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April Benayoum is a French model and beauty pageant titleholder, best known for securing the first runner-up position in Miss World France 2021.
Wiki/Biography
April Benayoum was born on Tuesday, March 16, 1999 (age 24 years; as of 2023) in Aix-en-Provence. Her zodiac sign is Pisces. Benayoum spent her childhood in various cities within the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur (PACA) region, including Menton, Martigues, and Éguilles, relocating frequently due to her father’s profession. After achieving her baccalauréat litteraire, she earned a brevet de technicien supérieur (BTS) in international trade from ESG Ecoles de commerce in 2019. Part of her studies involved residing and working in London. Subsequently, she pursued a bachelor’s degree in marketing.
Physical Appearance
Height: 5′ 7″
Weight (approx.): 55 kg
Hair Colour: Blonde
Eye Colour: Blue
Body Measurements (approx.): 33-25-37
Family
Parents & Siblings
Her father, Didier, is of Italian and Israeli origin and was chief warrant officer of gendarmerie in Éguilles. Her mother’s name is Nelly Benayoum (née Stojcic). She is of Serbo-Croatian origin and worked as a school monitor at a collège. April does not have any brothers and sisters and is an only child.
Husband & Children
April is unmarried.
Relationships/Affairs
April was rumored to be dating the singer and actor Illan, however, the news was false when April cleared it on her social media. There was another rumor that April was dating Sasha Elbaz, a French journalist, columnist, and TV host, but it was later confirmed by the model herself that she is single.
Career
Miss Provence 2020
Benayoum began her journey in pageantry in August 2020 by participating in the Miss Pays d’Aix 2020 contest. Her victory in this event paved her way to the Miss Provence 2020 competition later that year. In the Miss France 2021 competition, Benayoum made it to the finals, advancing first to the top fifteen and eventually to the top five. Securing the position of the first runner-up after the winner, Amandine Petit. Benayoum marked the second consecutive year of being a representative from Provence achieved this honor.
April Benayoum as a winner of Miss Provence 2020
Miss World France 2021
In October 2021, Sylvie Tellier and the Miss France Committee appointed Benayoum as Miss World France 2021. This allowed her the privilege of representing France at the Miss World 2021 contest. The decision came about because Amandine Petit could not participate due to her commitment at Miss France 2022 to crown her successor. Meanwhile, Clémence Botino, Miss France 2020, was to represent the nation at Miss Universe 2021 during the same period. The Miss World 2021 that was held in March resulted in only 40 participants being invited back to compete. Benayoum was among these chosen few and successfully secured a spot in the Top 13 during the final competition.
April Benayoum as a contestant in Miss World France
Controversies
Target of Anti-Semitic Comments
After the Miss France event, Benayoum, who is of Israeli descent, faced a surge of anti-Semitic comments on social media after sharing her Israeli heritage during the competition. Disturbing comments such as “Hitler forgot about this one” and “Don’t vote for a Jew” emerged. The incident drew significant media attention in France. Seven individuals were found guilty of their online remarks about Benayoum’s background. Numerous figures spoke out against this prejudice, including Amandine Petit, as well as French politicians Éric Ciotti, Christian Estrosi, Renaud Muselier, and Gérald Darmanin. Marlène Schiappa initiated legal proceedings against those who launched these attacks, resulting in eight individuals facing charges for the anti-Semitic comments aimed at Benayoum.
Achievements
- Miss Pays d’Aix 2020 (Winner)
- Miss Provence 2020 (Winner)
- Miss France 2021 (First runner-up)
Salary
As of 2021, her salary is 30K Euros.
Favourites
- Quote: ‘Time is never wasted when given to others.’
Facts/Trivia
- Benayoum has a history of pageant winners: her paternal grandmother Georgette Ivaldi was crowned Miss Marseille in the 1950s.
- Benayoum as a child was very shy and liked to stay indoors. It was because of her father’s job as a policeman that they got to move a lot and she connected with various people that made her a social person.
- She joined her master’s degree in marketing because she wanted to create her own makeup brand in the future.
- She has been a part of the cause “Clean my Calanques” to protect the environment. According to her, ever since her childhood, she wanted to do something for the environment because she has always lived near the sea and has wanted to protect the water bodies and the beautiful landscapes she grew up with.
April Benayoum helping plant a tree
- After the anti-Semitic controversy that was thrown against her, she also became a representative of an organization against violence and harassment. Through this, she was to help people who have faced a similar situation as her.
- The Miss Provence contest took place in October 2020. In the competition, Benayoum advanced to the Top 5 and was eventually crowned the winner by the previous titleholder, Lou Ruat.
- After her success in the Miss France competition, Benayoum pursued a professional modeling career. She was featured on the cover of Elle, was chosen as the ambassador for Camaïeu, and even got a chance to walk on the runway at a Casablanca fashion show alongside Amandine Petit.
April Benayoum on the cover of Elle magazine
- Furthermore, she participated as a contestant in Fort Boyard and was a guest at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival.
- Originally, the Miss World 2021 event was to be hosted in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on 16 December 2021. However, just two days before the scheduled broadcast, multiple COVID-19 cases were reported among the contestants and the organizing team. This unexpected turn of events led to the postponement and eventual cancellation of the pageant’s grand finale. The contest was then rescheduled to 16 March 2022, coincidentally falling on Benayoum’s birthday.
- She was among the 109 women chosen to represent Marianne in an exhibition by Schiappa at the Panthéon.
- The model is fluent in four languages: French, English, Italian and German. As a child, she wanted to be an interpreter as she has always loved learning languages.
- Her dream job as a child was also to be a veterinarian for wild animals.
- She likes to play volleyball and has a deep interest in Geography and in Greek Mythology. It was her mother who would give her some “tests” related to the world map to solve which piqued her interest in the subject.
- The model is a non-vegetarian and loves to eat lean meats for quality protein.