{{Short description|Namibian model}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2021}} {{Infobox pageant titleholder | name=Michelle McLean | photo=Michelle MacLean Conservation Film Foundation.jpg | caption=MacLean in 2021 | title=[[Miss Namibia|Miss Namibia 1991]]<br>[[Miss Universe 1992]] | nationalcompetition=[[Miss Namibia|Miss Namibia 1991]]<br>(Winner)<br>[[Miss World 1991]]<br>(Top 5)<br>[[Miss Universe 1992]]<br>(Winner) | birth_place= [[Windhoek]], [[South West Africa]] (now [[Namibia]]) | birth_name= | birth_date= {{Birth date and age|1972|7|31|df=yes}} | height={{height|ft=6|in=0}} | eye_color= [[Hazel eyes|Hazel]] | hair_color= [[Blond]]e | spouse = {{marriage|Neil Bierbaum||2006|end=divorced}} {{marriage|[[Gary Bailey]]|2013}} | children = 1 | website= {{URL|http://www.mmct.org.na/}} }}
'''Michelle McLean''' (born 31 July 1972) is a [[Namibian]] actress, writer, model and beauty queen who was crowned [[Miss Universe 1992]] in Thailand. McLean was 19 years old when she was crowned Miss Universe, and became the first, and so far only, Namibian woman, as well as the second African one, to win the title. McLean had been crowned [[Miss Namibia|Miss Namibia 1991]] before Miss Universe, and also placed as the fourth runner-up at [[Miss World 1991]].
==Early life== At the age of 13, Michelle McLean entered the world of international modelling, being crowned Miss Namibia in 1991 and reaching the all-time high as Miss Universe, crowned in Bangkok, Thailand, in 1992 - at the age of 19.{{Citation needed|date=January 2026}}
== Pageantry == Michelle McLean began her modeling career at a young age while growing up in Windhoek, Namibia. Before competing in Miss Universe, McLean competed in [[Miss World 1991]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mouton |first=Rinelda |date=2025-02-20 |title=Former Miss Universe Michelle McLean says Nujoma motivated her to be more than a beauty queen |url=https://www.namibian.com.na/former-miss-universe-michelle-mclean-says-nujoma-motivated-her-to-be-more-than-a-beauty-queen/ |access-date=2025-12-03 |website=The Namibian |language=en-GB}}</ref> In the preliminary competition she was tied in second place with a score of 51 along with Miss South Africa, behind the eventual winner, Venezuela's [[Ninibeth Leal]]; McLean eventually finished in the top 5.
McLean was crowned in the 1992 Miss Universe pageant in Bangkok, Thailand. She is the first and only Namibian women to win the Miss Universe title.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Miss Universe {{!}} The Greatest Celebration of Woman |url=https://www.missuniverse.com/ |access-date=2025-12-03 |website=Miss Universe |language=en-US}}</ref> In the [[Miss Universe 1992|1992 Miss Universe]] pageant she finished second in the preliminary with a score of 9.147, right behind [[Carolina Izsak]] of [[Miss Venezuela|Venezuela]], who won all three preliminary competitions. Nonetheless, McLean's warmth and love for children helped clinch the crown over Izsak, [[Paola Turbay]] of [[Miss Colombia|Colombia]], and [[Madhushri Sapre]] of [[Femina Miss India|India]]. ==Life after Miss Universe== After winning Miss Universe, the attention she gained also provided attention for Namibia. This began opening opportunities for her social media presence, her business, as well as philanthropy. Michelle described her experience in pageantry as transformative; it opened many opportunities for her such as helping her establish the Michelle McLean Children Trust in 1992, which supports education as well as community development programs across Namibia.<ref>{{Cite web |title=MMCT |url=https://mmcfnamibia.org/ |access-date=2025-12-03 |language=en-US}}</ref> McLean grew from pageantry to providing for her country. “I am an example of a woman who was destined to be just a beauty queen, but through Sam Nujoma’s guidance I was able to contribute to the upliftment of underserved communities and education for children throughout Namibia since 1992.”<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mouton |first=Rinelda |date=2025-02-20 |title=Former Miss Universe Michelle McLean says Nujoma motivated her to be more than a beauty queen |url=https://www.namibian.com.na/former-miss-universe-michelle-mclean-says-nujoma-motivated-her-to-be-more-than-a-beauty-queen/ |access-date=2025-12-03 |website=The Namibian |language=en-GB}}</ref>
McLean campaigns for charities, notably The Michelle McLean Children Trust in Namibia and the Michelle McLean Primary School, also in Namibia, which has 890 students. The Michelle McLean Children's Trust in Namibia, which focuses on the education and care of under-privileged children, was founded in 1992 and has raised over 50 million dollars to help children in her native Namibia, in Southern Africa.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Michelle McLean University|url=https://michellemcleanuniversity.com/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210417195238/https://michellemcleanuniversity.com/|url-status=usurped|archive-date=17 April 2021|access-date=2021-03-04|website=Michelle McLean University|language=en-US}}</ref>
Michelle was instrumental in bringing the Miss Universe pageant to her country in 1995. In 2009 Michelle co-hosted the Miss World pageant held in South Africa.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://michellemclean.io/|title=Michelle McLean|website=Michelle McLean|language=en-US|access-date=2019-06-04}}</ref> In 2018, McLean formed part of the selection committee of the [[Miss Universe 2018]].
