As Lebanon prepares to crown its new beauty queen, we look back at what former title holders went on to achieve following their respective wins, starting with the year 2000, in a notable interplay of beauty and brains.
Note: 2006 is not on the list as the pageant was cancelled that year due to instability resulting from the July War.
Despite keeping away from the spotlight following her win, former Miss Lebanon Sandra Rizk caught up on the Lebanese fashion influencer trend in the Instagram era. Building upon her style and skill, she went on to launch her own luxury handbag brand, which caters to creative women in a celebration of luxury fashion, craftsmanship and uniqueness.
Besides being one of the most celebrated Miss Lebanon title holders to date, Christina Sawaya is also one of the most active on social media. She used her pageant experience and BS in Economics to prove herself in both showbiz and the corporate world. In addition to her prolific TV presenting, acting and singing career, she has been working in the fields of Event Management, PR and Media Relations for more than 12 years.
The Miss Lebanon pageant was not hosted in 2002 due to political instability. American-born 2001 1st Runner Up Bethany Kehdy thus became queen by default and went on to represent Lebanon in Miss World. A few years later, Kehdy moved to the UK with her Brit husband and is currently an internationally renowned author (The Jewelled Kitchen), food blogger (Dirty Kitchen Secrets) and founder of Taste Lebanon and The Food Blogger Connect. Her work has been featured in countless publications including Forbes, CNN Travel, The Telegraph and our very own Beirut.com among others.
Marie-José Honein was the first Miss Lebanon to be elected by popular vote following a 2-month reality TV competition. After a short stay in the US, she went on to pursue a Master’s degree in History of Art, Style and Design in London and presently works as a freelance art advisor. Honein’s humanitarian pursuits led her into founding her own NGO Live2share, which provides basic human needs to vulnerable members of the community, in July 2010.
The Lebanese-Tunisian beauty queen has earned an indisputable place among the Arab World’s most famous actresses with a panoply of leading roles in widely popular series such as Al Hayba, Nos Youm, Law, Samra and Cello among others.
After earning her master’s degree in Interpretation, Gabrielle Bou Rached got married in 2009 and moved to the UAE with her husband where she founded her own business and gave birth to her son, Robin (2011), and daughter, Alexia (2012). In the midst of all these life events, Bou Rached still managed to follow her passion for biking (she even rides a Harley-Davidson to work) and ultimately became the first woman in the Middle East to win the ‘King of Road’ race title.
Known for her height and wit, the second Nadine Njeim to win Miss Lebanon worked as a TV host/actress following her pageant win and got married to the love of her life in 2016. The International Business graduate co-owns and manages her own IT agency Microbits, which specializes in online marketing, web design, mobile apps and e-commerce.
Another Business graduate, Rosarita Tawil continued her modelling career after being crowned Miss Lebanon 2008, appearing on several magazine covers and fashion editorials. She participated in the first season of MTV’s Dancing with the Stars alongside professional dance partner Aslak Amtrup and currently works as a TV host and RJLiban ambassador.
Known for her childlike features and natural looks, Martine Andraos went on to earn an MA in Political Science and International Affairs from the Lebanese American University and is currently a PhD Candidate in International Relations. Unlike her fellow title holders, Andraos has kept a low profile and refused many TV/acting offers following her Miss Lebanon journey to focus solely on academics.
Miss Lebanon 2010 Rahaf Abdallah established herself as a TV personality and radio broadcaster in the rear of her win. A community service enthusiast and speaker, she also serves as a PR Coordinator for YASA and Honorary Ambassador for the Korean United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon.
Distinguished by her slender figure and strong personality, former Miss Lebanon Yara Khoury Mikhael graduated from the Lebanese American University with a BA in Radio/TV/Film and been invested in the worlds of Event Management and Media Production ever since, mainly as a Project Manager for prominent event company Caractère.
Rina Chibany made national and international headlines when she competed against none but her twin sister Romy for the Miss Lebanon title in 2012. After completing her BA in Design & Applied Arts, the long-haired beauty proceeded to earn a Master’s degree in Interior Architecture and has given workshops on the topic. She continues to model looks by local and international brands/designers alongside her sister.
Coming from a similar educational background, Chibany’s successor Karen Ghrawi completed her Interior Design studies in 2013 and currently holds the position of Quality Manager/Interior Designer at innovative brand activation agency L’Art-Qui-Tecte.
A civil engineer by profession and Miss Lebanon 2014 winner by title, the gorgeous Saly Greige is happily married to the love of her life since 2015 and continues to share glimpses of her beauty and celebrity encounters to Instagram.
After making it to the Miss World top 4 in 2015, the beautiful Valerie Abou Chakra stunned the audience with her grace and versatility as she reached the season 4 finale of MTV’s Dancing with the Stars. In addition to her high-profile pageant achievements and humanitarian pursuits, the TV/Film graduate is set to host the upcoming second season of Project Runway Middle East on MBC.
The casting for Miss Lebanon 2017 is on as current title holder Sandy Tabet prepares to pass on her crown to Lebanon’s next beauty queen.
