Home  Features Look who's sitting pretty now
|
Look who's sitting pretty now |
|
|
When Natalie Glebova moved to Canada with her parents in 1993, she
loved it... except for one thing. The then 12-year-old found herself
being constantly teased by her classmates because of her Russian
accent. There can't be much teasing going on now - not only does
Glebova speak flawless English, as Miss Universe 2005, she is also
obviously perfect in other ways too.
 Glebova being congratulated by former Miss Universe 2004, Jennifer Hawkins after being announced winner of the 2005 Miss Universe pageant.
Glebova, who is only the second Canadian to win the international beauty pageant, was born in Tuapse, a small town by the Black Sea in Russia. The family arrived in Toronto with just one wicker case filled with their belongings.
"I fell in love with the city from the minute I arrived!" Glebova recalled in an interview.
Things weren't easy in school though. Her immigrant background and Russian accent made her a target among some schoolmates.
"At first it was difficult, just because I went to grade eight at the time, and as you can imagine, kids and teenagers can be cruel sometimes...
"I was one of the only kids in school with an accent and a different last name, so it was difficult for the first few years until I really perfected my language and started believing in myself more," says Glebova.
Rather than go into a shell, the dark-haired beauty chose to focus on improving her own skills. She perfected her English, won a number of regional gymnastics championships, studied information technology management at Ryerson University, took up motivational speaking and became an accomplished classical pianist and composer. But it was her decision to go into modelling that would soon thrust her into the international spotlight.
After watching a Miss Universe pageant for the first time in 2002, she decided to give it a shot herself. She entered the Miss Universe Canada pageant in 2004, but came up short - finishing as second runner-up.
Not content with that, the determined Glebova decided to try for the national title again in January 2005 - and this time she won. The rest, as they say, was history.
It is an inspiring story that Glebova herself hopes will help other immigrants towards assimilation all around the world.
At the Miss Universe 2005 pageant in Bangkok, Thailand, she was asked this for her final question that would decide the eventual winner: "What do you think has been the biggest challenge in your life?"
"I always try to maintain a positive outlook on life," responded Glebova, adding that being optimistic was most challenging.
For most pageant contestants, it might have seemed as a glib, rehearsed response. Coming from Glebova, it was apparent it was an answer from the heart.
Strangely enough, her being crowned Miss Universe barely registered in her adopted country at first. The mainstream news media in Canada takes the stance that beauty pageants cause sexual stereotyping, and Glebova's win barely rated a paragraph on one of the inside pages.
Her "homecoming" was largely ignored in Toronto, and to add insult, she was barred from attending the "Tastes of Thailand" festival while wearing her sash and tiara at the public Nathan Philips Square, nor was she allowed to be introduced as a beauty titleholder at any public event. A 1990 bylaw, which prevents objectification of women, was strictly enforced.
The less than kind response to Glebova's victory caused many newspaper commentators to begin speaking out in her defence. Eventually, Toronto Mayor David Miller was forced to offer a formal apology.
Despite all that, Glebova continues to maintain a positive attitude and speaks well of her hometown.
"Everywhere she goes, Natalie tells people that they've got to come to Toronto, that it's such a beautiful place," says Paula Shugart, president of the New York-based Miss Universe Organization. "It's silly not to embrace the fact that she is promoting your city."
Adds Shugart: "Miss Universe started 54 years ago as a swimsuit competition. But the title is much deeper than people realize." Every Miss Universe takes on a charitable cause and can log up to 1,000,000 kms raising awareness and funds.
Glebova has zeroed in on AIDS, so her first major trip was a fact-finding one to South Africa where she visited orphanages, had a very public AIDS test (the result was negative), and lunched at Bishop Desmond Tutu's home. Other stops she had made include Malaysia, Thailand, India and Brazil, including Rio de Janiero on December 1, World AIDS Day.
|
|
|
