Who is Rikkie Valerie Kollé? Transgender model creates history by winning Miss Netherlands 2023

Rikkie Valerie Kollé recently created history by becoming the first transgender model to be the winner of Miss Netherlands 2023 on July 8, 2023. The beauty pageant winner is from Breda and aspires to become a voice and role model for the queer community, as reported by World360news.

The first runner-up was 26-year-old Nathalie Mogbelzada, who is from Amsterdam. Meanwhile, Habiba Mostafa and Lou Dirchs received the titles of Miss Congeniality and Miss Social Media. Moreover, the event, which was held at the AFAS Theater in Leusden, saw the attendance of the popular Miss Universe, R'Bonnet Gabriel.

However, Rikkie Valerie Kollé was also a subject of criticism on social media, where she was called a male by some social media users. A few others were not satisfied with the fact that transitioned biological males were taking the place of women in beauty pageants.

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22-year-old Rikkie Valerie Kollé is a native of Breda

Although Rikkie Valerie Kollé's date of birth and educational background remains unknown, she is reportedly known to be 22 years old. Following her victory as Miss Netherlands 2023, she is now the first transgender woman to win the title and the second representative at the Miss Universe pageant after Angela Ponce from Spain.

Kollé is active on Instagram with around 25,000 followers and 135 posts, which mostly feature her posing in different outfits. While she won Miss Netherlands 2023, she shared updates from the events on her Instagram story, starting with her appearances on stage to the moment where she was announced as the winner.

The model's latest post was shared two days ago, where she was wearing a red satin outfit. The caption stated that it was an official photoshoot for Miss Netherlands. Rikkie Valerie Kollé will next represent the Netherlands at the 72nd Miss Universe 2023, which would be held in El Salvador.

In an interview with World360News, Kollé addressed the importance of being true to herself. She said she wants to use the platform to for empowering everyone and ensure no one has to face any sort of discrimination while disclosing their identity.

The 2023 edition of Miss Netherlands started in May 2023, the casting of which took place on April 29, 2023, at Anantara Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky Amsterdam. 10 finalists were chosen to participate in the competition.

The rest of the participants included Habiba Mostafa, Ruby-Ann Chwatchko, Nazeli Kouki, Chanille Hupsel, Lidewei van der Staaij, Beate van der Weide, Nathalie Mogbelzada, Christina Cairo, and Lou Dirchs. Moreover, the jury panel members were Zoey Ivory, Nicky Opheij, Monica van Ee, Ona Moody, Julia Sinning, Denise Speelman, and Rahima Dirkse.

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Transgender models who have won beauty pageants in the past

There have been various instances where transgender models have become winners in various beauty pageants. R'Bonney Gabriel won Miss Universe 2022 in March 2023. She previously won the title of Miss USA 2022.

19-year-old Brian Nguyen won the Miss Greater Derry 2023 in November 2022 and she was awarded a crown, title, and scholarship. However, the decision was also criticized by @skfollowing which the pageant removed the information on the scholarship amount from the website that was received by Nguyen.

Kataluna Enriquez was crowned Miss Nevada USA in June 2021. She was previously the winner of the Miss Silver State USA pageant the same year.