Nigeria has always prided itself home and abroad to be a country from which Many beautiful women hail. She has also produced a lot of fashion models who made and are making waves on the global stage. These women have proven themselves to be not just fashion models, but also people of value in the society.

Some of these queens have used their popularity to make waves in the different industries that they chose for themselves.

Some of these beauty queens include;

1.BIANCA ODUMEGWU- OJUKWU.

Bianca odumegwu ojukwu was born on the 5th of august, 1988. She is the widow of former Biafran president, Chukwuemeka odumegwu ojukwu. Her journey as a fashion model and beauty pageant began during her days as a college student in England. She was convinced by her pals to contest for the place of miss martini. This was a search for what was known as `martini girl’. She was declared winner with a cash prize, modelling contract in japan and a feature in a Martini Rossi commercial. This wasn’t actualized due to her upcoming final exams.

She went on to contest for the place of Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria in 1988, a contest which she won. She subsequently won miss Africa and some other pageantries. Bianca became the first African to win the miss intercontinental pageant and was Nigeria’s queen in the miss world and miss universe pageants.

2.AGBANI DAREGO.

Agbani Darego is a Nigerian model who made history by being the first Nigerian, and African to win the miss world title in 2001. She was born in Lagos, Nigeria on 22 December, 1982 and raised in port Harcourt. She ventured into modelling at age 16 but paused to further her education as she studied computer science at the university of port Harcourt.

The fashion model participated in the Most Beautiful girl in Nigeria(MBGN) in 2001 and won. She subsequently represented Nigeria in the miss world pageant and won, making her the first Nigerian and African to win that title. She launched her clothing line, AD by Agbani Darego in 2010 and has partnered with beauty and fashion brands, such as L’Oréal and MUD. Agbani Darego is married to Ishaya Danjuma and they have two kids.

3.OMOWUNMI AKINNIFERI.

This beauty queen was born on the 4th of November, 1987 in Lagos, Nigeria. She studied international relations in the university of Lagos and began her career as a model at 16. She participated in the Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria pageant (MBGN) which she won. Omowunmi also represented Nigeria at the miss world 2005 pageant in china where she engaged in tree planting for the Chinese government. She has partnered with beauty brands like sleek studios and MUD. Also, omowunmi has walked on the runway as a fashion model for top designers like Maki Oh, Lanre Da Silva and others. She launched her fashion line `omowunmi’ in 2016 and is presently pulling her weight as a brand expert.

4.UNOAKU ANYADIKE.

The beauty queen was born on the 16th of September, 1994 in Lagos, Nigeria. She studied psychology in the university of Ibadan. Her modelling career began when she was 19 years. She participated in the MBGN pageant in 2014 and subsequently, 2015 when she won.

Unoaku also represented Nigeria in the miss world pageant in Spain, also in 2015 which she was part of the top 15 finalists. She has partnered with beauty brands such as sleek studios and MD.

This beauty has also been a runway model for fashion designers like Lanre Da Silva and others. She has also featured in campaigns for brands like Etisalat, Guinness and others. She has appeared on magazine covers, such as ThisDay Style, Genevieve, and Complete Fashion.  Unoaku had also launched her clothing line `Unoaku Anyadike collection’ and she cites Naomi Campbell, Agbani Darego, Mo Abudu  amongst others as her role models.

5.UGOCHI IHEZUE.

Ugochi Mitchell Ihezue, the beauty queen was born on the 8th of august, 1996 in Lagos Nigeria. She has a degree in international relations from the university of Lagos. Ugochi started her career in modelling at age 20, participated in the 2017 most beautiful girl in Nigeria (MBGN) pageant and emerged winner.

She also represented Nigeria at the Miss World in china, that same year in which she was a top 15 finalist. She has partnered with beauty brands like MUD, sleek studio amongst others.

The beauty queen went ahead to win the maiden edition of the Miss Universe pageant in 2023. She has worked as a fashion model on different runways for different brands and designers and also been on covers of fashion magazines. She is presently married to Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu, an Anambra business mogul.

6.ANITA UKAH.

Anita ukah is a Nigerian model who was born on 14th of august, 1995 in Imo state. She studied environmental science at the university of port Harcourt. She began modelling at 22, and started her career when she won Miss Igbinedion university okada contest(IUO) contest in 2014.

Anita further participated in the Most Beautiful girl in Nigeria(MBGN) representing Imo state which she won. she also represented Nigeria at the Miss World 2018 pageant in China. She was a contestant in the big brother Naija season 9 `no loose guard’ reality show. Anita launched her fashion accessories brand called The Uzo Brand. The company produces leather made goods from locally sourced material and the brand focuses mainly on bags.

7.NYEKACHI DOUGLAS.

The Nigerian model was born on the 28th May, 1997 in Imo state, Nigeria. She studied mass communication at the university of Lagos. She began modelling at 21. Nyekachi is the longest serving beauty queen in the history of MBGN reigning for almost two years due to COVID -19. She participated in the MBGN pageant in 2019 which she won. She also represented Nigeria in Miss World in the same year in New York where she was a top 5 finalist. This queen was also crowned Miss World Africa in 2019 after Miss Toni Anne Singh of Jamaica.

8.OLUCHI MADUBUIKE.

Oluchi Madubuike was born 2nd of April, 1997, in Abuja. She got a bachelor of science in nursing from the university of Texas. She began modelling at 23. Oluchi participated in the 2021 MBGN pageant which she won. She represented Nigeria at the miss world pageant in Puerto Rico. She worked as an intensive care nurse all through covid 19 until the time she came to contest for MBGN in 2021. Her modelling career kick started when she participated in miss Texas in 2016 and went ahead to to contest for miss Nigeria in 2019. She currently works as a travel nurse and works with different organizations.

9.ADA EME.

Ada Emeh was born on 18th march, 1998. She studied peace and conflict studies at National open university of Nigeria. She participated in the 2022 edition most beautiful girl in Nigeria(MBGN) which she won, succeeding Oluchi Madubuike. Ada also represented Nigeria in Miss World that same year. She has modeled for brands like Nivea.

10.CHIDIMMA ADETSHINA.

Chidimma was born in 2001 in Soweto, south Africa to a Nigerian father and south African mother. She grew up in cape town and is a law student. She entered into the miss south Africa 2024 competition. However, following scrutiny into her mother’s citizenship and concerns for safety and wellbeing, she withdrew from the contest despite being on the top 9. The concerns raised about her eligibility started when she was seen celebrating her success in a video surrounded by Nigerian relatives. The Miss South Africa pageant maintained that she fulfilled all the requirements to participate but she had to withdraw because of the heat.

Representing Taraba state on 31st of august, 2024, Chidimma contested for and won miss universe, Nigeria. She will further represent Nigeria at Miss Universe in Mexico scheduled for November, 2024.

As said earlier, Nigeria has raised fashion models and  beauty queens who are taking over the world unique ways. you the most? Which of the beauty queens intrigued you the most? I`ll love to know.