Miss Netherlands

Miranda Slabber

Miranda was born and raised in the south of the Netherlands, in a small village named Arnemuiden, in the Zeeland area. It is a fairy-like place to live, with its beautiful beaches, dunes, walks and many dykes. Without which it would be flooded as it is also below the sea level. A lot of the local senior citizens still wear the folkloric costumes. From the age of 14 till 19 she trained and coached a korfball team and also enjoys ballroom and Latin American dancing, winning several prizes with her partner on a National Level. Having completed 4 years at Teachers Training College, she is now a Primary School Teacher. Her hobbies are: Drama, Formula 1 cars, listening to music, shopping and socialising with family and friends. Sporting activities are: boxercise, handball, korfball and dance.


Where did you grow up? Tell us a little about your home town/city, and family.
I was born and raised in the south of the Netherlands in a small village named Arnemuiden. Arnemuiden is a fairy-like place to live; a lot of senior citizens are still dressed in folkloric costumes, which make my village very unique and interesting as we keep up with the old traditions.

What Jobs have you done? What was the most interesting/bizarre?
I have done a lot of modelling. I worked in a daily market as a cashier, in the bakery and fruit and vegetable department. I have also worked in a candy shop, a wooden toyshop, a perfumery and a go-kart arena. This year I am also going to work in a shop with jewellery.

What are your career ambitions, how do you plan to realise them?
I would love to be a host of a ‘feeling good’ TV programme that includes children. My preference is that healthy children learn something from children that have difficulty with their health or at home. My ‘ideal’ program contains an educational and a social responsible message, after seeing this programme people should be happy, appreciate the small things and everything they have in their lives.

What is the proudest moment of your life? (Not including winning your National Title)
That has to be putting an autograph on my certificate of qualification, after four years of studying. Standing on Table Mountain in Cape Town, and the first time I saw and held my baby nephew Thomas.

What was the funniest/most embarrassing moment of your life?
The most embarrassing moment was at my 19th birthday, I thought that I was going to have a parachute jump as a present, but instead my parents gave me driving lessons, and I was very surprised.

What was the funniest/most embarrassing moment of your life?
Since I have won the national title, my life has been very hectic. I have met a lot of new people, and I did a lot of exciting things like, opening trade fairs and working for charities. I am honoured to be Miss Netherlands and I will do the best that I can do to let the world see what a beautiful country The Netherlands is.

Tell us about an interesting event you have attended, or a person that you have met.
This year I was at the Grand Prix of Belgium and I met Juan-Pablo Montoya, Nikki Lauda and Fernando Alonso. Fernando Alonso is a driver for the Formula 1 Renault racing team. He is my favourite Formula 1 driver and I enjoyed the time that we spent together. The meeting was really great and I was very excited. He was a super nice guy. I also had the opportunity to meet the vice-president of The Netherlands, Mr Jan-Peter Blakenende at a car event in Amsterdam.

What would you like to do, if you became Miss World 2004?
If I became Miss World 2004, it would be important for me to work with needy children around the world, as I believe that they need a lot of love and care, which I am able to provide. I would also like to work with young women’s groups, to help give them self-confidence and to also give them belief. "You can become and do whatever you desire, just believe in yourself".

If you had a personal motto what would it be?
You get what you give.

Give details of any charitable work undertaken?
This year I am putting my effort into Make a Wish Foundation. I am a vice-ambassador for this charity and I am going to help all sorts of children’s wishes come true. This is quite an honour for me.

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