Stefanía Fernández

Stefanía Fernández Krupij (born September 4, 1990) is a Venezuelan TV host, model and beauty queen who won the Miss Venezuela 2008 and Miss Universe 2009 titles. She earned a Guinness World Records by being the first Miss Universe winner who was crowned by a compatriot.[2][3]

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

Stefanía Fernández
Miss Universe 2009
Born	Stefanía Fernández Krupij (1990-09-04) September 4, 1990 Mérida, Mérida, Venezuela
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[1]
Title	Miss Trujillo 2008 Miss Venezuela 2008 Miss Universe 2009
Spouse(s)	Bernardo Asuaje ( m. 2017)
Beauty pageant titleholder
Hair color	Brown
Eye color	Brown
Major competition(s)	Miss Venezuela 2008 (Winner) Miss Universe 2009 (Winner)

Personal life

Fernández is of Spanish, Ukrainian, Russian and Polish origin. Her mother is Nadia Krupij Holojad, whose Ukrainian father immigrated from the Soviet Union during the period of Communist rule.

Stefania Fernandez married Venezuelan investor Bernardo Asuaje on May 6, 2017 in Cartagena, Colombia and currently resides in Bogota, Colombia.[4]

Miss Venezuela 2008

Fernández won the Miss Venezuela 2008 title in a pageant held in Caracas on September 10, 2008. She was crowned by the outgoing titleholder, Dayana Mendoza, Miss Venezuela 2007 and Miss Universe 2008.[5] Fernández also won the "Miss Elegance", "Best Body", and "Best Face", titles.[6] She became the second Miss Trujillo to win that title since the Miss Venezuela pageant first began in 1952 and also the second Miss Trujillo to win Miss Universe. The first was Bárbara Palacios, Miss Venezuela 1986 and Miss Universe 1986.

Miss Universe 2008, Dayana Mendoza (also from Venezuela), crowned her as Miss Universe 2009 on August 23, 2009, in Nassau, Bahamas. This marked the first time in Miss Universe history the same country won the crown in consecutive years.[7] Her prize package included cash; a year contract promoting Miss Universe; world travel; a rent-free, prestigious New York luxury apartment; a gift bag stuffed with designer shoes, dresses, and beauty products; a US$100,000 stipend for a two-year course at the New York Film Academy; and free access to famous fashion houses and beauty parlors. Fernández vowed to spend her year-long reign traveling the world raising awareness on humanitarian issues and promoting education regarding HIV/AIDS.[8]

Miss Universe 2009

Stefanía during a fashion show in Caracas, Venezuela

Stefanía during the Miss Universe 2010.

After her crowning, Fernández was interviewed by CNN en Español, Fox News, EFE agency (Spain), the Associated Press, Univision, Reuters, RTN (Ukraine), Televisa (Mexico), Venevisión (Venezuela), Caracol Televisión (Colombia), La Mega, Telemetro (Panama), MUN2, Televen (Venezuela), RCN TV (Colombia), Promar TV, Globovisión (Venezuela), Telemundo, Telecentro, Venevision Plus, Gem FM (Indonesia), The Wendy Williams Show, NBC's Today, Fox & Friends, Don Francisco Presenta, El Gordo y la Flaca, and others. Her arrival to Venezuela was transmitted by Venezuelan television; she had a homage in Super Sabado Sensacional during five hour special on Venevisión (Venezuela's main TV network).

Fernández received a Guinness record for being the first contestant to Miss Universe which is crowned by a compatriot (Dayana Mendoza, Miss Universe 2008).[9]

The President of Venezuela, Hugo Chávez, congratulated Fernández, and he gave her his support with her campaign against AIDS. He also gave his government's support.[10] In October, she travelled to Jakarta, Bandung[11] and Medan,[12] in Indonesia, where she crowned the Indonesian representative for the Miss Universe 2010 pageant.[13]

In November, she traveled again to Indonesia, specifically to the Bali island, when she filmed a commercial of vitamins. On her return to New York, she was in a press conference about HIV, in which she appeared with Ban Ki-moon, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, and with recognised Venezuelan fashion designer Carolina Herrera. On 5 November 2009, she served as a presenter at the Latin Grammy Awards in Las Vegas, United States, sharing with Puerto Rican salsa singer Víctor Manuelle. At her second presentation in Venezuela, specifically in the Plaza de Toros Monumental de Maracaibo, where there was a crowd of 15,000 people, they gave a recognition (Orchid Award) to Fernández at Orchid Festival of Chinita Fair.

