When we publish these 10 questions, Miss Nederland 2022, Ona Moody, is in New York visiting the Miss Universe organization.
Ona won the most prestigious beauty pageant title on September 4th and since then her live had been like a roller coaster. We saw her already at several movie premieres, on dutch television and so on.
Miss Nederland will travel to St Louis next year, where the finals of Miss Universe will take place.
In her busy schedule, we were lucky enough that Ona could find some time to answer our 10 questions.
Who is Ona Moody?
My name is Ona Moody, I’m 25 years old born on July 29, 1997. I was born in Amsterdam East, and I grew up there with my parents and my older brother. My father is from Zimbabwe and my mother is Dutch.
I grew up in a very warm family, I’m really close with my parents and my brother. I love spending time with them, also with my sister-in-law and my niece. I had a very joyful youth, I always wanted to entertain people. Dancing, singing, acting, I played violin, and I did horseback riding. I continued dancing because I loved doing that the most, during the week I went to school and in the weekends I danced. After four years of high school, I graduated and went to Lucia Marthas Institute for Performing Arts MBO. The course was four years, I was dancing every day. Ballet, tap dance, urban, modern, singing, acting. It was intense but a lot of fun, in my last year of the course I had an internship at a Dinnershow Pandora in Studio 21 in Hilversum. After I graduated, I didn’t know what I wanted to do, I loved dancing, but I was insecure about not being good enough. I was really struggling with myself because I just didn’t know what I wanted to do. Because of a lot of insecurities, I ended up in a depression. Eventually I looked for help because I really wanted to talk to someone who wasn’t in my inner circle. It really helped me, and I got out of the depression. I decided I didn’t want to dance anymore; I didn’t know what I wanted to do yet, so I just started working as a receptionist. During corona I started thinking about my options more, so I decided I wanted to become a maternity nurse. I love children and helping people. Now I’m working as a maternity nurse for two years now, I love doing this because it is a very special time for new parents. So to guide them and help them is a really nice feeling. I also learned a lot about myself, I can observe and sense situations really well. It also helped me with my social skills. Now I’m Miss Universe Netherlands 2022, I’m very excited for this new adventure.
When and why did you enter the world of beauty pageants?
I knew about Miss Netherlands for a couple years, but I was never really into beauty pageants. This year I thought ‘why not?’, I wanted to try something new and start a new adventure. I knew that Miss Netherlands is not about only looks, it is about growing and learning and becoming the best version of yourself. That’s why I wanted to enter.
What was your first thought, when you won Miss Nederland 2022?
I didn’t really understand what was happening, I was laughing and crying at the same time. When the crown was on my head, all I was thinking was ‘oh my god, there is a crown on my head?!’.
Miss Nederland will represent the Netherlands at Miss Universe. How will you prepare for the international pageant?
I’m preparing myself by practicing with my catwalk coach, and with someone who is going to help me with presenting myself in the best way. I’m going to focus mainly on the talking because that is a skill I still need to work on, how to answer the questions etc. but also how to tell your message in the best way. I also want to work out and eat healthy so that I feel good when I go to New Orleans.
Miss Nederland is a rolemodel. What difference would you like to make in the Dutch society, as Miss Nederland?
I’m very open about the things that happened in my life, and the things that I struggle with. I hope that with my vulnerability I inspire people to also talk more about what is going on with them and the things they struggle with. I want to let people know that it’s ok to talk about it, this way we can understand each other better and help each other.
Who is your role model, and what have you learned from this person?
My role model is my mom, she is the strongest person I know. She has been through a lot; she had a brain tumor and a stroke. Because of the stroke half of her body is now paralyzed. This happened when I was two months old, so I only know her like this. I never noticed that she was struggling because she was always so strong for us. She kept going and always worked really hard, she has her own Italian restaurant in Amsterdam which is a big success. I really look up to her because she always stayed positive and did everything she could.
If you could compare yourself to a dance, what dance would that be, and why?
I would compare myself to show ballet dance style, because it is very energetic, happy, fun. It is a mix of everything which I personally really like.
As a maternity care nurse, you take care of new life. What message do you have for the future generation?
Give yourself time to really get to know yourself, get our of your comfort zone once in a while to learn new things and learn about yourself. Self-development is important and your mental health is important, and it is ok to talk about it.
You are the embodiment of diversity in the Netherlands. What lesson would you like to teach people who think otherwise?
It shouldn’t be a lesson, it should be the norm. But if people think otherwise, I will want to show them that I’m proud of both of my heritage. And I don’t want to teach people how to react to that, but I want to start an open conversation about what that means to me and how it is to deal with being treated differently. And how to overcome insecurities. P.s. still work in progress. 😉
What will your legacy be?
I want to be an inspiration for people who think that they will never get through their insecurities. I want to be an example of not knowing what to do with my life and speaking negatively about myself, to someone who knows what her strengths are and accepting herself that she is not perfect. Trusting the process and working on yourself, leads you to the things that are meant for you.
Thank you so much for these great answers!! And for the time you took to show us some more about Ona. Thank you Monica from Miss Nederland for your support for Miss Holland Now.
Photo credits:
Glamour photos: William Rutten
Final pictures: Robin@MissHollandNow
6 queens: Hylke Greidanus
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