Miss Germany Contest Held for the First Time Without Age Limits: 42-Year-Old Contestants in the Finals

A Miss Germany contestant from Hamburg wrote to the organisers to ask if the age limit for the Miss Germany election could be revised. A year later, this woman was already among the contestants.

Although she was not allowed to participate a year ago, now Mignon Kovollik (42) from Hamburg is now among the ten finalists for the Miss Germany title. 

As Max Klemmer, Managing Director of Miss Germany Studios, told German journalists, the previous age limit of 39 years has been lifted. 

"I wrote an email asking if you would like to reconsider it," Kovollik, who works as a sex counsellor and presenter, told dpa, referring to the current age limit. 

The youngest contestant in this year's final is Adwoa Avua (22) from Essen. The minimum age for participation in the competition is 18. 

Like last year, the winner will receive the Female Leader Award. It comes with a cash prize of €25,000. 

Miss Germany used to be a bikini contest on the catwalk. A few years ago, the organisers initiated a change of image. Since 2019, the contestants' personalities and willingness to take responsibility have been taken into account. According to the organisers, this time around 15,000 women applied. 

One of the finalists is Tamara Schwab (31) from Roth, Bavaria. According to her own words, she has been living with a donor heart for two and a half years. Tamara Schwab is a young, athletic, determined woman. She was in the middle of her life, in her early 20s, when two cardiac arrests suddenly tore her out of it. What followed was an odyssey of visits to the doctor, surgeries and setbacks. Finally, a heart transplant took place. With a donor heart, she began a second life.

"I can live a normal life again," she said. 

Since then, she has been involved in organ donation. Today, she is in the final of the Miss Germany pageant with her heartbreaking story and could win the title in Roth at home on 24 February.

Christina Modrzejewski (28) from Dinslaken is struggling with a difficult challenge: in 2021, she developed a rare autoimmune disease. The trained nurse relies on a wheelchair and electronic orthoses. The orthoses can be used, among other things, to stabilise damaged joints, immobilise limbs and correct poor posture.

On Saturday, 24 February, the new Miss Germany will be crowned at the Europa-Park in Rust, South Baden.