Melanie Ann Winiger (born 22 January 1979) is a Swiss-Canadian actress, model and beauty pageant titleholder who won

Miss Switzerland Miss Switzerland or Miss Universe Switzerland (german: link=no, Miss Schweiz; french: link=no, Miss Suisse; it, link=no, Miss Svizzera) is a national Beauty pageant in Switzerland. The pageant was founded in 1951, where the winners were sent ...

1996.

Early life

The daughter of a Swiss national and a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

n origin, Melanie Winiger was brought up in

Ticino Ticino (), sometimes Tessin (), officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton of Ticino,, informally ''Canton Ticino'' ; lmo, Canton Tesin ; german: Kanton Tessin ; french: Canton du Tessin ; rm, Chantun dal Tessin . ...

, the Italian-speaking region of

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 ...

Modelling career

She won Miss Switzerland in 1996 and represented her country at

Miss World 1996 Miss World 1996, the 46th edition of the Miss World pageant, took place on 23 November 1996 in the city of Bangalore, India. Preliminaries were shot in India and in Seychelles. 88 contestants from all over the world took part in the presti ...

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

and at

Miss Universe 1997 Miss Universe 1997, the 46th Miss Universe pageant, was held on May 16, 1997, at the Miami Beach Convention Center in Miami Beach, Florida, United States. Brook Lee of the United States was crowned by Alicia Machado of Venezuela at the en ...

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...

, not placing in either pageant. Winiger worked as a model in

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city ...

, and

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and ...

in the late 1990s. Around the same time, she gained fame in Switzerland as a TV host and endorser of the Italian boutique chain Oviesse.

Acting

In 2003, she starred in the Swiss movie ''Achtung, fertig, Charlie!'' She subsequently moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

, where she attended the West Hollywood branch of the

Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute The Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute (originally the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute) is an acting school founded in 1969 by actor, director, and acting teacher Lee Strasberg. The Institute is located in Union Square on East 15th Street, ...

until 2005. Since then, she has starred in both American and Swiss film and TV productions, including ''Sonjas Rückkehr'', ''Love Made Easy'', ''Breakout'', and ''Heldin der Lüfte''. In 2008, she starred in a TV commercial for

Moschino Moschino () is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in 1983 by Franco Moschino in Milan known for over-the-top, campy designs. The company specializes in ready-to-wear, handbags, and fashion accessories. History Founding and 1990s Franco M ...

, which was aired in several European countries.

Filmography

Film theatre releases

*2003 – Ready, Steady, Charlie! (''Achtung, fertig, Charlie!''), Swiss Army comedy (Swiss-German) *2006 – Love Made Easy, Road movie (English) *2007 – Breakout, Youth drama (Swiss-German) *2011 - One Way Trip 3D *2011 - *2013 - Who Killed Johnny, Comedy (Swiss-German, English, German) *2017 - Lommbock

TV Films

*2006 – Sonjas Rückkehr Social drama (Swiss-German) *2008 – Heldin der Lüfte, featuring REGA air rescue (Swiss-German) *2010 - Sonntagsvierer *2016 - Spuren der Rache

Awards

* 2013 –

Hoboken International Film Festival The Hoboken International Film Festival is an annual festival that promotes domestic and international television pilots, screenplays, non-studio films. Awards, with cash prizes, are given for the best submissions. The festival was founded by Kenne ...

: Best actress, nomination for '' Who Killed Johnny''

Presenter

On 28 August 2008, she hosted the draw for UEFA Champions League groups, which took place at the Grimaldi Forum in

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...

. She hosted the draw again at the same place on 26 August 2010, this time for 2010–11 Champions League and again on 25 August 2011 for the 2011-12 Champions League. Winiger was the host for the opening ceremony at the

61st FIFA Congress The 61st FIFA Congress was held between 31 May and 1 June 2011 at the Hallenstadion in Zurich, Switzerland. FIFA is the governing body of world association football, and the congress is the annual meeting of FIFA's supreme legislative body. Thi ...

. Again on 27 August 2015 hosted the draw for the group stage of the

UEFA Champions League 2015-16 Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs foo ...

which took place at the Grimaldi Forum in

. On 8 July 2017, she hosted the

World Boxing Super Series The World Boxing Super Series (WBSS) is a professional boxing tournament organised by Comosa AG. Each weight class features eight boxers competing in an annual knockout competition with the champion from each weight class taking the Muhammad Al ...

draw.

References

External links

* 1979 births Living people Miss Switzerland winners Miss Universe 1997 contestants Miss World 1996 delegates Indian people of Swiss descent Swiss female models Swiss film actresses Swiss people of Canadian descent Swiss people of Indian descent {{Europe-pageant-bio-stub