical beauty is not one’s true beauty. True beauty is reflected by ones behavior. A person has to be confident. To enhance physical beauty, one should drink lots of waters and have lots of sleep. Leah’s beauty motto is “Don’t let the dress wear you, but YOU wear the dress.”
Leah’s ‘Beauty with a Purpose’ project: Leah has been working with communities and international organizations devoted to help the youth. Some of the charity events she joined are: City Kidz, Make-A-Wish Foundation, and SOS Children’s Villages. Leah also visited various fitness facilities to spread awareness about healthy living.
Message to fellow contestants: “I can’t wait to meet all of you; we are going to have a blast! Remember that we are all winners, beautiful women and intelligent. If there is one piece of advice I can give, it is to always be yourself. Good luck to all!”.
Over the years, Barzil has built a reputation in Miss World for presenting some of the most beautiful women. No wonder, Miss Tamara Almeida Silva has already become one of the most favorite contestants in Miss World 2008 and she should be. The girl is beautiful, determined, strong, and hardworking. She won Miss Brazil contest in her third attempt. Contrary to other Brazilian beauty queens, who undergo multiple plastic surgeries, Tamara Almeida is 100% natural beauty. Tamara believes that by leading a healthy life, regular exercise, and eating healthy foods, she can get into her best shape.
Tamara respects people for who they are. She believes that her patience and sense of commitment would help her win Miss World 2008.
She is not afraid of pursuing her goal relentlessly and does not get scared by new challenges even if she does not know anything.
She believes that if a person does good things to another person, he/she will get only good things in return. Tamara hates gossip and always stays out of it. She takes her life very seriously. She never allows herself to become affected by negative energy. Each new day of her life is very much valuable to her.
Motto: Don’t waste your time only dreaming, make it happen!
Favorite foods: Tamara loves Japanese dishes.
Favorite sports and outdoor activities: Tamara is addicted to sports. She loves exercising. In her school days, she participated in all kinds of sports including volleyball, judo, handball, and cycling. She likes diving, swimming, cycling, boxing, yoga, martial arts, volleyball, boating. She tried her hands in Muay Thai, boxing and surfing. Tamara also likes to travel. As a model, she has already traveled five continents including: China, Hong Kong, Greece and Thailand.
Hobbies, leisure activities and other interests: For six years, Tamara underwent training in classical ballet and jazz dance. She likes flamenco dance, music, reading, going to theatres and movies. Tamara also enjoys reading and listening to Bossa Nova and Jazz.
Modeling career: Tamara was first discovered and hired by Ford Models in 2005. At the age of 19, she first traveled to Asia for her modeling assignment. Upon returning to Brazil, she received an invitation to participate in Miss World Brazil beauty pageant. She represented the city of Ouro Peto. Two days after the competition, she went to Curitiba and became the second runner-up. Miss World 2006, Unnur Birna, suggested that she should try again. So, she again participated in Miss World Barzil Beauty contest and became the 3rd runner-up. On her third attempt, she won Miss World Brazil crown on July 26, 2008.
‘Beauty with a Purpose’ project: Tamara is very proud of her ‘Beauty with a Purpose’ project. She has been working as a spokesperson for an NGO named Amigos da Terra, which means ‘Friends of the Earth.’ The NGO is working for the protection of the Brazilian rainforest and the human rights of the people living in the forest. The NGO is also promoting the sustainable use of products found in the Amazon. If Tamara wins Miss World, she will show the people of the world that there are people in Brazil who work very hard to protect the forest of Brazil. Aside from participating in numerous promotional activities, Tamara inaugurated the ‘Forestry Week’ in Minas Gerais by planting trees and exchanging ideas with other people who are involved in saving the environment. Tamara went to Acre, a state in the Amazon region, to make a documentary about the legacy of Chico Mendes, who dedicated his life to defend the rain forest and the people living in the forest. Chico Mendes was assassinated twenty years ago. The documentary was shown to all the schools in Brazil.
A natural, caring, young woman, Alizee Poulicek loves sports, cinema, music, traveling and meeting new people. To be honest, this girl is a well-packaged beauty. From head to toe, she is picture perfect, may be too perfect.
