Biography

Valérie Bègue (born 26 September 1985) is a French reality television personality and beauty pageant titleholder who won Miss 2008, representing Réunion island, an overseas department of located in the Indian Ocean. Bègue is the first Miss from Réunion island since Monique Uldaric, who was elected in 1976.

Two weeks after she was crowned Miss , pictures of Bègue taken before her election, fully clothed but in suggestive poses on rather tame pictures, were released by French tabloid "Entrevue". The President of the Miss contest, Geneviève de Fontenay, went on French radio to insist that Valérie Bègue should step down and return her crown, or that she would be forcibly disqualified. Fontenay told reporters that if Endemol, the production company which owns the Miss contest, disagreed with her decision, she would stand down as president.

On a previous occasion, Fontenay had obtained the temporary suspension of Miss 2004, Lætitia Bléger, for much more suggestive pictures published in the French edition of Playboy magazine, as a Miss winner is contractually obligated not to pose for controversial pictures for five years after winning the title and an entrant in the Miss contest must state that she has never posed for nude or partially nude pictures beforehand.

Valérie Bègue took some time to reflect on her decision, and finally decided that she would not stand down voluntarily, explaining that the set of pictures in question were test shots and that she had not authorized their publication. Fontenay was accused of racism and of not wanting a non-French Miss , after she said that Bègue should stay in Réunion. A public apology was then demanded by people from the island, including a member of the ruling Union for a Popular Movement.

On 28 December 2007, Fontenay announced that Bègue would be allowed to remain as Miss 2008, as long as she did not take part in any international contests. Fontenay said she had based this position on the fact that the general public, who had helped to choose Bègue as Miss , had no idea these pictures existed, and that their existence barred Bègue from international competitions, arguing that she did not want such pictures to give a false image of .

Bègue's first runner-up was Vahinerii Requillart, who represented the island of New Caledonia, another overseas territory of , which is located in the Pacific Ocean. As a result, the top two finalists of the 2008 Miss pageant originated from overseas departments of .

Valérie Bègue is involved in programmes against breast cancer and genetic diseases. She participated in Danse avec les stars, the French version of Dancing with the Stars.

In 2011, Valérie Bègue was a contestant on the second season of Danse avec les stars – the French version of Dancing with the Stars. She was partnered with professional dancer Grégory Guichard. On October 22, 2011, were eliminated finishing 7th out of 9 contestants.

Bègue was married to Camille Lacourt, a French Olympic swimmer, in August 2008. She has a daughter. Lacourt and Bègue divorced in 2016.

Source: Article "Valérie Bègue" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.