She also traveled to Cannes, France, on 9 December 2009, for the Five Star Diamond awards, with Miss USA Kristen Dalton, and to Willemstad, Curaçao and Barquisimeto, Venezuela, as well, in early January 2010, for the Procesión de la Divina Pastora (Procession of the Holy Shepherdess).[14] Fernández traveled to Puerto Rico in February 2010 to host Levántate, a Telemundo TV show;[15] then travelled to New York, where she appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show.[16]

In September, March, and April, she travelled to Moscow, São Paulo, Mumbai, Nassau, Caracas, and Prague, where she crowned the respective representatives of those countries for the Miss Universe 2010 pageant.[17] She then flew to Colombia (she was invited to promote the Kimberly-Clark brand), Panama (where she served as a presenter for Sony), and to Puerto Rico again, for the Puerto Rico Open.[18]

In May, Fernández travelled to República Dominicana Fashion Week in the Dominican Republic. Shortly thereafter, Fernández was named in the 50 Most Beautiful People list by People en Español.[19] On 29 April 2010, Fernández served as a presenter at the Latin Billboard Music Awards in Puerto Rico.[20] In March 2010, Stefania became the official face of Avon Products.[21]

During her reign, Fernández travelled to Indonesia, Curaçao, Venezuela, France, Puerto Rico, Russia, Colombia, Panama, the Czech Republic, the Bahamas, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Brazil, India, Argentina, Spain, Rwanda, and Ecuador for Aids Awareness Tour In 2010 in addition to numerous trips around the United States.[22]

Conflict with the Venezuelan government

7-star Flag of Venezuela, used by Fernández.

On 23 August 2010, Fernández passed her crown to Ximena Navarrete, Miss Mexico. During her final catwalk, she unveiled a Venezuelan flag with only seven stars. The Venezuelan parliament (the National Assembly) had voted a modification of the flag from seven to eight stars in 2006; former President Hugo Chávez had favored this decision. The display of the old flag was seen by Investor's Business Daily as a protest against the new policies of Chávez.[23] During the 2014 Venezuelan protests, Fernández took part in the "Your Voice is Your Power" campaign denouncing violence, human rights violations and the censorship of media in Venezuela.[24][25][26][27][28][29] During the taking of the pictures, Fernandez explained that "Making all the #SinMordaza pictures didn’t take more than an hour, but I cried and felt rage" while being a voice for human rights and showing support for protesters against the government of Nicolás Maduro.[24][28][29]

Titles

• Miss Universe (2009)
• Miss Venezuela (2008)
• Miss Trujillo (2008)

Awards

• 2009: Guinness record (for being the first Miss Universe winner who was crowned by a compatriot)[2]

See also

• Dayana Mendoza
• Marelisa Gibson
• María Milagros Véliz
• Laksmi Rodríguez
• Gabriela Isler