As a contestant, Alizee believes that she is going to excel in all the three segments of the Miss World contest. Alizee believes that the swimsuit segment is the most important because a woman is a ‘model of beauty.’ It is important to have a beautiful face and slim figure. She believes that the judges will better understand her personality during the interview session.
Name: Miss Alizee Poulicek
Age:21
Height:175 centimeters
Languages: Miss Alizee can speak in French, Czech, English and Dutch.
Hometown and family: Born to a Belgian mother and Czech father in Brussels, Alizee spent her first ten years in Prague. CzechRepublic is her second home. Currently, she is a resident of Huy, Belgium.
Favorite three must have songs on her i-Pod:
A romantic and sweet number: Before going to sleep or getting into romantic mood.
A dynamic and upbeat song: When feeling good or when she needs to motivate myself.
House or dance music: When Alizee is feeling like partying!!
Favorite sports and outdoor activities: Alizee loves horse riding, skiing, running, and playing tennis.
Hobbies and leisure activities: Alizee has great interest in cinema, photography, piano, and modern jazz dance.
Favorite foods: Alizee enjoys all types of food but especially likes the Italian and Thai cuisines.
Weirdest dream: Alizee wants to travel around the world. She does not want to stay in luxurious hotels but small hotels and in common people’s house, so that, she could know them better.
Motto: "Experience as many things as possible in your life to make it as rich as possible; learn about every experience you have had, and try to realise and to believe in all your dreams".
Appearance on TV: Alizee has done many television contracts. She wants to become a television presenter.
Alizee’s ‘Beauty with a Purpose’ project: After winning Miss Belgium title, Alizee worked with the Red Cross Society. She worked in several Red Cross projects in Belgium. She even went to Africa for one week to work in one of their projects. It has been a dream come true for her.
Message to fellow Miss World 2008 contestants: Let’s enjoy this new adventure altogether. We will be more than 100 girls from all over the world in an amazing place for one month. It is an incredible and unique experience, so, enjoy!
Born in Scarborough, Ontario, Canada, Natalie lived in New York and Toronto for a short time. She came to Barbados when she was three years old. Natalie studied at the CombermereSchool in Barbados. Famous Barbadian singer, Rihanna, also studied in this school. Natalie has some talented relatives in her family. She is the third cousin of famous basketball player, Kareem Abdul-Jabar. There is also an opera singer, a musical director and prima ballerina among her relatives.
A determined, dedicated free-spirited girl, Natalie, is very much excited to participate in Miss World 2008. She believes that dedication and determination are the two qualities that determine one's achievements in life. She loves anything related to three ‘F’s- friends, family and food.She likes to make people laugh. She is the comedian in her family but she can be very serious and outspoken when situation demands.
Name: Miss Natalie Olivia Griffith
Age: 18
Height: 168 centimeters
Languages: Miss Natalie can fluently speak English and knows basic Spanish.
Home town: Checker Hall in St. Lucy, Barbados.
Personal motto: "Believe and you can achieve."
Education: Natalie entered the University at the age of sixteen. Currently, she is
pursuing her B.A degree in Psychology with Management. She wants to finish her MA before the age of 23.
Future plans: Natalie dreams become a successful publicist. She dreams to have her own Marketing company that specializes in the field of Branding and Public relations.
Favorite three must have songs in her i-Pod:
-Machel Montanno – Defense – I like the reggaetone soca fusion and the up tempo beat, it’s a feel good song.
-Tessann Chin – Hideaway – Once again, the fusion between reggae and alternative music is great listening, plus she is an extremely talented singer.
-Rihanna – Sell Me Candy – a really nice combination on sounds.
Favorite sporting and outdoor activities: Natalie loves swimming. She has been a competitive swimmer for seven years. Aside from swimming, Natalie spends her free time playing cricket with her neighbours, fishing, and making and flying kites.
Hobbies and leisure activities: Natalie enjoys dancing, singing, listening to music, playing piano and basic recorder, and grooming her three small dogs named: Blackface, Lucky and Pooberts. She also loves traveling, cooking and meeting new people and experiencing new food. In her leisure times, she likes to go to the beach and spend quality times with her friends and family.
