Trans model and actress is crowned Miss Netherlands

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Rikkie Valerie Kollé has won the Miss Netherlands crown, and she will become the second openly transgender woman to participate in the Miss Universe pageant.

“I DID IT ! !! !!” Kollé, 22, wrote in an Instagram post after she was crowned in the pageant on Saturday, July 9. “Yes I’m trans and I want to share my story but I’m also Rikkie and that’s what matters to me. I did this on my own strength and enjoyed every moment.”

Later down in the caption, she wrote: “Wherever you are in the world, I want to be there for you and be the example that I missed as a little me.”

Kollé, a Dutch-Moluccan model and actress, hails from the city of Breda in the south of the Netherlands. She previously competed on the TV series “Holland’s Next Top Model.”

“This finalist has radiated throughout the show and has also made the greatest progress in the process,” the Miss Netherlands 2023 jury said about Kollé, according to Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf. “She has a strong story with a clear mission. The jury is convinced that the organization will enjoy working with this young woman.”

The Miss Universe pageant first started to allow transgender participation in 2012, and the first openly transgender woman competed in 2018.