Natalie Glebova (born Natalya Vladimirovna Glebova; 11 November 1981) is a Russian-Canadian television host, author, dancer, model and beauty queen who was crowned

Miss Universe 2005 Miss Universe 2005 was the 54th Miss Universe pageant, held at the Impact Arena in Nonthaburi Province, Bangkok Metropolitan Region, Thailand on May 31, 2005,. At the end of the event, Jennifer Hawkins of Australia crowned Natalie Glebova of ...

. Glebova had previously been crowned Miss Universe Canada 2005.

Early life and education

Glebova was born in

Tuapse Tuapse (russian: Туапсе́; ady, Тӏуапсэ ) is a town in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, situated on the northeast shore of the Black Sea, south of Gelendzhik and north of Sochi. Population: Tuapse is a sea port and the northern center of ...

, Russia, to parents Vladimir Slezin and Anna Glebova. While in Russia, Vladimir worked as a radio communications specialist in the merchant marine industry, while Anna was a high school teacher. Glebova grew up as an only child. As a child, Glebova studied classical piano and competed in

rhythmic gymnastics Rhythmic gymnastics is a sport in which gymnasts perform on a floor with an apparatus: hoop, ball, clubs, ribbon. The sport combines elements of gymnastics, dance and calisthenics; gymnasts must be strong, flexible, agile, dexterous and coord ...

. At age 13, Glebova and her family left Russia and settled in

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, Canada.Biography
at HHB Life website After arriving in Canada, her parents found employment as software specialists. After graduating from high school (central, in London Ontario), Glebova worked as a professional model in Toronto and received a

Bachelor of Commerce A Bachelor of Commerce (abbreviated BComm or BCom; also, ''baccalaureates commercii'') is an undergraduate degree in business, usually awarded in Canada, Australia, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Ireland, New Zealand, Ghana, South Africa, Myanmar, ...

in information technology management and marketing from Ryerson University. Prior to competing in pageantry, Glebova worked as a

motivational speaker A motivational speaker is a speaker who makes speeches intended to motivate or inspire an audience. Such speakers may attempt to challenge or transform their audiences. The speech itself is popularly known as a pep talk. Motivational speakers c ...

for elementary and high school students.

Career

Pageantry

Miss Universe Canada

In 2004, Glebova began her pageantry career while competing in Miss Universe Canada 2004, where she placed as the third runner-up behind eventual winner Venessa Fisher. Glebova returned the following year and won the Miss Universe Canada 2005 title.

Miss Universe

As Miss Universe Canada 2005, Glebova earned the right to represent Canada in the

pageant, to be held in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...

, Thailand. Glebova became the fourth Canadian in ten years to advance to the semi-finals, eventually advancing to the top five along with

Cynthia Olavarria Cynthia is a feminine given name of Greek origin: , , "from Mount Cynthus" on Delos island. The name has been in use in the Anglosphere since the 1600s. There are various spellings for this name, and it can be abbreviated to Cindy, Cyndi, Cyndy, ...

of Puerto Rico, Laura Elizondo of Mexico, Renata Sone of Dominican Republic, and

Monica Spear Monica may refer to: People *Monica (actress) (born 1987), Indian film actress *Monica (given name), a given name (including a list of people and characters with the name) *Monica (singer) (born 1980), American R&B singer, songwriter, producer, ...

of Venezuela. Throughout the contest, Glebova gave a traditional Thai greeting known as a " Wai" on every appearance which helped her win over Thai audiences and judges. At the conclusion of the pageant, Glebova was crowned Miss Universe 2005 by outgoing titleholder

Jennifer Hawkins Jennifer Hawkins (born 22 December 1983) is an Australian model, television presenter and beauty queen best known for being crowned Miss Universe Australia and later the same year Miss Universe 2004. She was the host of '' Australia's Next T ...

of Australia. Glebova's win was Canada's second after Karen Dianne Baldwin had been crowned Miss Universe 1982. As Miss Universe, Glebova traveled extensively and immersed herself in a campaign to increase awareness of HIV and AIDS, the ongoing platform of the Miss Universe titleholder. She attended the G8 Summit in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

on 11 August 2005, which reflected on ending

poverty Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little income. Poverty can have diverse

in underdeveloped regions, and ending

gang activity A gang is a group or society of associates, friends or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over territory in a community and engages, either individually or collecti ...

and drug cartels in

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 ...

. In November, Glebova attended a special Hindustan Times Leadership Summit in

Delhi, India Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

, and was on a week-long tour of several Indian cities on an AIDS Awareness Program. In December, she attended the national pageants of Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic before going back to Thailand to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the 2004 tsunami tragedy. During Glebova's official homecoming to her hometown of Toronto, the Miss Universe was formally offered an apology by the city's mayor David Miller after she was barred from attending a "Tastes of Thailand" festival while wearing her sash and tiara nor being introduced as a beauty titleholder. A 1990 bylaw, which prevents sexual stereotyping of women in public events, was strictly enforced and largely criticized by Miller and Miss Universe Organization president Paula Shugart. Shugart called the episode an "insult" to not only Glebova, but to the Thai government who named her an "honorary tourism ambassador". According to Shugart, this was the first time in Miss Universe's history that a titleholder was uninvited from a public event. The same bylaw was once invoked to bar

