16 Sep, 2024 @ 17:24
1 min read

Meet Miss Spain: Beauty queen, 21, who overcame a ‘rough’ childhood and online trolls and will now represent her country at the Miss Universe pageant

THIS is the 21-year-old beauty queen who overcame a ‘rough’ childhood and online trolls to represent Spain at the Miss Universe competition. 

Behind the makeup, the glamour, the dresses and the smiles of pageant contestants, there is often a deeper story waiting to be discovered. 

Miss Universe Spain 2024, Michelle Jimenez, is no different. 

Photo: Michelle Jimenez Instagram

At 21-years-old, the Business and Marketing student grew up in various children’s homes on the Balearic Islands. 

The oldest of nine siblings, she ‘basically raised’ her brothers and sisters, something which she is very proud of. 

Michelle is very close to her grandmother, who ‘always had her back’. 

She said: “She always told me I was the prettiest and the cleverest.”

Photo: Michelle Jimenez Instagram

But Michelle hasn’t always received love and support, being criticised for her Dominican ancestry, the colour of her skin and her tattoos.

“The critique started when I was put in the top three. It’s hard to deal with but I won’t give into bullies,” she said. 

Now, she will compete against 100 other women in the Miss Universe competition, held on November 16 in Mexico.

Yzabelle Bostyn

Yzabelle Bostyn is an NCTJ trained journalist who started her journalistic career at the Olive Press in 2023.
Before moving to Spain, she studied for a BA in English Literature and Hispanic Studies at the University of Sheffield.
After graduating she moved to the university’s journalism department, one of the best in the UK.
Throughout the past few years, she has taken on many roles including social media marketing, copywriting and radio presenting.
She then took a year out to travel Latin America, scaling volcanoes in Guatemala and swimming with sharks in Belize.
Then, she came to the Olive Press last year where she has honed her travel writing skills and reported on many fantastic experiences such as the Al Andalus luxury train.
She has also undertaken many investigations, looking into complex issues like Spain’s rental crisis and rising cancer rates.
Always willing to help, she has exposed many frauds and scams, working alongside victims to achieve justice.
She is most proud of her work on Nolotil, a drug linked to the deaths of many Brits in Spain.
A campaign launched by Yzabelle has received considerable support and her coverage has been by the UK and Spanish media alike.
Her writing has featured on many UK news outlets from the Sun to the Mail Online, who contracted her to report for them in Tenerife on growing tourism issues.
Recently, she has appeared on Times Radio covering deadly flooding in Valencia.

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