Trans Model Makes History With Miss Universe Pageant Win

Rikkie Valerie Kolle has made pageant history. The model has been crowned Miss Netherlands 2023, making her the first-ever trans woman to be honored with the title.

Her predecessor was the reigning champion for the Netherlands, Ona Moody. She and R'Bonney Nola, Miss Universe 2022, passed the glittery tiara and proverbial torch (which, in this case was a literal bouquet) to Kolle to mark the occasion in Limburg, where the ceremony took place.

Kolle isn't the first trans woman to ever compete for the coveted crown— Spain's Angela Ponce participated in 2018.

Kolle, who wants to be a voice and role model for the queer community, is a 22-year-old resident of Breda, a riverside city equidistant between Rotterdam and Antwerp. She is of Dutch and indigenous Moluccan descent.

Kolle will be repping the Netherlands at the 72nd Miss Universe 2024 spectacle in El Salvador, taking place likely early next year.