Yael Markovich (, pronounced ''Ya-el'' born September 15, 1989 in

Haifa Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area i ...

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

) is an Israeli-American

model A model is an informative representation of an object, person, or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin , . Models can be divided in ...

and beauty pageant titleholder. Markovich is the only Miss Israel who represented her country in three worldwide beauty pageants.

Early life

Markovich was born in

, Israel. Markovich is

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

, attended a

Jewish day school A Jewish day school is a modern Jewish educational institution that is designed to provide children of Jews, Jewish parents with both a Jewish and a secular education in one school on a full-time basis. The term "day school" is used to differentiat ...

and had a

Bat Mitzvah A ''bar mitzvah'' () or ''bat mitzvah'' () is a coming of age ritual in Judaism. According to Jewish law, before children reach a certain age, the parents are responsible for their child's actions. Once Jewish children reach that age, they a ...

Career

Modeling

Markovich has been featured on websites such as Maxim, AskMen, IGN, and Playboy's The Smoking Jacket. In addition, Markovich has graced the covers of Venus Says Magazine , the December 2012/January 2013 issue of '' The Jewish Journal''s sister publication ''TRIBE'' magazine; cover of Israeli Week Newspaper the week of 6 February 2013 – 12 February 2013, the February 2013/March 2013 issue of 303 Magazine, a Denver, Colorado based fashion magazine, and the cover page of Israeli national newspaper ''Yediot Achronot'' (Ynet America).. In early 2013, Yael was invited by

Playboy ''Playboy'' (stylized in all caps) is an American men's Lifestyle journalism, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, available both online and in print. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $ ...

Israel to pose for

Playmate of the Month A Playmate is a female model featured in the centerfold/gatefold of ''Playboy'' magazine as Playmate of the Month (PMOTM). The PMOTM's pictorial includes nude photographs and a centerfold poster, along with a pictorial biography and the "Playm ...

for the month of September. Due to lack of funding, the publisher declared bankruptcy before they were able to publish her non-nude pictorial. The ''Israeli Post'' featured an article about Yael and the CEO of Playboy Israel in August 2013.

Pageants

Miss Supranational Israel 2011

Markovich was crowned

Miss Supranational Miss Supranational is an annual international beauty pageant, started in 2009, and with most contests held in Poland. A parallel male contest, Mister Supranational, was launched in 2016, also in Poland. The current organizers of Miss and Mist ...

Israel 2011, and went on to represent her country in the 3rd annual Miss Supranational pageant held in Plock, Poland, on 26 August 2011. She holds the title for being the first Miss Supranational Israel.

Miss International Israel 2012

Markovich was crowned Miss International Israel 2012. After 7 years of absence, Israel made its debut at the Miss International 2012 pageant. Markovich represented Israel in the 52nd Miss International pageant on 21 October 2012 in Okinawa, Japan.

Miss Grand International Israel 2013

Markovich was crowned Miss Grand International Israel 2013 and would have represented her country in the 1st annual Miss Grand International pageant on 19 November 2013 in Bangkok, Thailand. However, the modeling agency that represents Markovich, withdrew her from the competition for lack of agreement between the organizers and the modeling agency. Even though she did not compete, she still holds the title for being the first Miss Grand International Israel.

Controversy

On 26 March 2013 controversy was stirred when Markovich published her negative experience with the Miss Supranational Organization and her visit to Poland, on a pageant website. The article made headlines in Israel and had attracted dozens of Israeli national media outlets, such as Ynet.co.il and Shavua Israeli (Israeli Week), that shared Markovich's experience by publishing a more detailed interview in Hebrew. On 29 March 2013 Miss Supranational Organization rebutted, by posting on their Facebook page a response to the allegations.

Personal life

She has Syrian, Turkish, and Polish ancestry. Markovich owned a

day spa A day spa is a business that promotes itself as providing a variety of services for improving health, beauty, and relaxation through Body treatment, personal care treatments such as massages and facials. The number of day spas in the US almo ...

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hil ...

, California. In November 2014, Yael announced on social media that she had sold her salon. Yael founded the Miss Israel Organization. The Miss Israel Organization holds the franchises for Miss International Israel and Miss Grand Israel.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Markovich, Yael Year of birth missing (living people) American female models Israeli emigrants to the United States Israeli female models Israeli Jews Jewish female models Living people Models from Haifa Santa Monica College alumni Miss International 2012 delegates 21st-century American women Santa Ana College alumni