Iris Mittenaere | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Mittenaere in 2016 | |
| Born | (1993-01-25)25 January 1993 (age 33) Lille, France |
| Alma mater | University of Lille |
| Occupations |
|
| Height | 1.72 m (5 ft7+1⁄2 in)[1] |
| Beauty pageant titleholder | |
| Title | |
| Hair color | Brown |
| Eye color | Brown |
| Major competitions |
|
Iris Mittenaere (English:/aɪ.rɪsˈmiːtɛnɑːr/AI-reesMEE-tə-NAR;French:[iʁismitənaʁ];[2] born 25 January 1993) is a French television personality, model and beauty pageant titleholder best known for winning the title ofMiss Universe 2016. The secondMiss Universe from France afterChristiane Martel, Mittenaere had previously been crownedMiss France 2016 andMiss Nord-Pas-de-Calais 2015.
Mittenaere was born on 25 January 1993 inLille, to Yves Mittenaere, a middle school history and geography teacher, and Laurence Druart, a primary schoolteacher and museum guide. She has a brother, Baptiste, a sister, Cassandre, and a younger half-sister, Manon. Her parents divorced when she was three years old.[3]
Mittenaere attended school inSteenvoorde, where she lived with her mother.[3] In 2011, she graduated with honors fromlycée with a focus on science. After graduating, she moved to Lille, where she attendedLille 2 University of Health and Law, studying dentistry.
Prior to becoming Miss France, Mittenaere was in her fifth year of a dental surgery fellowship and planned on becoming adental surgeon after graduating.[4]
After winning the local title of Miss Flandre 2015 on 2 May 2015 inBailleul,[4] Mittenaere entered the Miss Nord-Pas-de-Calais 2015 regional pageant inOrchies, which she won on 26 September 2015.[5] Mittenaere initially only entered Miss Flandre after being contacted onFacebook by the contest organizers, due to there being a lack of candidates that applied.[4] Mittenaere representedNord-Pas-de-Calais at theMiss France 2016 pageant. On 19 December 2015, she was crowned Miss France by outgoing Miss France 2015 and former Miss Nord-Pas-de-Calais 2014Camille Cerf inLille.[6] It was a back-to-back victory for the region.[7]
As Miss France, Mittenaere promotedoral hygiene and launched an awareness campaign onoral health.[8] She participated inoral hygiene awareness programs at French schools targeting young schoolchildren.[9][10]
In November 2016, Mittenaere presented the Francophone Group of the Year Award at theNRJ Music Award inCannes.[11]
During her reign as Miss France 2016, Mittenaere traveled toChina,Italy,Morocco,Germany, theCaribbean, andIvory Coast.
As Miss France, Mittenaere later competed inMiss Universe 2016. She was the only European delegate to progress to the semi-finals of the competition, later going on to win the title.[12][13] Mittenaere became only the second woman from her country to win the crown afterChristiane Martel wonMiss Universe 1953. Mittenaere was additionally the first European winner sinceOxana Fedorova of Russia, who was crownedMiss Universe 2002 but soon after dethroned, and the first European titleholder to complete her year as Miss Universe sinceMona Grudt of Norway, who wonMiss Universe 1990.[14]
In the first part of the question-and-answer portion, Mittenaere called for open borders.[15] She was asked the following by hostSteve Harvey: "Given today's worldwide refugee crisis, do countries have an obligation to accept refugees or do they have a right to close their borders?" Mittenaere replied:
Throughout the world, people can choose to have borders open or close. In Europe, we have open borders. In France, we want to have the most globalisation that we can. We want to have the biggest exchange of people that we can. Maybe someday that will change, but now we have open borders.
