Alice Panikian (; ) (born May 23, 1985) is a Bulgarian-Canadian journalist, TV host, model and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned

Miss Universe Canada Miss Universe Canada or ''The Beauties of Canada'' is an annual national beauty pageant that selects Canada's official representative to Miss Universe—one of the Big Four beauty pageants The Beauties of Canada Organization gained the exc ...

2006 and Miss Reinado Internacional del Cafe 2006. She attended

William Lyon Mackenzie Collegiate Institute William Lyon Mackenzie Collegiate Institute is a semestered high school located in Toronto, Canada.Miss Universe Miss Universe is an annual international major beauty pageant that is run by a Thailand and Mexican-based Miss Universe Organization.Natalie Tadena (July 2, 2015"Donald Trump's Miss USA Pageant Lands on Reelz Cable Channel". ''The Wall Stree ...

Natalie Glebova Natalie Glebova (; born Natalya Vladimirovna Glebova; 11 November 1981) is a Canadian author and beauty pageant titleholder who won Miss Universe 2005. She had previously won the Miss Universe Canada 2005 title. Early life and education Glebo ...

, also from Canada. As no country has ever won the title back-to-back (later achieved by

Dayana Mendoza Dayana Sabrina Mendoza Uribe (; née Moncada; born 1 June 1986) is a Venezuelan actress, model, film producer, director, and beauty queen. She is the winner of the titles of Miss Venezuela 2007 and Miss Universe 2008. Dayana Mendoza, in 2012, ...

and

Stefanía Fernández Stefanía Fernández Krupij (; born 4 September 1990) is a Venezuelan journalist, model and beauty queen who won the Miss Venezuela 2008 and Miss Universe 2009 titles. She entered the Guinness World Records by being the first Miss Universe wi ...

in 2009, both of them from

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

), Panikian had a significant historical hurdle to cross despite some pundits arguing that she was perhaps an even stronger candidate than her predecessor. Panikian did not become Miss Universe 2006 (that honour went to

Zuleyka Rivera Zuleyka Jerrís Rivera Mendoza (born October 3, 1987) is a Puerto Rican actress, TV host, dancer, model, and beauty queen who won Miss Universe 2006 in Los Angeles. She was previously crowned Miss Puerto Rico Universe 2006. She made her debu ...

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

), but she did finish in sixth place. She is the last Canadian representative to place at the Miss Universe until 2016. Panikian enjoys writing short stories, and her hobbies include volleyball and yoga. Panikian is of Bulgarian and

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

ancestry, which comes through her paternal grandfather and accounts for her Armenian surname. She came to Canada with her parents when she was five years old. Panikian studied at

York University York University (), also known as YorkU or simply YU), is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, and it has approximately 53,500 students, 7,000 faculty and staff, ...

and majored in English and Communications. She studied broadcast journalism, resides in

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, and aspires to be a

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

or a TV show host. Before becoming Miss Universe Canada, Panikian represented Canada at the 2006 Reinado Internacional del Café or International Queen of Coffee pageant, held in

Manizales Manizales () is a city in central Colombia. It is the capital of the Caldas Department, Department of Caldas, and lies near the Nevado del Ruiz volcano. Currently, the city is the main center for the production of Colombian coffee and an importa ...

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

on January 9, where she became the first Canadian winner in the history of the pageant. She also took the "Miss Photogenic" and "Best in Swimsuit" awards at the Miss Universe Canada Pageant."
Alice Panikian, New Miss Universe Canada 2006
''", Women Diary, March 31, 2006 Panikian was supposed to represent Canada and compete at

Miss International 2007 Miss International 2007, the 47th Miss International pageant, was held on October 15, 2007 at The Prince Park Tower in Tokyo, Japan. 61 contestants from all over the world competed for the crown. Miss International 2006, Daniela Di Giacomo of ...

held in Tokyo, Japan, but due to schedule conflicts in university, she did not compete. Justine Stewart took her place.

References

External links

Official siteInterview with Alice
*http://www.fashionmodeldirectory.com/models/alice_panikian, Fashion model directory *http://james-valone.livejournal.com/6363.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Panikian, Alice 1985 births Living people Bulgarian emigrants to Canada Bulgarian people of Armenian descent Female models from Ontario Canadian people of Armenian descent Miss Universe 2006 contestants Miss Universe Canada winners Naturalized citizens of Canada People from Toronto Canadian beauty pageant winners