References

1. "Miss Universe : Members". 2010-06-29. Archived from the original on 2010-06-29. Retrieved 2017-05-05.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
2. Most consecutive wins of the Miss Universe contest. Community.guinnessworldrecords.com (2009-09-30). Retrieved on 2012-05-12.
3. Norma Jiménez Montealegre (August 23, 2009). "Stefanía Fernández gana el Miss Universo y Venezuela repite". El Universal (in Spanish). Caracas, Venezuela. Archived from the original on August 27, 2009. Retrieved 2009-08-24.
4. "El Comercio". 2009-08-27. Archived from the original on 2009-08-27. Retrieved 2017-05-05.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
5. "Miss Trujillo Stefanía Fernández fue electa Miss Venezuela. 2008". El Universal. Retrieved 2008-09-10.
6. "Miss Trujillo acaparó los premios en "La Gala de la Belleza"". Cadena Global. Archived from the original on September 3, 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-31.
7. "Venezuelan Stefania Fernandez crowned Miss Universe". The Telegraph. 2009-08-24. Retrieved 2009-08-25.
8. MISS UNIVERSE 2009 PRIZES Archived 2009-08-27 at the Wayback Machine. Missuniverse.com (2009-08-23). Retrieved on 2012-05-12.
9. es:Stefanía Fernández
10. Chávez ofreció su apoyo a Miss Universo, la venezolana Stefanía Fernández. (AFP) – 01/10/2009. Google.com. Retrieved on 2012-05-12.
11. Miss Universe plays Angklung in Bandung. Antara.co.id (2009-10-12). Retrieved on 2012-05-12.
12. Miss Universe Charity Gala Dinner Archived 2011-07-14 at the Wayback Machine. Medanku.com (2009-10-06). Retrieved on 2012-05-12.
13. Miss Universe Calendar of Events. Missuniverse.com. Retrieved on 2012-05-12.
14. Gallery: Stefania and Kristen travel to Cannes, France!. Missuniverse.com. Retrieved on 2012-05-12.
15. Stefania in Puerto Rico. Elexpresso.com. Retrieved on 2012-05-12.
16. More Global Beauty Secrets Video. Oprah.com (2010-03-03). Retrieved on 2012-05-12.
17. Calendar of Events. Missuniverse.com (March 2010). Retrieved on 2012-05-12.
18. Stefania's tour Miss Universe runs World Archived December 14, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
19. "STEFANÍA FERNÁNDEZ : LAS BELLAS : Los 50 Más Bellos 2010". People en Español. 2010-04-26. p. 11. Retrieved 2010-08-18.
20. "Stefania Fernandez attends the 2010 Billboard Latin Music Awards in Puerto Rico, 29 April 2010 – Miss Universe". Zimbio. 2010-04-29. Retrieved 2010-08-18.
21. "Kanaal van OfficialMissUniverse". YouTube. Retrieved 2010-08-18.
22. Site by: ILS. "Events". Miss Universe. Retrieved 2010-08-18.
23. "The Killing Fields Of Caracas". Investors Business Daily. August 25, 2010.
24. Llenas, Bryan (28 March 2014). "Former Miss Universe Is 'Gagged,' Cries Bloody Tears To Protest Venezuelan Government". Fox News Latino. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
25. Gander, Kashmira (28 March 2014). "Venezuela's ex-Miss Universe Stefanía Fernández is bruised and bloody in Your Voice is Your Power human rights protest campaign". The Independent. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
26. Calavia-Lopez, Daysi (27 March 2014). "Former Miss Universe Is Bloody And Bound For #GaggedInVenezuela (PHOTOS)". Huffington Post. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
27. Longo, Donovan (2 April 2014). "Stefanía Fernández, Former Miss Universe, Gagged, Bound And Bloody In Support Of Venezuela [GRAPHIC PHOTOS]". Latin Times. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
28. Lopez, Linette (25 March 2014). "Miss Universe 2009 Supports Venezuelan Protesters With These Disturbing Photos". Business Insider. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
29. Ernst, Douglas (25 March 2014). "Former Miss Universe gets bloody, hog-tied to spotlight socialist Maduro's violence". The Washington Times. Retrieved 6 January 2015.

External links

• Miss Universe Official website
• Miss Venezuela Official website
• Miss Venezuela La Nueva Era MB

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Dayana Mendoza	Miss Universe 2009	Succeeded by Ximena Navarrete
Preceded by Dayana Mendoza	Miss Venezuela 2008	Succeeded by Marelisa Gibson
Preceded by Luna Ramos	Miss Trujillo 2008	Succeeded by Elizabeth Mosquera