COVERSTORY  10.25

Victoria Kjaer Theilvig:

Miss Universe History Maker.

Photography by Fadil Berisha.
Story by Diana Addison Lyle

Victoria Kjaer Theilvig is the reigning Miss Universe who was crowned in November 2024. The 22-year-old beauty is an exceptionally impressive representative of Generation Z (born in 2003). She hasn’t been on this planet long and yet she conducts herself on the world stage with a level of poise and dignity that invites immense admiration, and she certainly won my respect in the time we worked together.

In case you might be wondering if the Miss Universe title is only about looking beautiful, the reality is that it goes way beyond that surface impression. The Miss Universe title is about international outreach, diplomacy, bridging borders and cultural barriers. Victoria says without hesitation, “I have never worked so hard in my life. It is an all-consuming job that requires total commitment.”

That fact was most evident as we conducted this interview while Victoria was on official duty as Miss Universe touring Honduras, one of the poorest Latin American countries with a history of poverty, inequality and violence (according to the United Nations World Food Program). Despite being under the weather with a hacking cough and a fast-disappearing voice, Victoria resiliently powered on to give us an extensive, thought-provoking interview. I witnessed, first-hand, her strength of character, her courage, and her determination to make the world a kinder, more empathetic place. No matter how sick she was feeling, she was determined to complete her commitments to the people of Honduras – at full throttle.

Victoria’s travel schedule during her reign as Miss Universe has been extensive, and each time she has visited a new country, she has spread a message of hope and positivity. She has also immersed herself in the culture of the place, appreciating their traditions, their food, and their outlooks on life. Included in the places she’s visited in the last year are Vietnam, the Arab Emirates, Aruba, Bonaire, Colombia, Curacao, India, Japan, Malta, Martinique, Netherlands, Philippines, Puerto Rico and Thailand. Victoria has embraced this intense travel schedule way beyond the duties of her crown – and savored the opportunity to create cultural interchange from the traditions and food of each country to the amicable exchange of ideas. Ultimately, her outreach has been about discovering that all humans across the world are connected in the most fundamentally important ways.

Victoria made history as the first Miss Denmark to ever be crowned Miss Universe, and she became the first blonde to win the title in 20 years. You’d imagine that her countrymen would be over-the-moon proud of that accomplishment. But the world has become enormously complex as people debate the merit of beauty competitions. Victoria took on the uphill task of proving to the naysayers that her responsibilities as Miss Universe lay in uniting the world, not dividing it. She has used her platform to encourage unity and humanitarian outreach. She has also spread a consistently uplifting message of positivity to all the people she’s met across the world. I don’t believe that anybody can criticize her encouragement of others and her messages of hope. Let’s begin with her story so that you may be inspired.

“I LOVE that we in Denmark have four distinct seasons. I love to see the weather patterns changing, especially in autumn because all the trees turn orange, and it becomes very cozy. We drink lots of tea and chai lattes. I also love to walk in the woods with my dog, Alvin”

Victoria was born in Copenhagen, Denmark in the winter of 2003. She describes her childhood in her home country with many fond memories:

“I loved my childhood in Denmark,” she enthuses. “It’s such a wonderful, safe country. I spent a lot of time with my friends, and I also played a lot of sports. My passion was dancing. My family consists of my mom, who is a very strong, creative woman. My dad is a businessman, and I have two lovely little sisters and lots of animals. My parents got divorced when I was six years old. I loved to be super active when I was young, so in conjunction with dancing, I did gymnastics, cheerleading, swimming and ice-skating.”

We expand on the safety that Victoria felt growing up. She says, “Denmark is a country that truly takes care of its citizens. I could literally go out and play on the streets with my friends at night and know that it was completely safe.”

The Miss Universe beauty is a great animal lover, and she describes her pets with great enthusiasm.

“I have had rabbits, hamsters, dogs, cats and even a horse. I believe that having animals around us is important because they give us so much love.”

The more I learn about Victoria, the more I recognize that the strengths she projects at the tender age of 22 while being microscopically scrutinized on the world stage – isn’t entirely surprising when one considers what she was like as a child.

Victoria’s childhood dancing career is indicative of her discipline and work ethic. She became a professional dancer at an early age. She went to the World Championships, the European Championships and the Scandinavian Championships at around age 13. She says of that period, “I viewed it as a great achievement to be dancing on the global stage and competing against some of the best dancers in the world.”

