Rikkie Valerie Kollé being crowned Miss Netherlands 2023. (Photo courtesy Miss Universe Pageant)
LEUSDEN, Utrecht, the Netherlands | In a historic first for the beauty pageant where the finalist will go on to compete in the Miss Universe pageant, the title and tiara of Miss Netherlands was awarded to a 22-year-old transgender woman on July 8 at the AFAS Theater in Leusden.
Rikkie Valerie Kollé was selected as Miss Netherlands and will represent her country at the 72nd Miss Universe pageant set to take place in El Salvador later this year. Kollé, a Dutch-Moluccan model and actress living in Breda succeeds her predecessor, Ona Moody.
In a press release, pageant officials noted that Nathalie Mogbelzada, 26, from Amsterdam, was named first runner-up while Habiba Mostafa and Lou Dirchs were awarded Miss Congeniality and Miss Social Media, respectively.
Reigning Miss Universe R’Bonney Gabriel from the United States attended the glittering event as a special guest.
Kollé will be the second transgender representative at the Miss Universe pageant after Spain’s Angela Ponce who participated in 2018.
NPR reported the 71-year-old competition first began allowing transgender contestants in 2012.
More trans women have been competing in the preliminary pageants in recent years. In 2021, former Miss Nevada Kataluna Enriquez became the first trans contestant in a Miss USA pageant. Trans woman and activist Daniela Arroyo González will compete for this year’s Miss Universe Puerto Rico title next month.
Thai business mogul Anne Jakrajutatip, a trans activist who is also transgender, bought the Miss Universe Organization last year. She has said she’s committed to advancing the organization as an inclusive platform and wants to transform the brand for the next generation.
NPR also noted that Kollé has another chance to make history: If she takes the Miss Universe title in December, she would be the first out trans woman to do so.
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