Clémence Botino (born 22 January 1997) is a French beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned

Miss France 2020 Miss France 2020 was the 90th edition of the Miss France pageant, held on 14 December 2019 at the Le Dôme de Marseille in Marseille. Vaimalama Chaves of Tahiti crowned her successor Clémence Botino of Guadeloupe by the end of the event. S ...

. She represented France at

Miss Universe 2021 Miss Universe 2021 was the 70th Miss Universe pageant, held at the Universe Dome in Eilat, Israel on December 13, 2021. At the end of the event, Andrea Meza of Mexico crowned Harnaaz Sandhu of India as Miss Universe 2021. It is India's fi ...

, where she placed in the top ten.

Early life and education

Passionate about fashion, she became interested in music during her adolescence and became a pianist then dancer, especially in

salsa Salsa most often refers to: * Salsa (Mexican cuisine), a variety of sauces used as condiments * Salsa music, a popular style of Latin American music * Salsa (dance), a Latin dance associated with Salsa music Salsa or SALSA may also refer to: A ...

. She obtained a

scientific Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence ...

baccalauréat The ''baccalauréat'' (; ), often known in France colloquially as the ''bac'', is a French national academic qualification that students can obtain at the completion of their secondary education (at the end of the ''lycée'') by meeting certain ...

with mention "very good" in 2014. At the age of 17, she lived for a year in the United States and studied costume in an international school located in Miami, to perfect her English. After two years of preparatory literary courses at the Lycée Gerville-Réache, she moved to Paris in 2018 for the third year of her

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

and then in the first year of her

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

art history Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today, ...

at the

Sorbonne University Sorbonne University (french: Sorbonne Université; la Sorbonne: 'the Sorbonne') is a public research university located in Paris, France. The institution's legacy reaches back to 1257 when Sorbonne College was established by Robert de So ...

; with her ambition to become a cultural heritage curator, she specialized in the study of fashion history.

Pageantry

Miss Guadeloupe 2019

On 3 August 2019, she was won Miss Guadeloupe, succeeding Ophély Mézino.

Miss France 2020

On 14 December 2019, at the Dôme de

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fran ...

, Botino was crowned

. She received 31.95% of the public vote, narrowly winning ahead of Lou Ruat (

Miss Provence Miss Provence is a French beauty pageant which selects a representative for the Miss France national competition from the departments of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Bouches-du-Rhône, Hautes-Alpes, Vaucluse, and portions of Var in the region of ...

) with 30.66%, succeeding

Vaimalama Chaves Vaimalama Chaves (born 3 December 1994) is a French singer, beauty pageant titleholder, and model who was crowned Miss France 2019. Chaves had previously won Miss Tahiti 2018 and became the fourth representative from French Polynesia to win the ...

Miss France 2019 Miss France 2019 was the 89th edition of the Miss France pageant, held on 15 December 2018 at the Zénith de Lille in Lille. The competition was hosted by Jean-Pierre Foucault, Sylvie Tellier, and Miss France 2018 Maëva Coucke, while singer ...

, and became the third Miss Guadeloupe to win

Miss France Miss (pronounced ) is an English language honorific typically used for a girl, for an unmarried woman (when not using another title such as " Doctor" or " Dame"), or for a married woman retaining her maiden name. Originating in the 17th century, ...

after Véronique de la Cruz in 1993 and Corinne Coman in 2003. Before her win, it was announced in early December that Botino was first in the general culture test of the Miss France competition, with a mark of 17.5 out of 20. She ended her reign as Miss France on 19 December 2020 after crowning

Amandine Petit Amandine Petit (; born 30 September 1997) is a French model and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss France 2021. She had previously been crowned Miss Normandy 2020, and is the seventh woman from Normandy to win Miss France. She repre ...

as her successor during

Miss France 2021 Miss France 2021 was the 91st edition of the Miss France pageant. The competition was held on 19 December 2020 at Puy du Fou in Les Epesses, Pays de la Loire. Clémence Botino of Guadeloupe crowned Amandine Petit of Normandy as her successor ...

, held at

Puy du Fou Puy du Fou () is a historical theme park in Les Epesses in the Pays de la Loire region of western France. It receives more than 2 million visitors every year, making it one of the most popular theme parks in France. In 2019 and 2020, it is the f ...

Les Epesses Les Epesses () is a commune in the Vendée department in the Pays de la Loire region in western France. It is best known for the Puy du Fou historical theme park. Geography The municipal territory of Les Epesses covers 3,156 hectares. The ave ...

Miss Universe 2021

Botino represented France at

. She was originally set to represent France at

Miss Universe 2020 Miss Universe 2020 was the 69th Miss Universe pageant, held at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida, United States on May 16, 2021. At the end of the event, Zozibini Tunzi of South Africa crowned Andrea Meza of Mex ...

, but due to potential date conflicts between Miss Universe 2021 and

Miss France 2022 Miss France 2022 was the 92nd edition of the Miss France pageant. The competition was held on 11 December 2021 at the Zénith de Caen in Caen, Normandy. Amandine Petit of Normandy crowned Diane Leyre of Île-de-France. Background Location By Jul ...

, she was instead switched to Miss Universe 2021 while Petit competed at Miss Universe 2020. Botino tested positive for COVID-19 upon arriving at Miss Universe, and was taken to a government isolation hotel. She had been fully vaccinated, and had been tested upon departure. She was released from quarantine after ten days and was authorized to rejoin the competition. For the national costume competition, Botino wore an outfit paying tribute to

Josephine Baker Josephine Baker (born Freda Josephine McDonald; naturalised French Joséphine Baker; 3 June 1906 – 12 April 1975) was an American-born French dancer, singer and actress. Her career was centered primarily in Europe, mostly in her adopted Fran ...

, made of a set of rhinestone lingerie adorned with jewels and large feather wings. Her performance during the evening gown competition was less successful, as she tripped on the hem of her dress. Botino ultimately placed in the top ten, the highest placement among the European candidates.

Miss World 2023

Botino will represent France at the 71st Miss World pageant.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Botino, Clémence 1997 births Living people French beauty pageant winners Miss France winners Paris-Sorbonne University alumni French people of Guadeloupean descent Guadeloupean people of Indian descent Miss Universe 2021 contestants Miss World 2022 delegates Miss Guadeloupe winners