‘Beauty with a Purpose’ project: For the past one year, Natalie has been working on an interactive audio book on HIV/AIDS, conceptualized by her. First of its kind, the book contains information on HIV/AIDS and raises awareness against stigmatization and discrimination against HIV/AIDS affected people. The National HIV/AIDS Commission, the leading organization in Barbados working toward raising awareness against HIV/AIDS, is going to use the book.
In August, the downloadable version of the book was launched by a leading Caribbean download site. In October, the CD of the book was made available for reference at ALL Secondary Schools in Barbados. The book will also be available for reference in the Human Resource Departments in many domestic and international organizations that have branches in Barbados. All the money procured from the sales of the book will go to Barbadian organizations that work with HIV/AIDS infected people.
Fashion: An old school girl at heart, Natalie loves anything vintage with contemporary twist.
Favorite designers: Christian Siriano and Zac Posen.
Interesting work experience: Natalie did many summer jobs but the most interesting was serving as her father’s secretary which taught her to separate private life from business.
The Bahamas is an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean. The beautiful beaches, golden sand, and friendly people make the Bahamas one of the most beautiful countries in the world. Miss Bahams 2008, Tinnyse Jamel Johnson, loves her country very much. She grew up in a close-knit family of seven members. She says:
"I love the island way of life – fishing, crabbing, conching, and especially making tamarind sauce,"
Tinnyse Jamel Johnson is optimistic, liberal and ready to accept change. She is a free spirited and compassionate Bahamian woman who likes to meet all kinds of people. She uses whatever she can get to make a difference in the world. Tinnyse believes that people should not be pessimistic looking at the problems and sufferings around the world. Everyday, if all the people decide just to resolve one thing, it would make a great change. Each human being is special and born with a purpose.Tinnyse is a people’s person, She is very real and genuine. There are so many beautiful women in the pageant and Tinnyse believes that it is her inner beauty that will make a difference. Tinnyse is ready to accept every challenge of this competition.
Name: Miss Tinnyse Jamel Johnson
Age:21
Height:176 centimeters
Languages: Tinnyse is a fluent speaker in English. She is also learning Spanish.
Home town: Nassau
Education: Tinnyse is currently pursuing her Bachelors Degree in Business Administration in the college of the Bahamas. She also has an Associate Degree.
Future plan: Tinnyse plans to own an international business conglomerate that will produce various motivational products and services.
Favorite sports and outdoor activities: Tinnyse loves swimming, running, Kayaking, and Pilates.
Hobbies and leisure activities: Tinnyse loves reading, listening to music, singing, and interpretative dance.Tinnyse also enjoys writing inspirational messages, and watching good movies alone. Whenever she gets time, she enjoys the beautiful beaches of her country.
Favorite food: Tinnyse is a gourmet cook specialized in making pastries. Her favorite food is the local Tamarind Sauce. In her spare times, she gets into the kitchen and prepares delicious dishes.
Favorite three songs in her i-Pod will be::
- Lee Anne Womack's I hope you dance
- Mariah Carey's My all
- Shania Twain's I feel like a woman.
Personal motto: "Time doesn't linger nor does it yield for anyone. Tomorrow isn't guaranteed and yesterday is gone, so all we have is today. We should use it wisely and live each day as if it was our last".
‘Beauty with a Purpose’ project: Tinnyse is very much passionate about helping others especially, young women at risk. Her project involves empowering women. She raised money for the college education of young women. Tinnyse contacted with business women from all over the Bahamas and requested them to adopt a ‘little sister’ for a day and spend the day mentoring her. This will help the young women to increase their self-esteem. At the end of the day, a fashion/concert was organized called ‘Girls’ Night Out.’ Each of the business women was asked to make a donation for a scholarship at the College of the Bahamas. A panel of judges then chose the winner who gets a fully paid four year scholarship.
Working experience: Tinnyse worked as a Jewelry representative, real estate agent. The work gave her an opportunity to meet interesting people.
Aruba is a small island in the Southern Caribbean Sea. It is a beautiful city with friendly people and Christina’s beauty truly reflects the friendly and inviting nature of her country. Like her fellow Aruban beauty, Zizi Lee, who almost won Miss World title in 2001, Christina Marie Trejo-Baiz is of mixed heritage. Christina has a beautiful face, a very friendly smile and a great body. She is the kind of girl you would love to go out with on a date or pass a nice complement when she is passing by.
