Iris Mittenaere

After winning the local title of Miss Flandre 2015 on May 2, 2015 in Bailleul,[4] Mittenaere entered the Miss Nord-Pas-de-Calais 2015 regional pageant in Orchies, which she won on September 26, 2015.[5] Mittenaere initially only entered Miss Flandre after being contacted on Facebook by the contest organizers, due to there being a lack of candidates that applied.[4] Mittenaere represented Nord-Pas-de-Calais at the Miss France 2016 pageant. On 19 December 2015, she was crowned Miss France by outgoing Miss France 2015 and former Miss Nord-Pas-de-Calais 2014 Camille Cerf in Lille.[6] It was a back-to back victory for the region.[7]

As Miss France, Mittenaere promoted oral hygiene and launched an awareness campaign on oral health.[8] She participated in oral hygiene awareness programs at French schools targeting young schoolchildren.[9][10]

In November 2016, Mittenaere presented the Francophone Group of the Year's Award at the NRJ Music Award in Cannes.[11]

During her reign as Miss France 2016, Mittenaere traveled to China, Italy, Morocco, Germany, the Caribbean, and Ivory Coast.

Mittenaere at Miss Yonne 2016.

As Miss France, Mittenaere later competed in Miss Universe 2016. She was the only European delegate to progress to the semi-finals of the competition, later going on to win the title.[12][13] Mittenaere became only the second woman from her country to win the crown after Christiane Martel won Miss Universe 1953. Mittenaere was additionally the first European winner since Oxana Fedorova of Russia, who was crowned Miss Universe 2002 but soon after dethroned, and the first European titleholder to complete her year as Miss Universe since Mona Grudt of Norway, who won Miss Universe 1990.[14]

In the first part of the question and answer portion, Mittenaere called for open borders.[15] She was asked the following by host Steve Harvey: "Given today's worldwide refugee crisis, do countries have an obligation to accept refugees or do they have a right to close their borders?" Mittenaere replied:

Throughout the world, people can choose to have borders open or close. In Europe, we have open borders. In France, we want to have the most globalisation that we can. We want to have the biggest exchange of people that we can. Maybe someday that will change, but now we have open borders.

According to one of the judges, Mickey Boardman, who wrote about his experience as a Miss Universe judge in The New York Times, "it was the question-and-answer portion that put her over the top. While the other contestants didn’t seem to actually answer the question about a mistake they had made in life and what they had learned from it, she was poised and well spoken".[16] The top three contestants were asked the same final question by Harvey: "Name something over the course of your life that you failed at, and tell us what you learned from that experience ?" and she replied:

I have failed several times in my life. I thought I had failed my first year in medical school because my name wasn't on the passing list. So, the very same day I went to buy a new set of medical books to keep on studying. I think when you fail, you need to stand up and keep going, we are all able to do so. If I don't win tonight, I will still keep on smiling tomorrow because I am proud to be part of the three finalists. I've learnt a lot from my failures and happily, I did end up passing my first year of medical school.[17]

Mittenaere was crowned with the DIC Crown at the Miss Universe 2016 contest. As a result of a lawsuit between IMG and Diamonds International Corporation (DIC), she wore the Diamond Nexus Crown from March 2017 until the end of her reign.[18]

In her capacity as Miss Universe, she served as a judge at Puteri Indonesia in Jakarta,[19] at Miss Egypt in Cairo[20][21] at Miss Peru in Lima,[22] at Miss Guyana held in New York City,[23] and at Miss Diva in Mumbai.[24]

Mittenaere during Miss Burgundy 2016.

As a global ambassador, Mittenaere attended diplomatic events at the Embassy of France in Cairo,[25] the Embassy of France in Manila,[26] the Embassy of the United States, Manila,[27] the Consulate general of France in New York,[28] the Consulate general of France in Alexandria,[29] and was invited to Emmanuel Macron's speech to the French expatriate community at the Kaufmann Concert Hall of 92Y in New York City.[30] She traveled to Bali to shoot a commercial for C 1000, a vitamin brand available in Indonesia and attended Farouk Systems's Global Conference in Cancun.[31]

As a charity ambassador for Smile Train, she traveled to Mexico City and Cap-Haïtien to visit cleft lip and cleft palate patients and witnessed a cleft surgery first-hand.[32][33] As the newest madrina of the Latino Commission on AIDS, she attended the annual fundraising Cielo Gala to benefit the commission[34] and was also invited to Project Sunshine's 14th Annual Benefit Celebration Brighter Together in New York City.[35]

At New York Fashion Week, she walked the runway for Sherri Hill in February and September 2017.[36] In June 2017, she attended Joyrich x Snoop Dogg's Fashion show at MADE LA 2017 in Los Angeles and was invited to the AmfAR generationCURE Solstice 2017 in New York City.[37]

In March 2017, during her week-long homecoming celebration in Paris and in her hometown of Lille, Mittenaere was invited by François Hollande, the president of France, to visit Élysée Palace[38] and was given a regional award by Xavier Bertrand, the president of Hauts-de-France.[39] Mittenaere also walked for Jean Paul Gaultier at Paris Fashion Week,[40] attended the Palais des Festivals at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival[41] and attended the AmFAR Charity Event, Cinema Against AIDS, in Cannes.[42]

During her reign as Miss Universe, Mittenaere traveled to the Philippines, Indonesia, Haiti, the Cayman Islands, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, India, and Egypt, in addition to numerous trips around the United States and France.

For her last walk as the reigning Miss Universe, Mittenaere wore a Michael Cinco scarlet red ombré Couture gown, in full Swarovski crystals, which featured a fitted bodice and flowing train,[43] before passing on the crown to her successor Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters of South Africa as Miss Universe 2017 on 26 November 2017 at Planet Hollywood Las Vegas in Las Vegas, Nevada.[44][45][46]

From 4 to 9 December 2017, she participated to the Miss Universe's Christmas Tour in the Philippines, alongside her successor Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters and predecessor Pia Wurtzbach,[47] then served as co-president of the jury with Jean-Paul Gaultier at Miss France 2018, appearing on stage with the five finalists as a part of the fashion swimsuit portion of the competition and putting an end to her international pageant career.[48]

In December 2017, a documentary film about her Miss Universe reign, produced by Endemol Shine Group and titled From Miss France to Miss Universe, the fabulous destiny of Iris, was broadcast on TF1 and watched by 5.4 million viewers in France.[49] The camera crew followed Mittenaere's reign as Miss Universe, her humanitarian travel, her trips and homecoming in France, and her family's reaction to her new life.[50]