Miriam Odemba

Miriam Odemba (born 19 February 1982) (from Arusha, Tanzania) is a Tanzanian model and beauty pageant titleholder. She started her modeling career at an early age and gained fame when she won the Miss Temeke title in 1997. The following year, aged 19, she took part in the Miss East Africa 1998 pageant and in the modeling competition M-Net Face of Africa 1998, becoming a runner up. She later participated in the 1999 Elite Model Look contest and Miss Earth 2008 where she was crowned as Miss Earth – Air 2008.

At 13, her life was tough and her parents had to move to their uncle's. She always wondered what life was all about then. As she grew older, she perceived God's message of love and started appreciating everything around her, especially the nature, God's greatest gift.

The path to success for Miriam started back in 1997 when she first competed in a local beauty pageant Miss Temeke, aged 17. She went on to compete nationally for the Miss Tanzania crown but ended up in the Top 10 and was not able to win the crown. The Story behind, was she was looking tall, beautiful and matured enough, but not yet 18, thus, after some carefully consideration, was not eligible to contend for Miss Tanzania. In the Top-10 list, her name was eliminated before the finals. (Regardles as only few knew this incident then, until discussed later by herself in a media Interview at Wasafi FM Radio on 2021). However this was not the end but the beginning for her who tried her luck at several beauty pageants including Miss East Africa in 1998. However Miriam Odemba got her break at the end of 1998 when she took part in an African regional model search – Mnet Face of Africa 1998 and becoming one of the runners-up. In 1999, aged about 20, she was selected as Elite Model Look Tanzania, and competed at Elite Model Look 1999 in Nice, France placing among the Top 17 and also got an exclusive contract with Elite Model Management in New York city. However, due to personal problems and the sudden loss of her manager Amina Mongi, her contract with Elite ended up without implementation.

This was the beginning of success at such a young age into beauty pageant, as the contesting competition in Nice, France summoned all of the best looks in the same year, a model competition to winning contracts for models in the world. it was the second ever competition, as it was premiered in a previously year.

Miriam struck out on a new path in entertainment and worked briefly in modeling and dancing in China and she also took part in the Miss Kite beauty pageant in 2001. Despite Not winning, she later she launched her modeling career in Europe and Asia.