Eva Ekvall

Eva Ekvall
Beauty pageant titleholder
Born Eva Mónica Anna Ekvall Johnson
March 15, 1983
Caracas, Venezuela
Died December 17, 2011 (aged 28)
Houston, Texas, U.S.
Weight 119 lb (54 kg)
Measurements Bust: 90 cm (35.4 in)
Waist: 60 cm (23.6 in)
Hips: 90 cm (35.4 in)
Hair color Dark Blonde
Eye color Blue/Green
Title(s) Miss Venezuela 2000
Major
competition(s)		 Miss Venezuela 2000
(Winner)
Miss Universe 2001
(3rd Runner-Up)
Spouse John Fabio Bermudez (m. 2007; her death 2011)
Children 1

Eva Mónica Anna Ekvall Johnson (March 15, 1983 – December 17, 2011) was a Venezuelan TV news anchor, author, breast cancer advocate, fashion model, and a former Miss Venezuela. After winning the competition, she had a brief career in television before being diagnosed with advanced breast cancer. She was married to John Fabio Bermudez; the couple had one child before Ekvall's death from the disease in 2011.

Early life

Ekvall was born in Caracas, Venezuela. She was raised in both the United States and Venezuela and was fluent in English and Spanish from childhood. Ekvall attended the Academia Washington of Caracas. Her father, Eric Ekvall, was an American of Swedish and Hungarian descent,[1] who had lived in Venezuela since the early 1980s and worked as a political consultant. Her mother, Dawn Johnson, was born in Jamaica, and once ran a small modelling agency in Alaska, where she met Eva's father.[1][2] Eva grew up with an older brother, Alec, who is a musician.[2]

Career

Aged 17, Ekvall was crowned Miss Venezuela 2000, and the next year was third runner-up in the Miss Universe Pageant. As a Buddhist,[3] she was the first non-Christian to have won the title of Miss Venezuela.

After a brief period as an actress on the Televen TV show Las Rottenmayer, Ekvall went on to earn a degree in journalism from Universidad Santa María in Caracas. Shortly afterwards she joined El Noticiero as a co-anchor for Televen. Ekvall expressed interest in doing radio and could fill in as a temporary host of a radio program on Circuito Onda.[4] She also worked for Sexto Poder newspaper[5] as an online interviewer by means of BBM, the first of its kind on the Venezuelan printed media.

As a model Ekvall was frequently featured in magazines including Sambil and Ocean Drive.[6]

Personal life

Ekvall married radio producer John Fabio Bermúdez in September 2007.[7][8] The couple have one daughter, Miranda, born in July 2009.[9]

Cancer

In February 2010, just months after giving birth to her only child, Ekvall was diagnosed with advanced breast cancer, and underwent eight months of treatment that included chemotherapy, radiotherapy and a double radical mastectomy.[10] She chronicled this experience in a book of photographs, Fuera de Foco (Out of Focus), released on December 2010.[10] She went on to become an advocate for SenosAyuda, a cancer awareness group.

Death

When told to have had a recurrence of her disease Ekvall moved to the United States and checked into University General Hospital in Houston, Texas. Despite the intense medical treatment her health condition began deteriorating and she died in the afternoon of December 17, 2011[11] with her husband and parents by her side. In a statement, Ekvall's family said her remains were to be cremated in Houston.

Ekvall's death brought an outpouring of condolences from Venezuelans, including some prominent artists and politicians. Ekvall's husband posted a photo on Twitter Sunday showing a close-up of his hand holding hers, resting on a hospital bed, with the words "Always together... I love you wife".[12][13][14] On 1 March 2012, her husband established the Eva Ekvall Foundation.

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Patrick J. O'Donoghue (10 September 2000). "'I was born in Venezuela, and feel truly Venezuelan ... but I'm really a citizen of the world'". Vheadline.com. Retrieved 22 March 2011.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Mike Doogan (22 September 2000). "Former Alaskans Produce, Among Other Things, Miss Venezuela". Anchorage Daily News. Retrieved 22 March 2011.
  3. ↑ "Miss Universe 2001 Top 5 – Celina Jaitley". YouTube. 2008-08-01. Retrieved 2011-12-18.
  4. ↑ Diego Soteldo (2011-03-10). "Segunda edición de esta "lectura para el baño"". Circuito Onda. Retrieved 2011-12-21.
  5. ↑ Sexto Poder (2011-12-17). "La última entrevista de Eva Ekvall: El cáncer fue un compañero que me ayudó a vivir distinto". Sexto Poder. Retrieved 2011-12-21.
  6. ↑ Sambil Mall
  7. ↑ "Las confesiones de Eva Ekvall". Noticias24. 30 September 2007. Retrieved 22 March 2011.
  8. ↑ "Despedida de solteros en pareja". El Universal. 16 September 2007. Retrieved 22 March 2011.
  9. ↑ "Eva Ekvall se convirtió en madre". El Universal. 30 July 2009. Retrieved 22 March 2011.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Rory Carroll (20 February 2011). "Venezuelan beauty queen shows a new look: bald and recovering from cancer". The Guardian (London). Retrieved 22 March 2011.
  11. ↑ "Beauty queen dead at 28". Sydney Morning Herald. 19 December 2011. Retrieved 12 January 2014.
  12. ↑ "Eva Ekvall, Miss Venezuela 2000, fallece víctima de un cáncer". Vanitatis. 18 December 2011.
  13. ↑ "A los 28 años, murió la ex Miss Venezuela Eva Ekvall". Perfil.com. 18 December 2011.
  14. ↑ James, Ian (20 December 2011). "Former Miss Venezuela dies of breast cancer at 28". Yahoo. Retrieved 12 January 2014.

External links

Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Canada Kim Yee		 Miss Universe 3rd Runner-Up
2001 		Succeeded by
South Africa Vanessa Carreira
Preceded by
Miranda (state) Martina Thorogood		 Miss Venezuela
2000 		Succeeded by
Caracas Cynthia Lander
Preceded by
Maria Flores		 Miss Apure
2000 		Succeeded by
María Carballo