Miss France: Iris Mittenaere, Amandine Petit… 3 winners reveal the secrets of their election

Muguette Fabris’ life changed 60 years ago. In 1962, this Frenchwoman from Vienne began her career in secondary education in Angoulême. However, at that time, she was already longing for other dreams, far from paintings and classrooms. Rather towards the podiums and competitions.

“At the time, I was a math teacher at Angoulême high school, but I also wanted to discover the fashion world and travel,” she told Planet in 2020. “It’s is what prompted me to go down this path. Plunging into the world of beauty contests, Muguette Fabris embarked on the adventure of representing Ile-de-France in the national competition. At the end of the election which took place at the Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux, she won the title of Miss France 1963 in front of her runners-up, Miss Paris and Miss Normandy.

An incredible destiny for the high school teacher who had nevertheless taken care not to warn her colleagues of her participation in the election. An almost well-kept secret. “In high school, no one knew, and it was a surprise for my colleagues, and especially for the school principal,” the octogenarian told us. “The Mayor of Angoulême was delighted and honored me with a superb reception at the Town Hall by showing me his enthusiasm”.

Despite her new status, Miss France 1963 did not neglect her students. “I continued to provide all my lessons, and the parents of my students were always benevolent”, admits the one who also posed in the pages of Paris Match at the time of her reign. In parallel with her career, Muguette Fabris also shone internationally by ranking among the finalists of Miss Universe and winning the sash of 4th runner-up at Miss World.

Now retired from teaching, Muguette Fabris is a happy grandmother living in the south of France. Still popular with fans after so many years, she was a member of the jury during the beauty pageant’s centenary, in December 2020 at Puy du Fou. A week after the election of Miss France 2023, she will testify with other Misses on her journey through the unpublished documentary Miss France: in the secrets of the competition, on December 24 at 4:10 p.m. on TF1.

December 19, 2015, Iris Mittenaere wore the colors of Nord-Pas-de-Calais for the 86th edition of the beauty contest which took place in Lille. A city that brought her luck since she was elected Miss France 2016 ahead of her first runner-up, Martiniquaise Morgane Edvige. After her coronation, the Northerner revealed to us, among other things among her indiscretions, to have experienced a stressful moment during the competition.

“It happened during the passage in folk costume”, confided Iris Mittenaere for Planet. “We all had a dress prepared by the designer and we had to make alterations and sew the dress directly on the body. It was a complicated moment, with a lot of stress. I was apprehensive about the situation, but in the end everything fell apart. went well.”

Carried by the fervor of the public, the former dental surgery student paraded with poise, ignoring her complexes. “When I was younger, I thought I was too thin, people often made fun of me at school”. From the height of her 72 meter tall, Iris Mittenare made France shine internationally by becoming Miss Universe 2016 on January 30, 2017. Five years after her coronation, the future wife of Diego El Glaoui is a host, influencer and woman of business accomplished.

For Amandine Petit, the magic worked one evening on December 19, 2020. During the centenary of the beauty contest which took place at Puy du Fou (in a health bubble in the midst of the covid crisis), the 23-year-old Norman won the crown and the scarf of Miss France 2021 facing her first runner-up April Benayoum, representative of Provence. A few days after her coronation, the successor of Clémence Botino told her fairy tale to Planet.

“It’s a new life full of glitter and magic that doesn’t just stop on the evening of the Miss France election. […] I tell myself that it’s just incredible”, she told us with joy. Willing to take part in the game of questions in front of the media, the young woman who aspired to become the director of an EHPAD or in an independent residence slipped in a few anecdotes about the competition.

While her colleague Iris Mittenaere confided on Europe 1 that the candidates had been “rationed” in their diet, Amandine Petit revealed in turn. “During the preparation, I didn’t feel like I was being rationed. We had a breakfast buffet in the morning. Everyone ate what they wanted and there was no one there to tell us anything. We did what we wanted. At noon, it was the same”, adding. “It was quite diverse and honestly, I never thought I was out of food or too hungry.”

After having ceded her title to Diane Leyre, Amandine Petit has multiplied the projects. From the Virgin Radio station to Miss Universe in the United States to the floor of Dancing with the stars, she remains a popular Miss on social networks. She notably announced on Instagram that she will be present this December 17 in Châteauroux to welcome the 93rd beauty queen to the Miss France family.