Michelle McLean (born 31 July 1972) is a

Namibian This is a demography of the population of Namibia including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population. Population Census results As r ...

actress, writer, model and beauty queen who was crowned Miss Universe 1992 in Thailand. McLean was 19 years old when she was crowned Miss Universe, and became the first, and so far only, Namibian woman to win the title. McLean had been crowned Miss Namibia 1991 before Miss Universe, and also placed as the fourth runner-up at

Miss World 1991 Miss World 1991 was the 41st edition of the Miss World pageant, at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, Georgia, the United States, on 28 December 1991. Gina Tolleson of the United States crowned Ninibeth Leal of Venezuela as her suc ...

Early life

At the age of 13, Michelle McLean entered the world of international modelling, being crowned Miss Namibia in 1991 and reaching the all-time high as Miss Universe, crowned in Bangkok, Thailand, in 1992 - at the age of 19. Apart from modeling, Michelle McLean- Bailey has been a professional speaker for over 20 years, and has hosted numerous international events, like the Global Forum, the World Economic Forum, Soccer World Cup, the Louis Vuitton Regatta and Opera at the Pyramids.

Personal life

Michelle married Neil Bierbaum in 1998. They had a son together, Luke McLean Bierbaum in 1999. They divorced in 2006. Michelle McLean and former

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

goalkeeper

Gary Bailey Gary Richard Bailey (born 9 August 1958) is a former footballer who made nearly 300 appearances in the Football League playing as a goalkeeper for Manchester United. Born in Ipswich, Suffolk, he grew up in South Africa, but went on to be cap ...

married on 9 March 2013.

Pageantry

Miss World

Before Miss Universe, McLean competed in

. In the preliminary competition she was tied in second place with a score of 51 along with Miss South Africa, behind the eventual winner, Venezuela's

Ninibeth Leal Miss World 1991 was the 41st edition of the Miss World pageant, at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, Georgia, the United States, on 28 December 1991. Gina Tolleson of the United States crowned Ninibeth Leal of Venezuela as her suc ...

; McLean eventually finished in the top 5.

Miss Universe

In the 1992 Miss Universe pageant she finished second in the preliminary with a score of 9.147, right behind Carolina Izsak of

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 ...

, who won all three preliminary competitions. Nonetheless, McLean's warmth and love for children helped clinch the crown over Izsak,

Paola Turbay Paola Turbay Gómez (born November 29, 1970) is a Colombian-American actress, model, TV host and beauty pageant titleholder. She was a regular in season 3 of the TV series Bosch. Related to Colombian former president Julio César Turbay Ayal ...

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 ...

, and Madhushri Sapre of

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Life after Miss Universe

McLean campaigns for charities, notably The Michelle McLean Children Trust in Namibia and the Michelle McLean Primary School, also in Namibia, which has 890 students. The Michelle McLean Children's Trust in Namibia, which focuses on the education and care of under-privileged children, was founded in 1992 and has raised over 50 million dollars to help children in her native Namibia, in Southern Africa. Michelle was instrumental in bringing the Miss Universe pageant to her country in 1995. In 2009 Michelle co-hosted the Miss World pageant held in South Africa. In 2018, McLean formed part of the selection committee of the

Miss Universe 2018 Miss Universe 2018 was the 67th Miss Universe pageant, held at the Impact, Muang Thong Thani, Impact Arena in Pak Kret, Nonthaburi, Thailand, on 17 December 2018. At the conclusion of the event, Demi-Leigh Tebow, Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters of Sout ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McLean, Michelle 1972 births Life coaches Living people Miss Universe winners Miss Universe 1992 contestants Miss World 1991 delegates Namibian beauty pageant winners Namibian female models Namibian people of British descent People from Windhoek White Namibian people Namibian expatriates in South Africa Namibian expatriates in the United States