“By studying business and marketing, I gained a better understanding of the world that I wanted to enter. It has always been my dream to start my own company and become a successful entrepreneur like my granddad”

We discuss how she learned to control her nerves while performing on these world stages and, not surprisingly, she supplies valuable advice:

“I think there will always be nerves when you have something on stage, but at the same time, for me it has always been about enjoying what I’m doing, and if you are not enjoying it, then you are not doing the right thing. The nerves are normal, and they make us perform better. They take us to another level in performance.”

Education is a priority in Danish society, and it is supported by a system that provides free higher education including PhD programs to all Danish citizens and students from the European Union and Switzerland. In Victoria’s case, seeking higher education is also fully encouraged by her parents.

“My mom and dad have always pushed me and made sure that I got a good education,” she says. “But at the same time, they always told me to follow my heart. They also told me that I had to have something to fall back on and a good education would be the best security if everything fell apart.”

Victoria graduated with a degree in Business and Marketing from Denmark’s Lyngby Business School. She explains why she chose that direction:

“There will always be nerves when you have something on stage, but at the same time, for me it has always been about enjoying what I’m doing, and if you are not enjoying it, then you are not doing the right thing. The nerves are normal, and they make us perform better. They take us to another level in performance”

“I’ve always wanted to be an entrepreneur and that’s because of my granddad. He has always been a great role model for me because he came from nothing, and he grew up in the system and became a great businessman. By studying business and marketing, I gained a better understanding of the world that I wanted to enter. It has always been my dream to start my own company and become a successful entrepreneur like my granddad. He’s definitely my mentor and someone whom I always respected very much.”

We discuss the all-important topic of having strong mentors in our lives, and Victoria expands on her thoughts:
“I do think that it’s good to have a mentor, but I also believe that you are your own biggest mentor too,” she says.
Victoria has planned to get a Law degree.

“I have always been fascinated by the law,” she confirms, “but right now my focus is on my reign as Miss Universe. Once I hand the crown to my successor, I shall either go on to do law or go in another direction. I shall see what my best options are.”

As we continue, it becomes very clear that Victoria has gargantuan goals in life.

“Yes,” she says passionately. “I have always believed in dreaming big. I don’t believe that you should allow anything to crush your dreams or put you down. I have the mindset that I can do everything, as long as I put my head into it 100%.”

She provides more detail on the foundation of her immense discipline:

“I have always believed in dreaming big. I don’t believe that you should allow anything to crush your dreams or put you down. I have the mindset that I can do everything, as long as I put my head into it 100%”

“Discipline is one of the greatest things I have gained throughout my dancing career, and I’ve been able to apply that level of discipline to everything else that I have taken on in life.”

When Victoria answered the final, intense questions at the Miss Universe pageant, her answers clearly impressed the judges. They looked way beyond her beauty because a contestant’s ability to answer complex questions under pressure is part of Miss Universe’s responsibilities. Victoria emphasized in her answers how important it is for each one of us to approach every day with a positive attitude; the value of learning from our experiences and using our past as a source of strength rather than limitation. Most importantly, she encourages everyone to never give up in the pursuit of their dreams.

Since we are approaching the autumn season, it seems fitting to have Victoria paint a picture of her love of autumn, particularly in a country like Denmark that has such distinctively different seasons. She says with great enthusiasm,

“I LOVE that we in Denmark have four distinct seasons. I love to see the weather patterns changing, especially in autumn because all the trees turn orange, and it becomes very cozy. We drink lots of tea and chai lattes. I also love to walk in the woods with my 4-year-old dog, Alvin (a Pomeranian). Sometimes it gets a little cold and rainy, but after the summer, I love the coziness of autumn.”

All the photography shown in this autumn issue is by world-renowned photographer, Fadil Berisha. Victoria recounts how much she enjoys the collaboration between herself and Fadil:

“I have worked with him plenty of times and we always have a blast when we are together. I trust him and I love working with him.”

Watch this space next issue for Part 2 of our interview with the extraordinarily special Victoria Kjaer Theilvig. We will be revealing much more in our Holiday season issue in which Victoria reveals that her dad used to be a professional ice hockey player, and that this is her absolute favorite sport to watch as we head into the winter months in the Northern Hemisphere.

What I can resolutely confirm as you await the Part 2 interview is that Victoria is one of the strongest Generation Z people I have ever met. She displays a tenacious perseverance that is driven by a value system that has served her well in life. She eschews negativity, dreams hugely, and actively puts the right steps in place to achieve her goals and her dreams.

She brilliantly represents a generation that defies some of the restrictions that Boomers placed on themselves. She’s approaching life with determination, a steely work ethic, and a sensible assessment on how to move forward productively. The Miss Universe title is being inspiringly represented by this Danish beauty whose multi-lingual capabilities are vastly impressive.