Portugal crowns second Transgender Candidate for Miss Universe 2023
Marina Machete, who has just been crowned as Miss Universe Portugal 2023, will serve as her country’s first transgender representative. This makes Miss Universe 2023 the first in the pageant’s history to showcase not just one but two powerful transwomen.
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Portugal crowns second Transgender Candidate for Miss Universe 2023
A 28-year-old model and beauty queen, Marina is from Lisbon, and she stands over at six feet tall. Fluent in Portuguese and English, she also works as a flight attendant.
Proud to be the first transwoman to compete at her national pageant, Marina shares that winning the crown has been a dream of hers for so long. In a social media post, she states that for many years she has been denied to compete. However, now that she’s been given the opportunity, she feels nothing but extreme happiness.
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Marina is now the third official candidate to compete for the title of Miss Universe after her 2023 sister Rikkie Valerie Kollé of the Netherlands as well as Spain’s Angela Ponce in 2018.
She will be representing Portugal at Miss Universe 2023 which will be on November 18 in El Salvador.
Succeeding last year’s titleholder and Miss Universe 2022 Top 16 semifinalist Telma Madeira, there’s definitely a lot of pressure for her to follow in her footsteps.
Congratulations, Marina! We can’t wait to see you shine at the Miss Universe stage. Good luck!