According to one of the judges,Mickey Boardman, who wrote about his experience as a Miss Universe judge inThe New York Times, "it was the question-and-answer portion that put her over the top. While the other contestants didn’t seem to actually answer the question about a mistake they had made in life and what they had learned from it, she was poised and well spoken".[16] The top three contestants were asked the same final question by Harvey: "Name something over the course of your life that you failed at, and tell us what you learned from that experience?" and she replied:
I have failed several times in my life. I thought I had failed my first year in medical school because my name wasn't on the passing list. So, the very same day I went to buy a new set of medical books to keep on studying. I think when you fail, you need to stand up and keep going, we are all able to do so. If I don't win tonight, I will still keep on smiling tomorrow because I am proud to be part of the three finalists. I've learnt a lot from my failures and happily, I did end up passing my first year of medical school.[17]
Mittenaere was crowned with the DIC Crown at theMiss Universe 2016 pageant. As a result of a lawsuit betweenIMG and Diamonds International Corporation (DIC), she wore the Diamond Nexus Crown from March 2017 until the end of her reign.[18]
In her capacity as Miss Universe, she served as a judge atPuteri Indonesia inJakarta,[19] atMiss Egypt inCairo[20][21] atMiss Peru inLima,[22] atMiss Guyana held inNew York City,[23] and atMiss Diva inMumbai.[24]
As a global ambassador, Mittenaere attended diplomatic events at the Embassy of France in Cairo,[25] the Embassy of France in Manila,[26] theEmbassy of the United States, Manila,[27] theConsulate general of France in New York,[28] the Consulate general of France inAlexandria,[29] and was invited toEmmanuel Macron's speech to the French expatriate community at the Kaufmann Concert Hall of92Y in New York City.[30] She traveled toBali to shoot a commercial for C 1000, a vitamin brand available in Indonesia and attended Farouk Systems's Global Conference inCancun.[31]
As a charity ambassador forSmile Train, she traveled toMexico City andCap-Haïtien to visitcleft lip and cleft palate patients and witnessed a cleft surgery first-hand.[32][33] As the newestmadrina of theLatino Commission on AIDS, she attended the annual fundraising Cielo Gala to benefit the commission[34] and was also invited to Project Sunshine's 14th Annual Benefit CelebrationBrighter Together in New York City.[35]
AtNew York Fashion Week, she walked the runway forSherri Hill in February and September 2017.[36] In June 2017, she attendedJoyrich xSnoop Dogg's Fashion show atMADE LA 2017 inLos Angeles and was invited to theAmfAR generationCURE Solstice 2017 in New York City.[37]
In March 2017, during her week-long homecoming celebration inParis and in her hometown ofLille, Mittenaere was invited byFrançois Hollande, thepresident of France, to visitÉlysée Palace[38] and was given a regional award byXavier Bertrand, the president ofHauts-de-France.[39] Mittenaere also walked forJean Paul Gaultier atParis Fashion Week,[40] attended thePalais des Festivals at the2017 Cannes Film Festival[41] and attended theAmFAR Charity Event, Cinema Against AIDS, inCannes.[42]
During her reign as Miss Universe, Mittenaere traveled to thePhilippines,Indonesia,Haiti, theCayman Islands,Ecuador,Mexico,Peru,India, andEgypt, in addition to numerous trips around theUnited States andFrance.
