Christina Sawaya (Arabic: كريستينا صوايا; born 16 August 1981[2]) is a Lebanese singer, actress and television host who won the Miss International 2002 pageant.

Christina Sawaya
Born
Christina Sawaya

(1980-08-16) 16 August 1980 (age 44)[2]
Beirut, Lebanon
Alma materLebanese American University[1][unreliable source]
Occupation(s)Singer Actress and TV Host
Height1.82 m (5 ft 11+12 in)
Beauty pageant titleholder
TitleMiss Lebanon 2001 & 2002
Miss International 2002
Major
competition(s)
Miss Lebanon 2001
(Winner)
Miss World 2001
(Unplaced)
Miss Universe 2002
(Did not compete)
Miss International 2002
(Winner)

Career

edit

She started her career as master of ceremony for big events. She participated in a series of pageants between 1998 and 2002 in which she became the winner of Miss Universities Lebanon in 1998, and was chosen as "Top Model of Lebanon 1999".[3]

In 2001, Sawaya competed against 19 women to become Miss Lebanon 2001 and 2002, where she won and became eligible to compete in the Miss Universe, Miss World and Miss International pageants.[3] She then represented her country in the Miss World 2001 pageant, wherein she was unplaced. But at the Miss Universe 2002 Pageant, Sawaya decided to drop out of the competition due to the raid in Palestine.

She won the Miss International 2002 contest in Tokyo, Japan on September 30, 2002 which had 52 contestants.[4]

She also became the first Miss International winner from Middle Eastern descent. In the same year, Miss World 2002 was Azra Akın from Turkey[5] and the original winner of Miss Earth 2002 was Džejla Glavović from Bosnia and Herzegovina, which are all hailed from dominant Muslim countries.

Personal life

edit

Sawaya is a conservative Catholic Christian that comes from Lebanon, the only Arab country where the president is Christian by the constitution.[6]

On 15 November 2003, Sawaya married Tony Baroud in Beirut and they had two children. The couple divorced in 2015.[2]

References

edit
  1. ^ "Suspense at Miss Lebanon Pageant 2001 runs right to the end". Shweir Community Center. 2001.
  2. ^ a b c "خاص بالصورة وثيقة طلاق الإعلامي طوني ب" [Photo Special: Divorce certificate media personality Tony Baroud Christina Sawaya] (in Arabic). Al Jaras. 25 August 2014.
  3. ^ a b "International beauties". Philippine Daily Inquirer. October 1, 2002. Retrieved March 5, 2011 – via Google News.
  4. ^ "Former Titleholders". Pageant Almanac. Archived from the original on July 11, 2006. Retrieved April 11, 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  5. ^ "Turkey's Azra Akin wins Miss World". Hello Magazine. Archived from the original on 7 October 2012. Retrieved December 23, 2010.
  6. ^ "Christina Sawaya Biography". Christina Sawaya. Archived from the original on April 29, 2016.


Awards and achievements
Preceded by Miss International
2002
Succeeded by