Siera Bearchell (born February 15, 1993) is a Canadian beauty pageant titleholder, model, entrepreneur, and body positivity activist who was crowned Miss Universe Canada 2016. She represented Canada in the

Miss Universe 2016 Miss Universe 2016 was the 65th Miss Universe pageant, held at the Mall of Asia Arena, in Pasay, Metro Manila, Philippines on January 30, 2017. This is the second time in the history of the competition that the pageant skipped an entire year, ...

competition in

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital city, capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is Cities of the Philippines#Independent cities, highly urbanize ...

, where she placed in the top nine. While competing in Miss Universe, Bearchell received media attention for her curvier figure, which was seen as a detraction from the typical body standards associated with beauty pageants, and for her response to immense body shaming from

Internet troll In slang, a troll is a person who posts or makes inflammatory, insincere, digressive, extraneous, or off-topic messages online (such as in social media, a newsgroup, a forum, a chat room, a online video game), or in real life, with the ...

s. Prior to becoming Miss Universe Canada 2016, Bearchell was the first runner-up in Miss Universe Canada 2013. Apart from being a beauty queen, Siera has also built her brand as a

Youtuber A YouTuber is an online personality and/or influencer who produces videos on the video-sharing platform YouTube, typically posting to their personal YouTube channel. The term was first used in the English language in 2006. Influence Influe ...

, which has garnered 170 thousand subscribers.

Early life and education

Bearchell was born and raised in

Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan Moose Jaw is the fourth largest city in Saskatchewan, Canada. Lying on the Moose Jaw River in the south-central part of the province, it is situated on the Trans-Canada Highway, west of Regina. Residents of Moose Jaw are known as Moose Javians ...

. As a teenager, she was a dancer. She studied law at the

University of Saskatchewan College of Law The College of Law at the University of Saskatchewan is the university's law school. Located in Saskatoon in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan, the College of Law was established in 1912 and is the oldest law school in Western Canada, a disti ...

, graduating with a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice l ...

specializing in Indigenous law in 2018. She is of

Métis The Métis ( ; Canadian ) are Indigenous peoples who inhabit Canada's three Prairie Provinces, as well as parts of British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, and the Northern United States. They have a shared history and culture which deri ...

descent.

Pageantry

Early career

Bearchell began her pageantry career as a teenager. After losing her family home to a

house fire A structure fire is a fire involving the structural components of various types of residential, commercial or industrial buildings, such as barn fires. Residential buildings range from single-family detached homes and townhouses to apartment ...

in 2009, Bearchell wished to pursue charity through pageantry after being inspired by the help her family received from organizations like the

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...

. She competed in Miss Teen Saskatchewan World 2009, later winning the title and advancing to Miss Teen Canada World 2009, which she also won. As Miss Teen Canada World, she competed in Miss Teen World and placed as the second runner-up. Bearchell afterwards took a hiatus from pageantry, returning to competition as an adult in 2013. She competed in Miss Universe Canada 2013, where she placed as the first runner-up behind winner Riza Santos. Afterwards, she competed in Miss Supranational Canada 2015 and won, going on to represent Canada at Miss Supranational 2015 in Krynica-Zdrój, Poland, where she placed as the first runner-up.

Miss Universe 2016

In 2016, Bearchell returned to

Miss Universe Canada The Miss Universe Canada or "The Beauties of Canada" is a national beauty pageant in Canada, which sends its winners to the Miss Universe pageant. The Beauties of Canada Organization gained the exclusive rights to send a Canadian representativ ...

, where she was crowned Miss Universe Canada 2016, after previously placing as the first runner-up in 2013. As Miss Universe Canada, she was given the right to represent Canada at the

competition, to be held in

Manila, Philippines Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital city, capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is Cities of the Philippines#Independent cities, highly urbanize ...

. Upon her arrival at Miss Universe, Bearchell became the victim of

cyberbullying Cyberbullying or cyberharassment is a form of bullying or harassment using electronic means. Cyberbullying and cyberharassment are also known as online bullying. It has become increasingly common, especially among teenagers, as the digital ...

, with commentators making negative remarks regarding Bearchell's weight and appearance. Following these attacks, Bearchell received widespread media attention for breaking norms regarding the bodies of beauty pageant contestants, and for advocating for

body positivity Body positivity is a social movement focused on the acceptance of all bodies, regardless of size, shape, skin tone, gender, and physical abilities, while challenging present-day beauty standards as an undesirable social construct. Proponents fo ...

. Bearchell went on to place in the top nine at Miss Universe, becoming the first Canadian entrant to reach the semifinals since

Alice Panikian Alice Panikian ( hy, Ալիսա Փանիկյան; bg, Алис Паникян) (born May 23, 1985) is a Bulgarian-Canadian journalist, TV host, model and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Universe Canada 2006 and Miss Reinado Int ...

Miss Universe 2006 Miss Universe 2006 was the 55th Miss Universe pageant, held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California, United States on July 23, 2006. At the end of the event, Natalie Glebova of Canada crowned Zuleyka Rivera of Puerto Rico as Miss ...

; the eventual winner of the competition was

Iris Mittenaere Iris Mittenaere (; born 25 January 1993) is a French model, television host, and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Universe 2016. She is the second Miss Universe from France after Christiane Martel, who was elected Miss Universe ...

, who had been crowned

Miss France 2016 Miss France 2016 was the 86th Miss France pageant, held in Lille on 19 December 2015. Miss France 2015, Camille Cerf crowned her successor Iris Mittenaere at the end of the event. This was the third back-to-back in Miss France history after 1948-1 ...

. After the end of her reign, Bearchell crowned Lauren Howe as her Miss Universe Canada successor in 2017.

Personal life

Bearchell married Dr. Brennen Wray, a

dentist A dentist, also known as a dental surgeon, is a health care professional who specializes in dentistry (the diagnosis, prevention, management, and treatment of diseases and conditions of the oral cavity and other aspects of the craniofacial co ...

, in November 2017 in

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vega ...

, just prior to attending

Miss Universe 2017 Miss Universe 2017 was the 66th Miss Universe pageant, held at The AXIS at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States on November 26, 2017. At the end of the event, Iris Mittenaere of France crowned Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters of S ...

They have one daughter, Lily Jaymes, born in 2019 and a son, Iver Thomas Scott, born in 2022.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bearchell, Siera 1993 births Activists from Saskatchewan Canadian beauty pageant winners Canadian female models Canadian women activists Living people Miss Universe 2016 contestants Miss Universe Canada winners People from Moose Jaw University of Saskatchewan College of Law alumni Miss Supranational contestants