Mikayla Holmgren is already an Instagram and Facebook celebrity, as well as a veteran of the junior pageant circuit and now, after competing in Miss Minnesota, Mikayla has become the first ever Down Syndrome woman to compete in a Miss Universe pageant.
The 22-year-old is more than just a beauty icon with down’s syndrome; her parents told Fox 9 News she was a born with a serious love of performing arts.
Mikayla is also an accomplished dancer, choreographer and Ambassador for Best Buddies International, a program which helps create a more inclusive world for people with intellectual & developmental disabilities.
This week Mikayla competed in the Miss Minnesota pageant and was given a standing ovation when she won the competition’s Spirit of Miss Minnesota award for her work inspiring just those with Down Syndrome, but all women and girls that nothing can hold them back from reaching their dreams.
Hearing this story, many Australians are no doubt reminded of our own Madeline Stuart, Australia’s first model with Down Syndrome.
Maddy was always set on shaking up industry norms and changing societies view of people with Disabilities, all the while carving out a successful modelling career.
Her mother spoke to Woman’s Day about her daughter’s mission.
“I don’t think Maddy really sees what a disability is,” single mum Rosanne, 43, who raised Maddy in Brisbane’s western suburbs, tells Woman’s Day.
Before adding of her daughter’s sheer will to succeed: “She knows she has Down syndrome, but she doesn’t see herself as any different from other people. So why couldn’t she be a model?”
In 2015 Maddy made her global debut walking at New York’s fashion week.
Maddy has taken the modelling world by storm!
