Michelle McLean (born 31 July 1972) is a

Namibian Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ...

actress, writer, model and beauty queen who was crowned

Miss Universe 1992 Miss Universe 1992, the 41st Miss Universe pageant, was held on 9 May 1992 at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center in Bangkok, Thailand. Seventy-eight contestants competed in this year. Michelle McLean of Namibia was crowned by Lupita ...

at Thailand. McLean was 19 years old when she was crowned Miss Universe, and became the first Namibian woman to win the title. McLean had been crowned Miss Namibia 1991 before Miss Universe, and also placed as the fourth runner-up at

Miss World 1991 Miss World 1991, the 41st edition of the Miss World pageant, was held on 28 December 1991 at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The winner was Ninibeth Leal representing Venezuela. She was crowned by Gina ...

Early life

At the age of 13, Michelle McLean entered the world of International modelling, being crowned Miss Namibia in 1991 and reaching the all-time high as Miss Universe, crowned in Bangkok, Thailand, in 1992 - at the age of 19.

Personal life

Michelle married Neil Bierbaum. They had a son together, Luke McLean Bierbaum in 1999. They then divorced in 2006. Michelle McLean and former

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...

goalkeeper

Gary Bailey Gary Richard Bailey (born 9 August 1958) is a former footballer who made nearly 300 appearances in the Football League playing as a goalkeeper for Manchester United. Born in Ipswich, Suffolk, he grew up in South Africa, but went on to be cappe ...

married on 9 March 2013.

Pageantry

Miss World

Before Miss Universe, McLean competed in

. In the preliminary competition she was tied in second place with a score of 51 along with Miss South Africa, behind the eventual winner, Venezuela's

Ninibeth Leal Ninibeth Beatriz Leal Jiménez (born November 26, 1971) is a Venezuelan model, businesswoman and beauty queen who won Miss World Venezuela 1991 and Miss World 1991. She is the fourth Miss World titleholder from Venezuela. Miss World In a pageant h ...

; McLean eventually finished in the top 5.

Miss Universe

In the 1992 Miss Universe pageant she finished second in the preliminary with a score of 9.147, right behind

Carolina Izsak Carolina Éva Izsák Keményfy (born September 21, 1971 in Caracas) is a Venezuelan beauty queen who competed in the 1992 Miss Universe pageant on May 8, 1992 and placed fourth after being the leader of the competition that night. Early life Iz ...

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

, who won all three preliminary competitions. Nonetheless, McLean's warmth and love for children helped clinch the crown over Izsak, Paola Turbay of

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the ...

, and Madhushri Sapre 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 ...

Life after Miss Universe

As a master of ceremonies, Michelle McLean has worked in 26 countries, including South America and Asia. Some of her more memorable events have been the hosting of 'Opera at the Pyramids';

M-Net M-Net (an abbreviation of Electronic Media Network) is a South African pay television channel established by Naspers in 1986. The channel broadcasts both local and international programming, including general entertainment, children's series, ...

's 'Face of Africa' competition in Ghana and Egypt and the Loeries Advertising Awards in both 1998 and 2000. As a TV presenter, her shows have ranged from magazine and lifestyle to music and e-commerce to show-casing some of South Africa's most stylish homes in her new DSTV Home Channel "Better Bonds Celebrity Homes". She is also one of South Africa's leading voice-over artists, with MTN Cellular as one of her main clients. She campaigns for charities, notably The Michelle McLean Children Trust in Namibia and the Michelle McLean Primary School, also in Namibia, which has 890 students. The Michelle McLean Children's Trust in Namibia, which focuses on the education and care of under-privileged children, was founded in 1992 and has raised over 50 million dollars to help children in her native Namibia, in Southern Africa. In 2000, McLean funded the building of the Michelle McLean Primary School, in the capital of Namibia, Windhoek. It now has just under 1000 students. Michelle was instrumental in bringing the Miss Universe pageant to her country in 1995. In 2009 Michelle co-hosted the Miss World pageant held in South Africa. In 2019, McLean formed part of the selection committee of the

Miss Universe 2018 Miss Universe 2018 was the 67th Miss Universe pageant, held at the IMPACT Arena, Muang Thong Thani, Nonthaburi Province, Thailand on December 17, 2018. At the end of the event, Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters of South Africa crowned Catriona Gray of ...

. From 1993 to 1994, while living in Los Angeles, Michelle did acting with Sal Dano (Tom Selleck and Carrie Otis's coach). After moving back to South Africa, Michelle became a presenter for Mnet, from 1995 to 2003, hosting and presenting numerous programmes. Front Row (a magazine show), E-bucks (an e-commerce show), Buy Design (a property make-over show for SABC), Celebrity Homes (showcasing their homes for DSTV), Revlon Supermodels (a reality show for SABC), and most recently, Woza Lunchtime (lifestyle show for Super Sport during the FIFA World Cup 2010). Michelle was the face of Lux Lotion in South Africa and has been the official voice of MTN for six years. She is a member of the World Economic Forum and is a consultant for Trade and Tourism in Southern Africa. In 1998, Michelle was recognized by Donald Trump—the owner of the Miss Universe Organization—and presented with The Lifetime Achievement Award for her philanthropy work. Michelle moved from South Africa and now resides in Florida, USA.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McLean, Michelle 1972 births Life coaches Living people Miss Universe winners Miss Universe 1992 contestants Miss World 1991 delegates Namibian beauty pageant winners Namibian female models Namibian people of British descent People from Windhoek White Namibian people Namibian expatriates in South Africa Namibian expatriates in the United States