Nadia Grace Eicher Mejia (born 22 November 1995) is an American-Ecuadorian model and beauty pageant titleholder who won

Miss California USA Miss California USA is the beauty pageant that selects the representative for the state of California in the Miss USA pageant, and the name of the title held by that winner. The pageant is directed by Crown Diva Productions. California's most ...

2016 and placed in the Top 5 at

Miss USA 2016 Miss USA 2016 was the 65th Miss USA pageant. It was held at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on June 5, 2016. Terrence J and Julianne Hough all hosted for the first time, while Ashley Graham served as the backstage host. All fifty states ...

. Mejia is the daughter of Ecuadorian-born musician

Gerardo Mejía Gerardo Mejía (born April 16, 1965 Billboard.com – Biography – Gerardo Retrieved September 22, 2008.), better known by his mononym Gerardo, is an Ecuadorian-born American rapper, singer and actor who later became a recording industry execut ...

, best known for the 1990s song " Rico Suave", and Kathy Eicher,

Miss West Virginia USA The Miss West Virginia USA competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of West Virginia in the Miss USA pageant. This pageant is independently conducted and produced by Sanders & Associates, Inc., dba- Pageant Assoc ...

1989, and appeared with her family on the

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

show ''Suave Says''. She is a 2013 graduate of

Diamond Bar High School Diamond Bar High School (DBHS) is a public high school located in Diamond Bar, California, as part of the Walnut Valley Unified School District. Diamond Bar High School's mascot is the Brahma, and the school colors are purple and gold. Diamond Ba ...

. Mejia works as a

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 ''modulus'', a measure. Models c ...

and is signed to

Next Management NEXT Management is a modeling and talent agency founded in 1989 by Faith Kates and Joel Wilkenfeld. Next is headquartered in New York City with divisions in London, Los Angeles, Miami, Milan and Paris. Fashion models Notable models currently r ...

. She once suffered from

anorexia Anorexia nervosa, often referred to simply as anorexia, is an eating disorder characterized by low weight, food restriction, body image disturbance, fear of gaining weight, and an overpowering desire to be thin. ''Anorexia'' is a term of Gre ...

. Mejia won the Miss California USA 2016 title in November 2016 after previously competing three times for

Miss California Teen USA The Miss California Teen USA competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of California in the Miss Teen USA pageant. It was formed in 1983. This pageant is part of the Miss USA Organization, owned by Miss USA 2008 ...

and making the top twenty at Miss California USA 2015. She went on to represent

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

at the

pageant where she was voted Fan Favourite and made the top five. Mejia's open sharing of her

body image Body image is a person's thoughts, feelings and perception of the aesthetics or sexual attractiveness of their own body. The concept of body image is used in a number of disciplines, including neuroscience, psychology, medicine, psychiatry, ps ...

struggle was praised as a contributing factor for winning the fan favourite vote, however her failed attempt at answering a question about

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...

during the interview competition was also widely reported in the media. In 2018, Mejía was featured in major advertising campaigns for Skechers and Too Faced Cosmetics.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mejia, Nadia 1995 births American beauty pageant winners American people of Ecuadorian descent Beauty pageant contestants from California Living people Miss USA 2016 delegates People from Diamond Bar, California