Daring, adventurous, ambitious, confident, determined, focused, and compassionate- this is how Christina describes herself. She is sympathetic to the needy and loves children. Christina is a positive thinker and she believes that a person can achieve anything in life.
According to Christina, the most important quality a Miss World winner should have is that she should be caring and sympathetic. It is care and sympathy towards human beings that makes this world a better place. Christina believes that her caring nature would make her an ideal Miss World.
Name: Miss Christina Marie Trejo-Baiz.
Age: 20
Height: 175 centimeters
Hometown: Christina was born in Dallas, Texas, but she was brought up in Companashi, Oranjestad.
Family: Daughter of a Mexican father and Aruban mother, Christina is currently living in Aruba with her step-father,mother, older sister, Tessa, and her six year old brother, John.
Languages: Miss Christina can speak in Papiamento, Dutch, Spanish and English.
Personal motto: "Face the past without regrets, live the present with confidence and prepare for the future without fear".
Favorite foods: Christina loves sea food. Her favorite dish is garlic shrimps.
Favorites songs in her i-Pod will be:
-“She’s Royal” by Tarrus Riley
-“Brand New Day” by Idyllmist
- “Enciende Una Luz” by Marcos Witt
Education: Currently, Christina is doing her BSc and her major is Tourism.
Future plans: Christina wants become a Public Relations Ambassador for Aruba.
Sports and outdoor activities:Christina loves swimming. She also studies Tang So Doo (a Korean martial art). Christina likes to travel and wish to do more in future as it will enable her to know more about different countries and cultures.
Hobbies: Christina enjoys singing and dancing. She likes Latin/Caribbean rhythm, modern dance, and folklore. In her leisure, she likes to spend time with her family, chit chatting, watching movies, playing cards or board games. Christina also likes handcrafting, painting and experimenting with colors.
Modeling experience: As a model, Christina worked for Eliza Lejuez, a Dutch artist living in Aruba. She also works for a modeling agency named “Di Aruba Moda.”
Fashion:For regular days, Christina prefers the casual sporty look as it matches with her personality. On occasion, she likes the elegant classy look. If Christina was invited to the prestigious New York Fashion week, she would prefer wearing clothes designed by Aruban designers. Her favorite designers are: Ronzzio de Cuba, Edgar Kock and Eliza Lejuez and Percy Irausquin.
Beauty: Christina believes that beauty is a combination of inner beauty and outer beauty. The inner beauty of a person comes out when he/she is happy for being who he is and what he has and sharing it with other. In order to enhance the outer beauty one should have lots of laughter and plenty of sleep.
“Beauty with a Purpose” project: Since her childhood, Christina has been involved with Aruba Red Cross. As a small child, she used to take first-aid classes in the Red-Cross. Christina’s grandfather has been a member of the Red Cross since its inception in Aruba in 1956. The Red Cross in Aruba is engaged in providing foods, clothes and shelter to the needy people. Currently, the organization is also involved in raising awareness against HIV/AIDS.
Most memorable rainy day: Aruba is situated under the hurricane belt. Christina remembers the day when hurricane ‘Ivan’ passed through the West Coast of her country. There were strong winds and heavy rains and the streets were filled with water. Many people lost their houses and schools were closed for a long time. It was a disastrous situation for the country.
Weirdest dream: Christina dreamt that she was floating around and she wanted to come down but she could not. She could neither scream nor talk to anyone. Suddenly, she woke up and found herself in her bed at home.
Interesting work experience: Christina’s working experience includes distributing flyers on roller blades for the carnival parade.
Along with her sister, who resides in Orlando, Florida and a member of the Caribbean Student Council, Christina went to a near by park to feed the homeless people. The people were very happy when the students gave them food and it was a very interesting experience for Christina. Since then, she vowed not to waste any food and be thankful for the foods she had in life.
Strongest point: Christina is beautiful and confident that she would score well in all the three segments but she will out perform others in her interview session.
Message to other Miss World 2008 contestants:
Always give your best and enjoy this great opportunity. I wish you all best of luck.
