Miss Israel

Rita Lukin

Rita was born in Kazakhstan and immigrated , with her parents, at the age of 9 to live in Ashdod, a city in Israel by the Sea. She graduated high school, majoring in fashion design and has obtained a diploma as a professional makeup artists. Rita is currently working as makeup artist and model; one of her highlights has been to model the jewellery that Catherine Zeta Jones wore at the Oscars in Hollywood. Her ambition is to study and become a successful psychologist. Hobbies are: reading books, making clothes and riding her bicycle. Sporting interests are: Kickboxing, aerobics, badminton, she has been ice skating since the age of 4 and has competed in many contests.


Where did you grow up? Tell us a little about your home town/city, and family.
I was born in USSR - Kazakhstan. I lived in Alma - Ata, the capital city of Kazakhstan, during my childhood. I lived with my parents in the mountains area, where it always snowed. My mother worked in the local embassy and my father had a restaurant chain and a leather’s products factory.Since the age of four, I was ice-skating and I won a medal in a local contest. At the age of nine, my parents and I immigrated to Israel and since than, I live in Ashdod, a city on the seashore of Israel. The transition from the snowing mountains to the sunny hot Israel was very difficult at the beginning, but now I like the climate and feel at home here.

What Jobs have you done? What was the most interesting/bizarre?
During my life, I have been working in different jobs. When I was 14 years old and a student, I wanted to earn some pocket money and began working as a waitress.It was a very hard job - working a lot of hours, always being nice and pleasant, but I learned how to communicate with lots of types of people and earned lots of money. Now, besides being a model, I work as a make-up artist, having a diploma.

What are your career ambitions, how do you plan to realise them?
Since I was a student, my ambition was to open a beauty salon with my friend, where brides can get all their wedding preparations, wedding dresses, professional make-up and hair designs. I am doing everything I can in order to fulfil this dream. I graduated from school specializing in fashion design. I also have a make-up artist diploma. My friend is a successful hair designer. These days my friend and I are saving our money to open our new place.For the mean time, my dream is to focus in modelling and to become a top model - my childhood dream. Being Miss Israel opened me to a world of beauty and fashion, and helps me in modelling and advertising.

What is the proudest moment of your life? (Not including winning your National Title)
The proudest moment of my life, not including winning the title of Miss Israel, was the day in which I finished my army service. Being from the USSR I had a dream to come to Israel and fulfil my national duty and serve in the army.

What was the funniest/most embarrassing moment of your life?
The most embarrassing moment of my life was when I worked as a waitress and a tray full of salads slipped off my hands, straight on a client. At first the client was angry, but after apologizing and helping in cleaning, he left a large tip, smiled and said that he enjoyed the food and the service.

What was the funniest/most embarrassing moment of your life?
Since winning the title of Miss Israel, the main change is the absence of anonymity. My private life has become the interest of the public. Walking in the street is accompanied with the recognition of the public. It is weird, but I learned how to get used to it.

Tell us about an interesting event you have attended, or a person that you have met.
An interesting event I attended was a welcome party for Bill Clinton, the former president of the USA. I took part in that welcome party in Israel and was very excited to meet such an important person.

What would you like to do, if you became Miss World 2004?
If I became Miss World 2004, I would like to promote and help children. I would like to increase the awareness and help organisations which care for children and victims of terrorism attacks from all over the world. I would like to help by recruiting donations and creating "warm and loving places" for those children. In those places the children can participate in different classes according to their hobbies, meet children with the same problems, get psychological help and forget their problems for a while.

If you had a personal motto what would it be?
My personal motto is: "justice is not a merchandise. Don’t try to buy or to sell it".

Give details of any charitable work undertaken?
After finishing high school, I volunteered in an animal rights organization. I took care of abandoned animals by feeding and cleaning them and trying to find "adopting" families for them. I love animals and have my own 3 cats and more than 20 cats, which I use to feed.

Moreover, I volunteer in "Variety Organization". Variety is a worldwide organization, which support hurt and disabled children. While volunteering in this organization, I take part in charity events in aim to open and support day care centres, special treatments and medical supplies. I also take part in special events organised for the children such as in holidays and "going back to school".

Being with the children excites me each and every time - how spending time with them, helping them and giving them love and care is unforgettable. It makes them so happy and gives them and their families lots of power.

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