Marlenne Garcia is not your typical pageant girl, with a degree in international trade law from Arizona State University before stepping into the pageant world, she’s got both the beauty and the brains.
Born in Texas and raised in Mexico, she’s a multilingual graduate with an MBA who is redefining what it means to be a modern pageant girl.
Her passion for modeling and pageantry wasn’t always there. In her childhood, early industry standards seemed to prioritize one type of model: skinny, tall, and white, so she never believed she could fit the mold.
“Back in the day, the standards were more rigid,” Garcia said. “You had to be super tall; you had to be super skinny…”
Despite early restrictive industry standards, though, Garcia started embracing the evolving landscape of diversity and inclusivity in pageantry and modeling as she grew older.
“Now, the standards are changing, especially in beauty pageants – they are more inclusive. You don’t need to be the tallest one, you don’t need to be the skinniest one,” Garcia said.
Garcia wants to continue seeing diverse faces and voices in the modeling and pageantry world, and she encourages girls who want to get started in the industry to never give up, “If someone isn’t able to see how valuable you are, someone else will,” Garcia said.
Being Mexican-American, Garcia expressed how important it is to her to see different cultures participating in pageants and modeling, and she strongly supports the increase of globalization for all.
“Globalization is the answer for removing the ugly sides that some people show, like racism, discrimination, bullying,” Garcia said. “Everybody has a very different glow.”
What made her truly believe that she could make a career out of pageantry was winning the title of Miss Biltmore in 2024. For those outside of Arizona, the Arizona Biltmore is a place for socialites, presidents, dignitaries and the elite from every generation to have a chance to escape with access to the Arizona Canal Trail, to spas and to luxury shops selling designer clothing. So, Garcia expressed that winning the title of Miss Biltmore was a huge deal.
One of the most pivotal moments in her career, however, came when she was invited to attend the Cannes Film Festival, where she felt seen and encouraged by industry professionals who saw her potential. Garcia got a chance to speak with agents, directors, actors and even royalty! Since then, she’s been strategically building her career and finding sponsors so she can walk in Paris Fashion week for the Spring/Summer 2026 collection this September.
Garcia continues to prove that ambition, cultural awareness and authenticity are true markers in society today, and she hopes that more people get to realize their own greatness.
“Everybody’s a queen, even though you don’t have a physical crown,” Garcia said.
