Céline Van Ouytsel (born 10 October 1996) is a Belgian model and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned

Miss Belgium 2020 Miss Belgium 2020 was the 52nd edition of the Miss Belgium pageant, held on January 11, 2020 at the Plopsaland Theater in De Panne, Belgium. Elena Castro Suarez of Antwerp crowned her successor Céline Van Ouytsel of Antwerp at end of the eve ...

. She was chosen to represent Belgium at Miss World 2021.

Early life

Van Ouytsel was born in Herentals, Antwerp, located in the

Dutch-speaking Dutch ( ) is a West Germanic language spoken by about 25 million people as a first language and 5 million as a second language. It is the third most widely spoken Germanic language, after its close relatives German and English. ''Afrikaans'' i ...

region of

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. Van Ouytsel attended the University of Antwerp, where she received a

Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...

degree.

Pageantry

Van Ouytsel began her pageantry career in 2015, placing as the second runner-up at Miss Antwerp 2016, behind eventual

Miss Belgium 2016 Miss Belgium 2016 was the 48th edition of the Miss Belgium held on January 9, 2016 at the Plopsaland Theater in De Panne, Belgium. The winner, Lenty Frans from Antwerp, was crowned by the outgoing title holder, Annelies Törös (Miss Belgium 201 ...

winner Lenty Frans. She returned to pageantry four years later, when she competed in and won Miss Antwerp 2020. After winning Miss Antwerp, Van Ouytsel was given the opportunity to compete at

, representing

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

. At Miss Belgium, Van Ouytsel introduced herself as "Miss '' Legally Blonde''", because she has a law degree, is

blond Blond (male) or blonde (female), also referred to as fair hair, is a hair color characterized by low levels of the dark pigment eumelanin. The resultant visible hue depends on various factors, but always has some yellowish color. The color can ...

e, and loves the color

pink Pink is the color of a namesake flower that is a pale tint of red. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, politeness, ...

, much like the film's protagonist Elle Woods – Van Ouytsel even drives a pink

4×4 Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case ...

. Due to her strong online presence, Van Ouytsel was also awarded the special title Miss Social Networks at Miss Belgium. While competing in the evening gown portion of Miss Belgium, Van Ouytsel fell on stage, which resulted in a

bra A bra, short for brassiere or brassière (, or ; ), is a form-fitting undergarment that is primarily used to support and cover breasts. It can serve a range of other practical and aesthetic purposes, including enhancing or reducing the appear ...

that had been stuck to her gown falling off and being left behind on stage; this received widespread attention throughout the Belgian media. Despite her fall, Van Ouytsel went on to be crowned Miss Belgium 2020. This made her the seventh consecutive

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...

woman to win, and the fifth to come from Antwerp Province in a span of six years. As Miss Belgium, Van Ouytsel competed in Miss World 2021.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Van Ouytsel, Celine 1997 births Belgian beauty pageant winners Belgian female models Living people Miss Belgium winners Miss World 2021 delegates People from Herentals University of Antwerp alumni