Daria Varlamova crowned Miss Universe Australia 2021

Daria Varlamova was crowned Miss Universe Australia 2021 during a virtual ceremony, held on October 19. It’s a back-to-back win for the state of Victoria. The 26-year-old Russian-born, Western Australia-bred and Melbourne-based psychotherapy student will represent the nation at the 70th Miss Universe competition in Eilat, Israel in December. She suceeds Miss Universe Australia 2020 Maria Thattil, who also represented Victoria.

She is working as a student advisor at a university and is currently working towards her Master of Counselling degree. As a mental health advocate, she was named one of Yahoo Finance’s Top 21 Health and Wellness Influencers for 2021. She is also writing a book to help people manage and take control of their anxiety.

Varlamova is not a stranger to pageantry. She finished fourth runner-up in last year’s Miss Universe Australia competition.

The 2021 Miss Universe Asutralia’s court includes Mia Brooks and Jasmine Stringer as first and second runners-up, respectively. Ally Draper and Tiana Meehan were third and fourth runners-up, respectively.