Mara Štefica Topić Verduga is an

Ecuadorian Ecuadorians () are people identified with the South American country of Ecuador. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Ecuadorians, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source o ...

beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Universe Ecuador 2024, and represented Ecuador at

Miss Universe 2024 Miss Universe 2024 was the 73rd Miss Universe pageant, held at the Arena CDMX in Mexico City, Mexico, on 16 November 2024. Sheynnis Palacios of Nicaragua crowned Victoria Kjær Theilvig of Denmark as her successor at the conclusion of the e ...

. She placed in the top 30. She previously won Miss Grand Ecuador 2019, and represented Ecuador at Miss Grand International 2019, where she finished in the top ten.

Early life and education

Mara Štefica Topić Verduga was born in

Guayaquil Guayaquil (), officially Santiago de Guayaquil, is the largest city in Ecuador and also the nation's economic capital and main port. The city is the capital (political), capital of Guayas Province and the seat of Guayaquil Canton. The city is ...

, to an

mother and a Croatian father. At the age of 18, she moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. Her eldest brother

Jan Topić Jan Tomislav Topić Feraud (born 23 April 1983) is an Ecuadorian businessman, economist, and politician who ran for President of Ecuador in the 2023 Ecuadorian general election. He was eliminated in the first round held on 20 August 2023, coming ...

is a former Ecuadorian presidential candidate for the

2023 Ecuadorian general election Snap election, Snap general elections were held in Ecuador on 20 August 2023 to elect the President of Ecuador, members of the National Assembly (Ecuador), National Assembly, and to decide on two referendums. The elections were triggered by the ...

Pageantry

On April 27, 2019, Topic represented the US Ecuadorian community at Miss World Ecuador 2019, where she reached the top nine and won several awards during the final. In May, 2019 she was appointed Miss Grand Ecuador 2019, by CNB Ecuador. On October 25, 2019, Topić represented Ecuador at Miss Grand International 2019, and reached the top 10. She was the first Ecuadorian to win Best National Costume at the pageant. Topic won the first Miss Universe Ecuador on June 8, 2024 representing

, and represented Ecuador at

in Mexico on November 16 2024.

References

External links

Miss Ecuador
{{DEFAULTSORT:Topic, Mara Living people 1994 births Ecuadorian people of Croatian descent Miss Universe 2024 contestants Miss Grand International 2019 delegates