“1.80 m and always in heels. » It was before she was Miss, and on her Instagram account, Mélissa Atta Bessiom encouraged grown-ups to be as feminine as they want. For her, it wasn't always easy. “In college, people told me: You're too big. I had a size 43 and people made fun of my boy's shoes. I grew up in Angers, a city where there were very few mixed race people. I also had a lot of comments about my hair, not straight enough…” explains this daughter of an Angevine and a Cameroonian, born in London.
She now plays with everything from a haircut, afro or not, to her outfits in every color. In her photos before Miss, Mélissa sometimes plays the bombshell, poses with her fiancé, who is also very flashy. The latest images remain very fashionable, magnificent blues, flamboyant swimsuits. She loves her body, glows and shapes herself.
And when we talk about her job, her studies, she shuts you up. It's not too hard, preparing for Miss France? “After doing a prep class, everything suits me. Nothing will be that hard,” she bursts out laughing. And the speech, not stressful? “I lead meetings in English in front of fifty people,” she smiles. And survived eight major oral exams for the eight business schools she applied to. So the jury, don't even be afraid!
“I am where I am not expected”
Project manager in artificial intelligence, the young woman works for the luxury house Louis Vuitton. Just after his regional election, these were practically his first words in the local press: “I have to prevent my work!” » After Télécom SudParis, a major digital engineering school, it focuses on AI, which often scares: “At the heart of this innovation unit at Louis Vuitton, my role is to help and reassure companies on these new territories. »
During confinement, she studied in Taiwan. “I have never experienced this confinement. Everything was open there,” she remembers with surprise. Why become Miss in such a full, successful life? “I am where I am not expected. And little Mélissa who didn't have confidence in herself and admired Flora Coquerel (Miss France 2014, mixed race of Franco-Beninese origin) would be very happy.”
Former volleyball player in the Espoirs pole (one of the Creps sectors, the Resource Centers of Expertise and Sports Performance), captain in Angers, she has “the soul of a competitor”. Finale this December 14, where from the height of her height of one meter and eighty, she will shine more than ever.