Apart from modeling, Michelle McLean- Bailey has been a professional speaker for over 20 years, and has hosted numerous international events, like the Global Forum, the World Economic Forum, Soccer World Cup, the Louis Vuitton Regatta and Opera at the Pyramids.{{cn|date=December 2025}}
==Personal life==
Michelle married Neil Bierbaum in 1998. They had a son together, Luke McLean Bierbaum in 1999. They divorced in 2006.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Michelle's the one for Riaan!|url=https://www.namibian.com.na/index.php?page=archive-read&id=42563|last=NATASHA|first=UYS|date=2008-02-06|website=The Namibian|language=en|access-date=2020-05-29}}</ref>
Michelle McLean and former [[Manchester United]] goalkeeper [[Gary Bailey]] married on 9 March 2013.<ref name="PEARL COETZEE - WINDHOEK">{{cite news|last=Mclean|first=Michelle|title=Wedding bells for Mclean, Bailey|url=http://sun.com.na/content/national-news/wedding-bells-for-mclean-bailey|access-date=4 October 2012|newspaper=Namibian Sun|date=4 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131218114601/http://sun.com.na/content/national-news/wedding-bells-for-mclean-bailey|archive-date=18 December 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}} {{s-start}} {{s-ach}} {{succession box | before= {{flagicon|Mexico}} [[Lupita Jones]] | title=[[Miss Universe]] | years=[[Miss Universe 1992|1992]] | after= {{flagicon|Puerto Rico}} [[Dayanara Torres]] }} {{succession box | before= Ronel Liebenberg | title=[[Miss Namibia]] | years=[[Miss Namibia#Titleholders|1991]] | after= Anja Schröder }} {{s-end}}
{{Miss Universe titleholders}} {{Miss World 1991 delegates}} {{Miss Universe 1992 delegates}} {{Big Four Pageants titleholders |Year = 1992 |Miss World={{flagicon|Russia}} [[Julia Kourotchkina]] |Miss Universe={{flagicon|Namibia}} '''Michelle McLean''' |Miss International={{flagicon|Australia}} [[Kirsten Davidson]] }} {{Miss Universe Organization titleholders |Year = 1992 |Miss Universe= {{flagicon|Namibia}} '''Michelle McLean''' |Miss USA= {{flagicon|California}} [[Shannon Marketic]] |Miss Teen USA= {{flagicon|Iowa}} [[Jamie Solinger]] }} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:McLean, Michelle}} [[Category:1972 births]] [[Category:Life coaches]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Miss Universe winners]] [[Category:Miss Universe 1992 contestants]] [[Category:Miss World 1991 delegates]] [[Category:Namibian beauty pageant winners]] [[Category:Namibian female models]] [[Category:Namibian people of British descent]] [[Category:People from Windhoek]] [[Category:White Namibian people]] [[Category:Namibian expatriates in South Africa]] [[Category:Namibian expatriates in the United States]]