Catharina Brink ( Svensson; born July 24, 1982) is a Danish lawyer, equestrienne, model and beauty queen who won the first ever

Miss Earth 2001 Miss Earth 2001, the 1st Miss Earth pageant, organized by Carousel Productions. The pageant coronation night was held on October 28, 2001 at the University of the Philippines Theater in Quezon City, Philippines. There were 42 delegates who compet ...

Biography and career

Svensson was originally from Copenhagen, Denmark, and carries dual citizenship (Swedish and Danish) through her parents. After her Miss Earth reign, she continued her studies and eventually became a lawyer. On 6 October 2007, Svensson was married to

Jan Brink Jan Brink (born 1960) is a Swedish equestrian. He was born in Hörby. He competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, where he placed fourth in team dressage. He also competed at the 2000 and 2004 Summer Olympics. Jan Brink is a s ...

, an Olympian and seven-time

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

dressage Dressage ( or ; a French term, most commonly translated to mean "training") is a form of horse riding performed in exhibition and competition, as well as an art sometimes pursued solely for the sake of mastery. As an equestrian sport defined b ...

champion. She moved to

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

with Brink after their wedding in

Trollenäs Castle Trollenäs Castle ( sv, Trollenäs slott) is a castle in Eslöv Municipality, Scania, in southern Sweden. It dates from the 14th century, and has been in the ownership of only two families, Thott and Trolle. The current building goes back to 1559 ...

. The couple met in 2005 and on

New Year's Eve In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve, also known as Old Year's Day or Saint Sylvester's Day in many countries, is the evening or the entire day of the last day of the year, on 31 December. The last day of the year is commonly referred to ...

of 2006, Brink proposed to Svensson on a skiing holiday in

Verbier Verbier is a village located in south-western Switzerland in the canton of Valais. It is a holiday resort and ski area in the Swiss Alps and is recognised as one of the premier off-piste resorts in the world. Some areas are covered with snow all ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. On March 22, 2010, Svensson gave birth to her first child, Angelina Brink.

Pageantry

Svensson won the first

Miss Earth Miss Earth is an annual international major beauty pageant based in the Philippines that advocates for environmental awareness, conservation and social responsibility. Along with Miss World, Miss Universe, and Miss International, it is one of t ...

, an annual international

beauty pageant A beauty pageant is a competition that has traditionally focused on judging and ranking the physical attributes of the contestants. Pageants have now evolved to include inner beauty, with criteria covering judging of personality, intelligence, ...

promoting

environmental awareness Environmentalism or environmental rights is a broad philosophy, ideology, and social movement regarding concerns for environmental protection and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seeks ...

, when she was crowned on 28 October 2001. At the time of her crowning, the 19-year-old Svensson was a third year law student and a part-time model. It was her first time to participate in any beauty contest; she was appointed by the national pageant director of Miss Earth Denmark. In October 2005, she went back to the Philippines and served as one of the judges in the

Miss Earth 2005 Miss Earth 2005, the 5th edition of the Miss Earth pageant, was held on October 23, 2005, in Quezon City, Philippines. A total of 80 candidates from around the globe took part in the event. At the conclusion of the pageant, Alexandra Braun of ...

, the fifth edition of the pageant won by Miss Venezuela,

Alexandra Braun Alexandra Braun Waldeck (, born May 19, 1983) is a Venezuelan actress, model and beauty queen who won the 2005 edition of Miss Earth, an annual international beauty pageant promoting environmental awareness. Braun won four international best ...

. In 2015, she was guest of honor and official judge in the final of

Miss Earth 2015 Miss Earth 2015, the 15th edition of the Miss Earth pageant, was held on 5 December 2015 at Marx Halle in Vienna, Austria. Jamie Herrell of the Philippines crowned her compatriot Angelia Ong as successor at the end of the event. It was the first ...

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. She advocated during the coronation night to stay focused on the noble cause of promoting

environmental conservation *Environmental protection Environmental protection is the practice of protecting the natural environment by individuals, organizations and governments. Its objectives are to conserve natural resources and the existing natural environment and, w ...

. In May 2016, she was a judge at the Face of Denmark competition together with former Miss Earth 2009, Larissa Ramos and crowning the new Miss Earth Denmark.

References

External links

Official Miss Earth web siteMiss Earth Foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Svensson, Catharina Danish female models Miss Earth winners 1982 births Living people Danish beauty pageant winners Danish emigrants to Sweden Miss Earth 2001 contestants Danish people of Swedish descent