Barenaked Ladies Barenaked Ladies is a Canadian rock band formed in 1988 in Scarborough, Ontario. The band developed a following in Canada, with their self-titled 1991 cassette becoming the first independent release to be certified gold in Canada. They reached ...

from a public concert at

Nathan Phillips Square Nathan Phillips Square is an urban plaza in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It forms the forecourt to Toronto City Hall, or ''New City Hall'', at the intersection of Queen Street West and Bay Street, and is named for Nathan Phillips, mayor of Tor ...

due to their name. During her reign, Glebova traveled to Africa in July to attend an AIDS Educational Tour with the Global Health Council,

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Mal ...

in late September, the

Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to 88% of the a ...

and St. Martin. In late March 2006, Glebova visited

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

for the first time since leaving the country in her pre-teens. She participated in an HIV-AIDS Awareness campaign in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

and attended a Russian fashion show as a special guest. She also made numerous trips to

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

, where she commemorated the anniversary of the tsunami and Canada, her home nation. She also attended the national pageants of

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...

in mid October,

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

in November,

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...

in December,

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

in February,

and

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the coun ...

in March,

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

in April. She also crowned Alice Panikian as her Miss Universe Canada successor the night of March 21, 2006. Alice finished 6th in Miss Universe. Glebova was supposed to travel to

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Gui ...

to crown Miss Indonesia Universe 2006 in late July, but because of Canada's travel ban to the Southeast Asian country, Glebova was officially replaced with

, the First Runner-Up of Miss Universe 2005. Since the Miss Indonesia pageant's revival in 2000, this was the first time in which Miss Universe was unable to attend the coronation. On July 23, 2006 Glebova crowned Zuleyka Rivera of

as her successor in

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 ...

Post-pageantry

After finishing her reign as Miss Universe, Glebova continued appearing as a brand ambassador and in public roles. In May 2006, it was announced that Glebova, along with golfer

Vijay Singh Vijay Singh ( hif, विजय सिंह ; born 22 February 1963), nicknamed "The Big Fijian", is a Fijians, Fijian professional golfer. He has won 34 events on the PGA Tour, including three Men's major golf championships, major championsh ...

and pro tennis player

Paradorn Srichaphan Paradorn Srichaphan ( th, ภราดร ศรีชาพันธุ์; ; ; born 14 June 1979) is a retired professional tennis player from Thailand. He was the first men's singles player from Asia to be ranked in the top 10 of the ATP ra ...

, would become a brand ambassador for Thailand-based beer brewers Singha Corp. owners of Boon Rawd Brewery. Glebova completed her 1-year contract with Singha in July 2007. In 2008, Glebova joined ''

The Amazing Race Asia 3 ''The Amazing Race Asia 3'' is the third season of ''The Amazing Race Asia'', a reality television game show based on the American series ''The Amazing Race''. The third installment of the show features ten teams of two with a pre-existing relat ...

'' and she partnered with Pailin Rungratanasunthorn. They represented Thailand and came in 8th place. In December 2012, it was announced that Glebova will compete in reality TV show "Dancing with the Stars Thailand". The first episode was aired on Channel 7 (Thailand) on January 8, 2013, at 10:30pm In May 2012, Glebova and French company Bel Perfumes based in Thailand released Glebova's first fragrance, ''Beauty Icon''. Glebova also serves as an ambassador for

Soi Dog Foundation The Soi Dog Foundation is a nonprofit organisation for the welfare of stray dogs and cats. Its headquarters is in Phuket, Thailand, and it has been legally registered in Thailand, the United States, Canada, Australia, France, United Kingdom, Swi ...

, a non-profit organization aiding homeless street animals in Thailand. In June 2015, Glebova became an Ambassador for Year of the Gibbon for the IUCN SSC Primate Specialist Group - Section on Small Apes, to raise awareness for gibbon conservation. Glebova has a passion for wildlife conservation and recently launched a public awareness campaign about the impact of photo-prop tourism on gibbons Year of the Gibbon. In 2018, Glebova partnered with a California attorney and entrepreneur Dr. Patama Mokaves Dumas to start a program for high schools and universities called Empowered. The program's aim is to develop confidence and positive thinking of young people so they can happily achieve their life goals. They are teaching a course titled “Empowered YOU” at Bangkok University since 2018.

Personal life

In 2006, Glebova began dating Thai professional tennis player

, whom she met at the 2006 Thailand Open. They became engaged the following year, and married later in 2007 in

. The couple split up in early 2011. Glebova married Panamanian entrepreneur, founder of Travelbook, Inc. and Mister Panamá 2001 Dean Kelly in 2016. They have one daughter together, and reside in

, Thailand.

Published work

* February 2007, ''Healthy Happy Beautiful''. * November 2018, ''I Am Winning - A Guide to Personal Empowerment'' available on Amazon and in Asia Books Thailand.

Notes

References

External links

*
HHB Life - official web site by Natalie Glebova
- inactive and archived.
Natalie Glebova - Magazines Gallery
- inactive and archived.
Healthy Happy Beautiful - Book by Natalie Glebova
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Glebova, Natalie 1981 births Canadian expatriates in Thailand Female models from Ontario Canadian people of Russian descent Living people Miss Universe 2005 contestants Miss Universe Canada winners Miss Universe winners Naturalized citizens of Canada People from Toronto People from Tuapse Russian emigrants to Canada Russian female models Toronto Metropolitan University alumni The Amazing Race contestants