April Benayoum
Born (1999-03-16) 16 March 1999
Aix-en-Provence, France
Height1.76 m (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in)
Beauty pageant titleholder
TitleMiss Pays d'Aix 2020
Miss Provence 2020
Miss World France 2021[lower-alpha 1]
Hair colorBlonde
Eye colorBlue
Major
competition(s)		Miss France 2021
(1st Runner-Up)
Miss World 2021
(Top 13)

April Benayoum (born 16 March 1999) is a French model and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Provence 2020 and Miss World France 2021. As Miss Provence, Benayoum competed at Miss France 2021, where she placed as the first runner-up. Following the competition, Benayoum was appointed Miss World France 2021, and placed in the Top 13 at Miss World 2021.

In the aftermath of Miss France, Benayoum, who is of Israeli origin, was the target of anti-Semitism on social media after speaking about her Israeli origins during the event. The incident received media attention in France, and resulted in seven netizens being convicted of aggravated insult for prejudiced comments made online about Benayoum and her ethnicity.

Early life and education

Benayoum was born on 16 March 1999 in Aix-en-Provence to parents Didier and Nelly Benayoum (née Stojcic).[1][2] Her father is of Italian and Israeli descent and worked as the chief warrant officer of the gendarmerie in Éguilles, while her mother is of Serbo-Croatian origin and work educator '.[3][4][5][6] Benayoum's paternal grandmother Georgette Ivaldi was a former beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Marseille in the 1950s.[7][8]

Benayoum grew up in a variety of cities in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (PACA) region, such as Menton, Martigues, and Éguilles, moving often due to her father's career.[3] After receiving her baccalauréat litteraire, Benayoum received a brevet de technicien supérieur (BTS) diploma in international trade in 2019, part of which was spent living and working in London, and afterwards a bachelor's degree in marketing.[5][9]

Pageantry

Miss Provence 2020

Benayoum began her pageantry career in August 2020, after taking part in the Miss Pays d'Aix 2020 pageant. She ultimately went on to win the title, which qualified her to compete in Miss Provence 2020 later that year.[4] Miss Provence was held in October 2020, and saw Benayoum advancing into the Top 5 and ultimately being crowned the winner by outgoing titleholder Lou Ruat. This earned her the right to represent Provence at Miss France 2021.[10]

Miss France was held on 19 December 2020 at Puy du Fou, after being postponed one week from its original date due to the COVID-19 pandemic in France.[11][12][13] Benayoum competed in the finals, where she advanced to the top fifteen and later the top five. After reaching the top five, Benayoum was announced as the first runner-up behind winner Amandine Petit, becoming the second consecutive representative from Provence to finish as the first runner-up.[14][15] During the pageant, Benayoum mentioned her ethnic origins, which includes Israeli ancestry from her paternal side, which led to an onslaught of anti-Semitic comments targeted towards her on social media, such as "Hitler forgot about this one" and "Don't vote for a Jew."[16][17] The treatment Benayoum received for mentioning her Israeli origins was condemned by a variety of figures, including Petit and French politicians Éric Ciotti, Christian Estrosi, Renaud Muselier, and Gérald Darmanin. Legal action against the netizens responsible for the attacks was initiated by Marlène Schiappa, which led to eight individuals being tried for aggravated insult due to the anti-Semitic comments levied at Benayoum.[18][19][20] Seven of the charged individuals were convicted and ordered to pay fines ranging from €300 to €800, while the eighth was acquitted after his Tweet was determined to not have directly targeted Benayoum.[16]

Following Miss France, Benayoum began modeling professionally, appearing on the cover of Elle, being hired as the ambassador for Camaïeu, and walking as a runway model at a fashion show in Casablanca with Petit.[21][22][23] She additionally appeared as a contestant in Fort Boyard and as a guest at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival, and was selected as one of 109 women chosen to portray Marianne in an exhibit unveiled by Schiappa at the Panthéon.[24]

Miss World France 2021

In October 2021, Benayoum was announced to have been appointed Miss World France 2021 by Sylvie Tellier and the Miss France Committee, receiving the right to represent the country at the Miss World 2021 competition. The choice was made as Petit would be unable to compete as she had to be present at Miss France 2022 to crown her successor, while Clémence Botino, whom had been crowned Miss France 2020, was set to represent France at Miss Universe 2021 in the same timeframe.[25][26]

Miss World 2021 was originally planned to be held in San Juan, Puerto Rico on 16 December 2021.[27] Two days prior to the pageant's broadcast, several cases of COVID-19 began to be reported amongst contestants and staff, which led to the cancelation and postponement of the pageant's final show.[28][29][30][31] The pageant was later rescheduled for 16 March 2022, on Benayoum's birthday, with only the 40 selected semi-finalists being invited to return to compete; Benayoum was ultimately selected as one of the 40.[32][33] She went on to place in the Top 13 after competing in the final show.[34]

Notes

  1. ↑ Benayoum was appointed Miss World France by the Miss France Committee, as Amandine Petit, the winner of Miss France 2021, was unable to compete in Miss World 2021 due to a date conflict with Miss France 2022.

