Cindy Marina

Cindy Marina (born July 18, 1998) is an Albanian-American model, volleyball player, and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Universe Albania 2019. She represented Albania in the Miss Universe 2019 competition. Outside of modeling and pageantry, Marina is a setter for the Albania women's national volleyball team, and also played for the USC Trojans women's volleyball team during her studies at the University of Southern California.

Cindy Marina
Born
Cindy Nikolli Marina

(1998-07-18) July 18, 1998
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Alma materDuke University
University of Southern California
Height5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
TitleMiss Universe Albania 2019
Beauty pageant titleholder
Hair colorBlonde
Eye colorGreen
Major
competition(s)		Miss Universe Albania 2019
(Winner)
Miss Universe 2019
(Top 20)

Early life and education

Marina was born on July 18, 1998 in Chicago, Illinois to Albanian parents Ardian and Kristina Marina from Shkodër.[1] She was named after Cindy Crawford.[2] Her father played collegiate football in Albania, while her mother was a professional volleyball player in Albania and Italy.[3] She is the second of three children and only daughter; her brothers are Angelo and Brandon.[4]

When Marina was seven years old, the family moved from Chicago to Temecula, California. She attended Great Oak High School in Temecula, graduating in 2016.[1] After finishing high school, Marina attended Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, but transferred to the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California for her sophomore year, graduating in 2020.[3] She is a member of the Pi Beta Phi (ΠΒΦ) sorority.[5]

Volleyball

Marina began playing volleyball in her youth. She was a setter on her high school team and played club volleyball at Forza1 where her mom also coached at. In addition, she was a California state nominee for Gatorade Player of the Year in volleyball. After graduating from high school, Marina joined the Duke Blue Devils women's volleyball, and was named to the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) All-Freshman Team. For her sophomore year, Marina left Duke and began playing for the USC Trojans women's volleyball team.[3]

Marina joined the Albania women's national volleyball team in 2015, and led the team to a third-place finish in the Silver League during the 2018 Women's European Volleyball League in Hungary.[3] At 17 years old, Marina became the youngest person to ever play for the Albanian national team.[1][2]

Pageantry

Marina began modeling at age 14.[2] Her career in modeling began after being recruited by fashion designer Ema Savahl to model her dresses; Savahl is a friend of Marina's mother.[6] She began her pageantry career in 2019, competing in the Miss Universe Albania 2019 competition.[2] She went on to win the competition on June 7, 2019, becoming the first American-born woman to ever win the title, and the second Foreign-born to ever win the title when after Agnesa Vuthaj is the first Kosovo-born and the first Foreign-born to ever win the title in 2005.

Marina represented Albania at the Miss Universe 2019 pageant held in Atlanta, Georgia on December 8, 2019, and placed in the top 20.[7][8][9] Her reign as Miss Universe Albania ended after she crowned Paula Mehmetukaj as her successor at Miss Universe Albania 2020 in September 18, 2020.[10]

References
  1. "Kristina Marina Biography". Forza1 Volleyball. Archived from the original on December 8, 2019. Retrieved June 7, 2019.
  2. "Cindy Marina: Pika ma e forte e bukurise time eshte inteligjenca" (in Albanian). Revista VIP. April 30, 2019.
  3. "CINDY MARINA". University of Southern California. Retrieved June 7, 2019.
  4. https://usdtoreros.com/sports/mens-soccer/roster/angelo-marina/2646. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  5. "USC Volleyball #9 / Albanian National Team / Pi Phi👼🏼". Cindy Marina. Retrieved June 7, 2019.
  6. "Jo vetem mode - Cindy Marina, volleyball player, part of Albanian National Team". RTV Klan. July 29, 2016.
  7. "Miss Universe Albania 2019 is Cindy Marina" (in Albanian). June 7, 2019.
  8. "Cindy Marina crowned Miss Universe Albania 2019". Femina Miss India. June 8, 2019.
  9. "Cindy Marina Crowned Miss Universe Albania". USC Trojans. June 10, 2019.
  10. "Fitoi "Miss Universe Albania", 22-vjeçarja flet për herë të parë te Rudina". TV Klan (in Albanian). September 22, 2020.
Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Trejsi Sejdini		 Miss Universe Albania
2019		 Succeeded by
Paula Mehmetukaj
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