Melanie Winiger | |
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 Winiger, c. 2019 | |
| Born | Melanie Ann Winiger 22 January 1979 |
| Nationality |
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| Alma mater | Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute |
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| Known for | Former Miss Switzerland 1996 |
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| Children | 1 |
| Website | Official website |
Melanie Ann Winiger (born 22 January 1979) is a Swiss-Canadian actress, [1] model and beauty pageant titleholder who won Miss Switzerland 1996.
Winiger was born 22 January 1979 in Zürich, Switzerland to Carol Winiger (née Latimer; born 1949) and Philipp Marcus Winiger (born 1952), a former drummer and model, who would later turn into a jewelry business owner. [2] [3] [4] Her father is Swiss and her mother is Canadian of partial Indian descent. [5]
In her early childhood her parents moved to Losone in Ticino where she was primarily raised and attended schools. She dropped out of high school to pursue her modeling career. [6] Winiger later studied acting for two years at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute in Los Angeles. [7]
She won Miss Switzerland in 1996 and represented her country at Miss World 1996 in Bangalore, India and at Miss Universe 1997 in Miami, Florida, not placing in either pageant. Winiger worked as a model in Cape Town, New York, Milan, and Munich in the late 1990s. Around the same time, she gained fame in Switzerland as a TV host and endorser of the Italian boutique chain Oviesse.
In 2003, she starred in the Swiss movie Achtung, fertig, Charlie!
She subsequently moved to Los Angeles, where she attended the West Hollywood branch of the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute until 2005.
Since then, she has starred in both American and Swiss film and TV productions, including Sonjas Rückkehr, Love Made Easy, Breakout, and Heldin der Lüfte.
In 2008, she starred in a TV commercial for Moschino, which was aired in several European countries.
On 28 August 2008, she hosted the draw for UEFA Champions League groups, which took place at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco. She hosted the draw again at the same place on 26 August 2010, this time for 2010–11 Champions League and again on 25 August 2011 for the 2011-12 Champions League. Winiger was the host for the opening ceremony at the 61st FIFA Congress. [13]
Again on 27 August 2015 hosted the draw for the group stage of the UEFA Champions League 2015-16 which took place at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco. On 8 July 2017, she hosted the World Boxing Super Series draw.
Switzerland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 with the song "Time to Shine" written and performed by Mélanie René. The Swiss entry for the 2015 contest in Vienna, Austria was selected through the national final ESC 2015 – die Entscheidungsshow, organised by the Swiss German speaking broadcaster Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen (SRF) in collaboration with the other broadcasters part of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation. Artists that were interested in entering the Swiss national final had the opportunity to apply to one of three open selections with defined submission periods organised by SRF together with the Swiss-Romansh broadcaster Radiotelevisiun Svizra Rumantscha (RTR), the Swiss-French broadcaster Radio Télévision Suisse (RTS) and/or the Swiss-Italian broadcaster Radiotelevisione svizzera (RSI). A total of 18 entries were selected to advance to an "Expert Check" round; nine entries were selected from the SRF/RTR selection, six entries were selected from the RTS selection and three entries were selected from the RSI selection. The "Expert Check" was held on 7 December 2014 at SRF Studio 5 in Zürich and involved five experts evaluating the live performances of the 18 entries and selecting six entries to advance to the televised national final—three artists and songs from the SRF/RTR candidates, two from the RTS candidates and one from the RSI candidates. The six finalists performed during the national final on 31 January 2015 where a combination of jury voting and public voting ultimately selected "Time to Shine" performed by Mélanie René as the winner.
Who Killed Johnny is a Swiss-American screwball comedy film by Yangzom Brauen, filmed and produced in Los Angeles in 2013.
Sonjas Rückkehr is a 2006 Swiss Drama film produced for the Swiss television SRF.
Andreas Matti is a Swiss stage and film actor starring usually in Swiss German language cinema and television and stage productions.
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Switzerland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with the song "The Last of Our Kind" written by Christina Maria Rieder, Mike James, Jeff Dawson and Warne Livesey. The song was performed by Rykka, which is the artistic name of singer Christina Maria Rieder. The Swiss entry for the 2016 contest in Stockholm, Sweden was selected through the national final ESC 2016 – die Entscheidungsshow, organised by the Swiss German speaking broadcaster Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen (SRF) in collaboration with the other broadcasters part of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation. Artists that were interested in entering the Swiss national final had the opportunity to apply to one of three open selections with defined submission periods organised by SRF together with the Swiss-Romansh broadcaster Radiotelevisiun Svizra Rumantscha (RTR), the Swiss-French broadcaster Radio Télévision Suisse (RTS) and/or the Swiss-Italian broadcaster Radiotelevisione svizzera (RSI). A total of 19 entries were selected to advance to an "Expert Check" round; ten entries were selected from the SRF/RTR selection, six entries were selected from the RTS selection and three entries were selected from the RSI selection. The "Expert Check" was held on 6 December 2015 and involved four experts evaluating the live performances of the 19 entries and selecting six entries to advance to the televised national final—three artists and songs from the SRF/RTR candidates, two from the RTS candidates and one from the RSI candidates. The six finalists performed during the national final on 13 February 2016 where a combination of jury voting and public voting ultimately selected "The Last of Our Kind" performed by Rykka as the winner.
Regula Rytz is a Swiss historian and politician who served on the National Council (Switzerland) for the Green Party from 2011 to 2022. She concurrently served as co-president of the Green Party of Switzerland from 2012 to 2016 and as president from 2016 to 2020.
Nina Brunner is a Swiss professional beach volleyball player who plays as a right side defender with her partner Tanja Hüberli. She is a two-time European Champion, winning the title in 2021 and 2023, the silver medallist at the 2018 and 2022 European Championships, and the bronze medalist at the 2024 Summer Olympics. With her former partner Nicole Eiholzer, she won the gold medal at the first ever European Games in 2015. Alongside Hüberli, Betschart has won combined total of 3 gold, 4 silver and 6 bronze medals on FIVB World Tour and its successor Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour. Betschart / Hüberli team represented Switzerland at the 2020 Summer Olympics where they finished in ninth place and played a pivotal role at their country's triumph in the women's event of the inaugural CEV Beach Volleyball Nations Cup in 2022. They achieved a career-high World ranking of No. 2 in November 2021.
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The 2025 UEFA Women's Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Women's Euro 2025 or simply Euro 2025, will be the 14th edition of the UEFA Women's Championship, the quadrennial international football championship organised by UEFA for the women's national teams of Europe. The tournament will be played in Switzerland from 2 to 27 July 2025. It will be the third edition since it was expanded to 16 teams. The tournament will return to its usual four-year cycle after the previous tournament was indirectly delayed to 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Miss World 1996 national titleholders | |
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