References

  1. ↑ "Miss France: miss Nord-Pas-de-Calais éliminée, les internautes déçus". La Voix du Nord (in French). 19 December 2020.
  2. ↑ "April Benayoum – Miss Provence 2020". Voici. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
  3. 1 2 Macdonald, Margaret (15 December 2020). "Miss France 2021: 5 choses à savoir sur April Benayoum, Miss Provence". Paris Match.
  4. 1 2 "Miss Pays d'Aix est Éguillenne ! Félicitations April !" (PDF). Éguilles Info. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
  5. 1 2 "scolarité d'April". YouTube.
  6. ↑ Tenré, Steve (21 December 2020). "Miss France 2021 : les questions qui se posent après les insultes antisémites subies par April Benayoum". Le Figaro.
  7. ↑ Litaud, Emmanuelle (19 December 2020). "Miss France 2021: 5 choses à savoir sur April Benayoum, Miss Provence". TV Magazine.
  8. ↑ Poussel, Marie (4 December 2020). "Miss France 2021 : anecdotes en coulisses du concours des reines de beauté". Le Parisien.
  9. ↑ de Freitas, Delphine; Oballah, Rania (19 October 2020). "Miss France 2021 se cache parmi elles : découvrez le visage des Miss régionales". La Chaîne Info.
  10. ↑ "VIDEO. April Benayoum est élue Miss Provence 2020". Var Matin (in French). 24 October 2020.
  11. ↑ "Miss France 2021 : l'élection aura lieu dans un célèbre parc d'attraction". Paris Match (in French). 2 September 2020.
  12. ↑ ""Miss France 2021": Sylvie Tellier reveals the (very astonishing) place of the election: Current Woman The MAG". Explica. 2 September 2020.
  13. ↑ "Miss France 2021 : l'élection reportée au 19 décembre". Le Parisien (in French). 9 November 2020.
  14. ↑ "La Caennaise Amandine Petit, Miss France 2021, concourra au titre de Miss Univers". France Bleu (in French). 15 March 2021. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
  15. ↑ "Miss France 2021 : pourquoi Miss Provence, ex-aequo avec Miss Normandie, s'est retrouvée 1ère dauphine ?". www.programme-television.org. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  16. 1 2 "French court fines 7 people for antisemitic abuse of Miss France runner-up". The Times of Israel. 3 November 2021.
  17. ↑ "Miss France : tollé général après les insultes antisémites visant Miss Provence". Le Parisien. 20 December 2020.
  18. ↑ "Miss France 2021 : April Benayoum, Miss Provence et première dauphine, victime de commentaires antisémites sur les réseaux sociaux". Franceinfo. 20 December 2020.
  19. ↑ Adenor, Jean-Loup (22 September 2021). "Antisémitisme : qui sont les huit prévenus jugés pour les insultes visant Miss Provence ?". marianne.net.
  20. ↑ Sergent, Hélène (22 September 2021). "Haine en ligne : Huit internautes jugés pour des injures contre Miss Provence, chronique d'un « antisémitisme ordinaire »". 20minutes.fr.
  21. ↑ "Racisme : April Benayoum et Christelle Yambayisa, retenez leur non ! – Elle". elle.fr. 22 January 2021.
  22. ↑ "Camaïeu choisit April Benayoum comme ambassadrice". FashionNetwork.com. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  23. ↑ "April Benayoum, Miss Provence 2021 égérie Camaïeu : la collection est enfin en ligne ! – Voici". Voici.fr (in French). Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  24. ↑ "Un "nouveau visage pour montrer la diversité de la République" : 109 portraits de "nouvelles Mariannes" exposés au Panthéon". Franceinfo (in French). 6 March 2021.
  25. ↑ "April Benayoum, Miss Provence 2021, va représenter la France au concours Miss Monde". France Bleu (in French). 23 October 2021.
  26. ↑ "APRIL BENAYOUM REPRÉSENTERA LA FRANCE LORS DU PROCHAIN CONCOURS MISS MONDE". BFM TV (in French). 23 October 2021.
  27. ↑ "Celebrarán concurso internacional de Miss Mundo en Puerto Rico!". Metro (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  28. ↑ "They identify positive cases of COVID-19 related to Miss World activities | The Goa Sportlight". 16 December 2021. Archived from the original on 16 December 2021. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  29. ↑ sao, Ngôi. "17 người ở Miss World dương tính Covid-19". Ngoisao. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  30. ↑ "17 people at Miss World 2021 pageant test positive for Covid-19 in Puerto Rico". The National. 16 December 2021. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  31. ↑ "Miss World 2021 postponed hours before finale amid Covid-19 outbreak". CNN. 17 December 2021. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  32. ↑ "Press Release – 21st December 2021". Instagram.com. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  33. ↑ "Miss World 2021 new pageant finale date has been announced". 22 December 2021.
  34. ↑ "Miss World 2021: Who is crown winner Karolina Bielawska? check full list". Business Today. 17 March 2022.
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