For her last walk as the reigning Miss Universe, Mittenaere wore aMichael Cinco scarlet red ombré Couture gown, in full Swarovski crystals, which featured a fitted bodice and flowing train,[43] before passing on the crown to her successorDemi-Leigh Nel-Peters ofSouth Africa asMiss Universe 2017 on 26 November 2017 atPlanet Hollywood Las Vegas inLas Vegas, Nevada.[44][45][46]
From 4 to 9 December 2017, she participated in theMiss Universe's Christmas Tour in thePhilippines, alongside her successorDemi-Leigh Nel-Peters and predecessorPia Wurtzbach,[47] then served as co-president of the jury withJean-Paul Gaultier atMiss France 2018, appearing on stage with the five finalists as a part of the fashion swimsuit portion of the competition and putting an end to her international pageant career.[48]
In December 2017, adocumentary film about herMiss Universe reign, produced byEndemol Shine Group and titledFrom Miss France to Miss Universe, the fabulous destiny of Iris, was broadcast onTF1 and watched by 5.4 million viewers in France.[49] The camera crew followed Mittenaere's reign as Miss Universe, her humanitarian travel, her trips and homecoming inFrance, and her family's reaction to her new life.[50]
Iris Mittenaere began her television career in 2018, becoming a co-host of the French version ofNinja Warrior.[51] In February 2018, Iris Mittenaere presented an award at the 2018Victoires de la Musique, wearing designerStéphane Rolland.[52] In September 2018, Mittenaere began competing in theninth season ofDanse avec les stars, the French version ofDancing with the Stars. Her professional partner on the show was Anthony Colette, and together they placed second in the season's finale on 1 December 2018.[53] From February 2019, she is the host of theLottery Drawings andEuroMillions onTF1.[54]
In March 2018, she was invited by theFirst Lady of Ivory Coast to attend the 7th Gala dinner of theChildren of Africa Foundation, marking its 20th anniversary and the opening of a new hospital.[55] She also participated to a Smile Train event, visiting families of cleft patients inAbidjan,Ivory Coast.[56] Iris Mittenaere partnered with French ArtistPhilippe Shangti to create a photographic artwork titled"I'm Iris, I'm not a princess", sold 40,000 euros in June 2018 at an Auction for proceeds to Smile Train.[57][58][59]
On 7 November 2018, Iris Mittenaere released her first autobiography titled in FrenchToujours y croire : Miss Univers, une jeune femme (pas) comme les autres which meansAlways believe in yourself: Miss Universe, a young woman (un)like any other. The book was published byHarperCollins.[60] The book chronicles Mittenaere's origins in NorthernFrance and her pageantry experience, in addition to beauty tutorials and advice for young women in order to build self-confidence.[61] The same day, Mittenaere'sToujours y croirebook tour launched, kicking off in her hometown ofLille. Other cities includeParis,Lyon,Toulouse,Bordeaux,Cannes,Dunkirk,Reims,Nantes inFrance,Brussels inBelgium andGeneva inSwitzerland.[62]
On 3 February 2019 Iris Mittenaere was on the judging panel ofTop Model Belgium 2019 atLe Lido.[63] From 12 to 17 February 2019 she was the guest star inJean-Paul Gaultier'sFashion Freak Show at theFolies Bergère.[64] She isMorgan's brand ambassador for 2019.[65] On 20 April 2019 she was the face ofCasa Fashion show's 14th edition,"The future is female", inCasablanca,Morocco.[66] From May 2019 to January 2020, she is avedette in choreographerKamel Ouali'sL' Oiseau Paradis newrevue at theParadis Latin.[67] On 22 May 2019 Iris Mittenaere climbed the steps of thePalais des Festivals at the2019 Cannes Film Festival in a couture light pink crystallized ballgown designed byMichael Cinco.[68][69] She also attendedde Grisogono Host Gala Dinner, wearing a bejewelled blue one-shoulder gown, designed by Lebanese Ziad Nakad, which was adorned in gems and sequins.[70]
In the summer 2019 issue ofForbes France, Mittenaere was interviewed and named among France's top five digital influencers of 2019.[71]
In June 2022, Mittenaere was guest judge on the first episode ofDrag Race France with the French fashion designerJean Paul Gaultier.[72]
In August 2022, Mittenaere announced her engagement to French-Moroccan businessman Diego El Glaoui, with whom she had been in a relationship for three years.[73]
In 2024, after Mittenaere'sbreakup with El Glaoui, she dated 22-year-oldboyfriend Bruno Pelat,grandson ofRoger-Patrice Pelat. In September, she filed adigital complaint ofdomestic violence anddrug use against Pelat. He wassentenced to 12 monthsimprisonment, to two-yearprobationary suspension andfined 2,000euros indamages.[74]
In the spring of 2025 she was reported to be in a relationship with French rugby starAntoine Dupont.[75]
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Miss Universe 2016 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Miss Universe France 2016 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Miss France 2016 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Miss Nord-Pas-de-Calais 2015 | Succeeded by Laurine Maricau |
| Preceded by Aline Bourgeois | Miss Flandre 2015 | Succeeded by Laurine Maricau |
| ||||
