Débora Lyra (born September 26, 1989) is a Brazilian actress, model and beauty pageant titleholder who won the

Miss Brasil 2010 Miss Brazil () is a Brazilian national beauty pageant, held annually since 1954. The competition has gone through several incarnations throughout its history, while its main purpose has been to select the Brazilian representative for the Miss U ...

and represented her country at

Miss Universe 2010 Miss Universe 2010 was the 59th Miss Universe pageant, held at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States on August 23, 2010. At the end of the event, Stefanía Fernández of Venezuela crowned Ximena Navarrete of Mexic ...

, she also worldwide winner of Miss Multiverse in 2014.

Biography

Lyra was born in

Vila Velha Vila Velha (; ) is a Brazilian municipality situated on the coast of the state of Espírito Santo, in the Southeast Region of Brazil. It is part of the Greater Vitória Metropolitan Area and covers an area of , of which is within the urban a ...

, but spent two years living in the town of

Divinópolis Divinópolis is a Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in the centre-west of Minas Gerais state, Brazil. The estimated population in 2020 was 240,408 inhabitants. The total area of the municipality is 709 km2 and the elevation is 712 metres ...

. She was a model since age 8 and had wanted to be

Miss Brasil Miss Brazil () is a Brazilian national beauty pageant, held annually since 1954. The competition has gone through several incarnations throughout its history, while its main purpose has been to select the Brazilian representative for the Miss U ...

since age 12. With the encouragement of her father, she soon began to participate in and win some beauty contests. She also landed a few modeling jobs, but at 15, she took a break from acting to work in an export company café, where she remained for four years, to help her family pay for their house. At 18, she met the state coordinator of

Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil, being the fourth largest state by area and the second largest in number of inhabitants with a population of 20,539,989 according to the 2022 Brazilian census, 2022 census. Located in ...

, who invited her to live in

and prepared to participate in international beauty contests. She visited various countries such as

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

(where she stayed for three months) and

Bahamas The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an archipelagic and island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean. It contains 97 per cent of the archipelago's land area and 88 per cent of its population. ...

Pageantry

Lyra won the Miss Minas Gerais 2010 and the

representing

. She competed in the

pageant held on August 23, 2010, in

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

, but failed to place. Before Miss Universe Brazil, Debora competed in Miss Terra Brasil 2009 where she became 3rd runner-up or Miss Terra-Fogo (Miss Earth-Fire). In 2013, Lyra represented Brazil at the world finals of the Miss Multiverse pageant in the Dominican Republic, she won and became the 4th Miss Multiverse winner.

Personal life

Along with her native language of Portuguese, Débora speaks fluent

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

and

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

. In 2011, she lost her car, money and personal papers during an attack. In an interview with R7.com, days before passing the crown of Miss Brasil 2011 on to her successor, she said that during her year as Miss Brasil, she had bouts of depression. On December 27, 2011, Débora Lyra was involved in a severe

car crash A traffic collision, also known as a motor vehicle collision, or car crash, occurs when a vehicle collides with another vehicle, pedestrian, animal, road debris, or other moving or stationary obstruction, such as a tree, pole or building. T ...

, for which her spleen has been removed and some interventions in her spine where due. Her mother-in-law died in this accident.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lyra, Debora 1989 births Living people Miss Brazil winners Brazilian female models Miss Universe 2010 contestants