Eva Ekvall

Eva Mónica Anna Ekvall Johnson (March 15, 1983 – December 17, 2011) was a Venezuelan television news anchor, author, breast cancer advocate, fashion model, and a former Miss Venezuela. After winning the competition, she had a brief career in television before being diagnosed with advanced breast cancer. She was married to John Fabio Bermudez; the couple had one child before Ekvall's death from the disease in 2011.

This article uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Ekvall and the second or maternal family name is Johnson.

Eva Ekvall
Born	Eva Mónica Anna Ekvall Johnson (1983-03-15)March 15, 1983 Caracas, Venezuela
Died	December 17, 2011(2011-12-17) (aged 28) Houston, Texas, US
Title	Miss Venezuela 2000
Spouse(s)	John Fabio Bermudez ( m. 2007)
Children	1
Beauty pageant titleholder
Hair color	Dark Brown
Eye color	Blue/Green
Major competition(s)	Miss Venezuela 2000 (Winner) Miss Universe 2001 (3rd Runner-up)

Early life

Ekvall was born in Caracas, Venezuela. She was raised in both the United States and Venezuela and was fluent in English and Spanish from childhood. Ekvall attended the Academia Washington of Caracas. Her father, Eric Ekvall, was an American of Swedish descent,[1] who had lived in Venezuela since the early 1980s and worked as actor and political consultant. Her mother, Dawn Johnson, was born in Jamaica, and once ran a small modelling agency in Alaska, where she met Eva's father.[1][2] Eva grew up with an older brother, Alec, who is a musician.[2]

Career

Aged 17, Ekvall was crowned Miss Venezuela 2000, and the next year was third runner-up in the Miss Universe Pageant. As a Buddhist,[3] she was the first non-Christian to have won the title of Miss Venezuela.

After a brief period as an actress on the Televen TV show Las Rottenmayer, Ekvall went on to earn a degree in journalism from Universidad Santa María in Caracas. Shortly afterwards she joined El Noticiero as a co-anchor for Televen. Ekvall expressed interest in doing radio and could fill in as a temporary host of a radio program on Circuito Onda.[4] She also worked for Sexto Poder newspaper[5] as an online interviewer by means of BBM, the first of its kind on the Venezuelan printed media.

As a model, Ekvall was frequently featured in magazines including Sambil and Ocean Drive.[6]

Personal life

Ekvall married radio producer John Fabio Bermúdez in September 2007.[7][8] The couple had one daughter, Miranda, born in July 2009.[9]

Cancer

In February 2010, just months after giving birth to her only child, Ekvall was diagnosed with advanced breast cancer, and underwent eight months of treatment that included chemotherapy, radiotherapy and a double radical mastectomy.[10] She chronicled this experience in a book of photographs, Fuera de Foco (Out of Focus), released on December 2010.[10] She went on to become an advocate for SenosAyuda, a cancer awareness group.

Death

When told to have had a recurrence of her disease, Ekvall moved to the United States and checked into University General Hospital in Houston, Texas. Despite the intense medical treatment, her health condition began deteriorating and she died in the afternoon of December 17, 2011.[11] In a statement, Ekvall's family said her remains were to be cremated in Houston.

Ekvall's death brought an outpouring of condolences from Venezuelans, including some prominent artists and politicians. Ekvall's husband posted a photo on Twitter Sunday showing a close-up of his hand holding hers, resting on a hospital bed, with the words "Always together... I love you wife".[12][13][14] On March 1, 2012, her husband established the Eva Ekvall Foundation.

See also

• List of television presenters

References

1. Patrick J. O'Donoghue (September 10, 2000). "'I was born in Venezuela, and feel truly Venezuelan ... but I'm really a citizen of the world'". Vheadline.com. Retrieved March 22, 2011.
2. Mike Doogan (September 22, 2000). "Former Alaskans Produce, Among Other Things, Miss Venezuela". Anchorage Daily News. Retrieved March 22, 2011.
3. "Miss Universe 2001 Top 5 – Celina Jaitley". YouTube. August 1, 2008. Retrieved December 18, 2011.
4. Diego Soteldo (March 10, 2011). "Segunda edición de esta "lectura para el baño"". Circuito Onda. Archived from the original on May 31, 2012. Retrieved December 21, 2011.
5. Sexto Poder (December 17, 2011). "La última entrevista de Eva Ekvall: El cáncer fue un compañero que me ayudó a vivir distinto". Sexto Poder. Retrieved December 21, 2011.
6. Sambil Mall Archived September 27, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
7. "Las confesiones de Eva Ekvall". Noticias24. September 30, 2007. Archived from the original on March 22, 2011. Retrieved March 22, 2011.
8. "Despedida de solteros en pareja". El Universal. September 16, 2007. Retrieved March 22, 2011.
9. "Eva Ekvall se convirtió en madre". El Universal. July 30, 2009. Retrieved March 22, 2011.
10. Rory Carroll (February 20, 2011). "Venezuelan beauty queen shows a new look: bald and recovering from cancer". The Guardian. London. Retrieved March 22, 2011.
11. "Beauty queen dead at 28". Sydney Morning Herald. December 19, 2011. Retrieved January 12, 2014.
12. "Eva Ekvall, Miss Venezuela 2000, fallece víctima de un cáncer". Vanitatis. December 18, 2011.
13. "A los 28 años, murió la ex Miss Venezuela Eva Ekvall". Perfil.com. December 18, 2011.
14. James, Ian (December 20, 2011). "Former Miss Venezuela dies of breast cancer at 28". Yahoo. Retrieved January 12, 2014.

External links

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Kim Yee	Miss Universe 3rd Runner-up 2001	Succeeded by Vanessa Carreira
Preceded by Claudia Moreno	Venezuelan delegate to Miss Universe 2001	Succeeded by Cynthia Lander
Preceded by Claudia Moreno	Miss Venezuela 2000	Succeeded by Cynthia Lander
Preceded by Maria Flores	Miss Apure 2000	Succeeded by María Carballo