Siera Bearchell

Siera Bearchell (born February 15, 1993) is a Canadian beauty pageant titleholder, model, entrepreneur, and body positivity activist who was crowned Miss Universe Canada 2016. She represented Canada in the Miss Universe 2016 competition in Manila, where she placed in the top nine. While competing in Miss Universe, Bearchell received media attention for her curvier figure, which was seen as a detraction from the typical body standards associated with beauty pageants, and for her response to immense body shaming from Internet trolls.

Siera Bearchell
Bearchell in 2017
Born	February 15, 1993 Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada
Education	University of Saskatchewan College of Law (JD)
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Title	Miss Teen Saskatchewan World 2009 Miss Teen Canada World 2009 Miss Supranational Canada 2015 Miss Universe Canada 2016
Spouse(s)	Brennen Wray ​ (m. 2017)​
Children	1
Beauty pageant titleholder
Hair colour	Brown
Eye colour	Green
Major competition(s)	Miss Universe Canada 2013 (1st Runner-Up) Miss Universe Canada 2016 (Winner) Miss Universe 2016 (Top 9)

Prior to becoming Miss Universe Canada 2016, Bearchell was the first runner-up in Miss Universe Canada 2013.

Early life and education

Bearchell was born and raised in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan.[1] As a teenager, she was a dancer.[2] She studied law at the University of Saskatchewan College of Law, graduating with a Juris Doctor degree in 2018.[3][4]

Pageantry

Early career

Bearchell began her pageantry career as a teenager. After losing her family home to a house fire, Bearchell wished to pursue charity through pageantry after being inspired by the help her family received from organizations like the Red Cross.[3] She competed in Miss Teen Saskatchewan World 2009, later winning the title and advancing to Miss Teen Canada World 2009, which she also won. As Miss Teen Canada World, she competed in Miss Teen World and placed as the second runner-up.[4][3][2]

Bearchell afterwards took a hiatus from pageantry, returning to competition as an adult in 2013. She competed in Miss Universe Canada 2013, where she placed as the first runner-up behind winner Riza Santos. Afterwards, she competed in Miss Supranational Canada 2015 and won, going on to represent Canada at Miss Supranational 2015 in Krynica-Zdrój, Poland, where she placed as the first runner-up.[4]

Miss Universe 2016

In 2016, Bearchell returned to Miss Universe Canada, where she was crowned Miss Universe Canada 2016, after previously placing as the first runner-up in 2013. As Miss Universe Canada, she was given the right to represent Canada at the Miss Universe 2016 competition, to be held in Manila, Philippines.

Upon her arrival at Miss Universe, Bearchell became the victim of cyberbullying, with commentators making negative remarks regarding Bearchell's weight and appearance.[5][6][7][8] Following these attacks, Bearchell received widespread media attention for breaking norms regarding the bodies of beauty pageant contestants, and for advocating for body positivity.[9][10][2][11][12] Bearchell went on to place in the top nine at Miss Universe, becoming the first Canadian entrant to reach the semifinals since Alice Panikian at Miss Universe 2006; the eventual winner of the competition was Iris Mittenaere, who had been crowned Miss France 2016.[13] After the end of her reign, Bearchell crowned Lauren Howe as her Miss Universe Canada successor in 2017.[14]

Personal life

Bearchell married Brennen Wray in November 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada, just prior to attending Miss Universe 2017. They have one child together, a daughter, named Lily, born in February 2019.[15]

References

1. Markovinovic, Monika (January 24, 2017). "Miss Universe Canada Siera Bearchell Takes On Body Shamers With Self-Love". The Huffington Post.
2. Rodulfo, Kristina (February 23, 2017). "Talking Body: Miss Universe Canada Siera Bearchell Is Done With Trying to Be Pageant Skinny". ELLE.
3. "Canada". Miss Universe Organization. Retrieved April 1, 2019.
4. "About". Siera Bearchell. Retrieved April 1, 2019.
5. Dunham, Jackie (February 10, 2017). "'Beauty beyond size': Miss Universe Canada calls out body shamers". CTV.
6. Li, Justin (January 23, 2017). "Miss Universe Canada Siera Bearchell using 'self-love' to fight Instagram body-shamers". CBC.
7. Kozicka, Patricia (January 28, 2017). "Miss Universe Canada calls out body shamers: 'This is not OK'". Global News.
8. McDermott, Maeve (30 January 2017). "'We are confident': Miss Canada preaches body positivity with Ashley Graham". usatoday.com. USA Today. Retrieved 7 February 2017.
9. Mei, Gina (January 25, 2017). "Miss Universe Contestant Claps Back at Her Body-Shamers". Cosmopolitan.
10. Holcombe, Madeline (January 27, 2017). "Miss Universe Canada takes on body-shamers with a badass message". CNN.
11. Markovinovic, Monika (March 13, 2017). "Miss Universe Canada Siera Bearchell Opens Up About Self-Love And Body Image". The Huffington Post.
12. Bennett, Alexis (January 25, 2017). "This Miss Universe Contestant Had The Best Response For Haters Who Had Something To Say About Her Weight". SELF.
13. "Miss France Iris Mittenaere Crowned Miss Universe 2017!". etonline.com. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
14. "Lauren Howe crowned Miss Universe Canada 2017". missuniversecanada.can. 7 October 2017. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
15. "Lily Jaymes Wray 🌸". Siera Bearchell. February 8, 2019.

External links

• Siera Bearchell on Instagram