Noelia Victoria Voigt Briceño (born 1 november 1999, Sarasota, Florida) is an Venezuelan-American model and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss USA 2023 on September 29, 2023. She is the third woman from Utah to win Miss USA, 63 years after its last win in 1960.[2]
Noelia Voigt | |
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| Alma mater | University of Alabama[1] |
| Beauty pageant titleholder | |
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She represented the United States at the Miss Universe 2023 pageant on November 18, 2023, in El Salvador, where she placed in the top 20.[3] Voigt is an anti-bullying advocate.[4] On May 6, 2024, she renounced her title.
Early life and career
editVoigt is the daughter of the American, Jack Voigt, and the Venezuelan, Jackeline Briceño. She is the first Venezuelan-American to earn the title Miss Utah USA and eventually Miss USA.[5] She attended Pine View School for the Gifted in Osprey, Florida.[6]
Voigt has said she wanted to compete in pageants as a child, but her mother made her wait until she became a teenager.[7] After competing in her first pageant at age 16, she faced bullying by her peers which inspired her to take up a platform of anti-bullying.[7] In 2021, Voigt authored a children's book called Maddie the BRAVE, inspired by Madison Whitsett, a 9-year-old who died by suicide after being bullied at her school in 2018.[8][9]
Voigt attended the University of Alabama and is a licensed esthetician.[10]
As of October 5, 2018, she is in a relationship with construction engineer Jack Henry Hendrix. On December 3, 2024, she announced her engagement.
Pageantry
editMiss USA 2023
editAfter reaching the first runner-up position at Miss Alabama-USA for the second consecutive time, she moved to South Jordan, Utah, in April 2023 and competed for the title of Miss Utah USA 2023. After winning her adoptive state pageant, she went on to represent Utah at Miss USA 2023 on September 29 in Reno, Nevada, winning and becoming their first Venezuelan-American winner and state titleholder.
During the competition, after passing through the top 20 with the swimsuit and evening gown competitions, she eventually reaching the top five, along with contestants from Hawaii, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Wisconsin. In the final question and answer round, Voigt was asked: "As the brand ambassador for Miss USA, what will be your contribution to the organization?" to which she answered:
I believe the ability to connect with people is an incredibly important asset that a Miss USA should have. The United States of America is an incredibly diverse country, probably one of the most diverse in the entire world. So being able to connect with everybody is important. As a bilingual Venezuelan-American woman, I plan to connect with that community of people because the United States of America is a diverse country and a Miss USA needs to be able to represent every community no matter their background, their race, their ethnicity, anything and I would like to be that Miss USA.[11]
Voigt was crowned by the outgoing titleholder Morgan Romano of North Carolina as Miss USA.[5] She later resigned her title on May 6, 2024, citing struggles with mental health.[12][13][14] Savannah Gankiewicz of Hawaii, who had placed as Voigt's first runner-up, was later announced as her Miss USA successor.[15][16][17][18][19]
Miss Universe 2023
editAs Miss USA 2023, Voigt represented the U.S. at the 2023 Miss Universe pageant held in El Salvador on November 18, 2023 and reached the top 20 semi-finalists.[20]
References
edit- ^ Mureb, Kifaya (September 30, 2023). "Noelia Voigt of Utah crowned Miss USA 2023". Today.com. Archived from the original on October 1, 2023. Retrieved October 1, 2023.
- ^ Rees, Alex (September 30, 2023). "Miss USA 2023: Noelia Voigt of USA wins pageant". CNN. Archived from the original on September 30, 2023. Retrieved September 30, 2023.
- ^ Konstantinides, Anneta. "Miss Utah has been crowned the winner of Miss USA 2023". Insider. Archived from the original on May 7, 2024. Retrieved September 30, 2023.
- ^ Justice, Bethany (October 11, 2023). "Miss Utah to Miss USA: Noelia Voigt's inspiring rise in pageantry". UVU REVIEW. Archived from the original on October 16, 2023. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
- ^ a b "Miss Utah Noelia Voigt Wins Miss USA 2023". Peoplemag. Archived from the original on September 30, 2023. Retrieved September 30, 2023.
- ^ Vin Mannix (October 8, 2023). "VIN'S PEOPLE: Former Pine View School student from Nokomis crowned Miss USA 2023". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Gannett. Archived from the original on November 5, 2023. Retrieved October 20, 2023.
- ^ a b Konstantinides, Anneta. "Miss USA Noelia Voigt got second place at 3 different state pageants before she won the ultimate crown". Insider. Archived from the original on May 7, 2024. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
- ^ Iloka, Ugochi (June 14, 2021). "UA student writes anti-bullying book inspired by young girl who took her life". wbrc.com. Archived from the original on October 20, 2023. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
- ^ Robinson, Carol (November 13, 2018). "Family struggles after 9-year-old takes her own life". al. Archived from the original on October 20, 2023. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
- ^ Botelho, Renan (September 30, 2023). "Miss USA 2023: Noelia Voigt of Utah Wins the Crown". WWD. Archived from the original on October 3, 2023. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
- ^ Botelho, Renan (September 29, 2023). "Miss USA 2023: Noelia Voigt of Utah Wins the Crown". Women's Wear Daily. Archived from the original on October 3, 2023. Retrieved September 30, 2023.
- ^ Jensen, Erin (May 6, 2024). "Miss USA Noelia Voigt makes 'tough decision' to step down. Read her full statement". USA Today. Archived from the original on May 6, 2024. Retrieved May 6, 2024.
- ^ Gore, Leada (May 6, 2024). "Miss USA Noelia Voigt steps down, relinquishes title". al.com. Archived from the original on May 6, 2024. Retrieved May 6, 2024.
- ^ Wood, Becca (May 6, 2024). "Miss USA 2023 announces she's resigning from title for her mental health: 'This may come as a large shock'". Today. Archived from the original on May 6, 2024. Retrieved May 6, 2024.
- ^ "The Miss USA Organization is thrilled to announce that Miss Hawaii USA Savannah Gankiewicz is Miss USA 2023. She will be crowned in her native state of Hawaii in a celebratory coronation on Wednesday, May 15". Miss USA. May 9, 2024.
- ^ ʻUfi, Elizabeth (May 9, 2024). "Miss Hawaii USA 2023 to be crowned as Miss USA". KHON2.
- ^ "Miss Hawaii 2023 named Miss USA after current titleholder relinquishes crown". Hawaii News Now. May 9, 2024.
- ^ Osher, Wendy (May 9, 2024). "Maui's Savannah Gankiewicz to be crowned Miss USA 2023 after titleholder resigns". Maui Now.
- ^ Konstantinides, Anneta; Grindell, Samantha (May 9, 2024). "Miss Hawaii is taking over as Miss USA following Noelia Voigt's historic resignation". Business Insider.
- ^ "Miss Utah Noelia Voigt Crowned Miss USA 2023 Winner". Yahoo! Entertainment. September 30, 2023. Archived from the original on October 2, 2023. Retrieved September 30, 2023.
External links
edit- Noelia Voigt at IMDb