A student in aerospace engineering who was picked on because she had ginger hair is named Miss England 2022. A student with long ginger hair who was picked on at school because of it is the first redhead to ever win the Miss England crown.
Jessica Gagen, who is 26 years old, stole the prize from 30 other beauty queens at a fancy event in Birmingham this week.
The aerospace engineering student will now go to the Miss World competition to represent England.
The Lancashire woman said that she was picked on at school because of her copper-colored hair, and she decided to talk about it.
“I was made fun of for being a redhead all through high school,” she said.
“I didn’t talk about it much during last year’s competition because I’m a big believer in leaving the past in the past. However, since there’s never been a red-haired Miss England, I think it’s important to let people know what redheads go through in school and give kids who are going through the same things I did the power to stand up for themselves.”
The stunning 26-year-old woman said that many times people called her names, hit her, spat on her, and threw things at her head.
“The worst thing that ever happened was when a girl burned me because I had ginger hair.”
But she got the last laugh when she was signed by several modeling agencies when she turned 18 and started walking on catwalks around the world.
The 26-year-old from Skelmersdale also said that she entered the Miss England pageant to try to get more students interested in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).
“By running for Miss England last year and again this year, my goal is to get more girls interested in STEM fields,” she said.
“But when I realized that there had never been a redhead winner, I thought there weren’t that many redheads on TV.”
She added: “I think it would be great if someone with red hair were in that kind of position. Even last year, Miss World didn’t have a single redhead.”
The beautiful science student is the first redhead in the 94-year history of Miss England to win.
Gagen also said that while she was on stage, she showed all the ginger kids how it was done.
The British beauty said, “I thought that if I won, I could help kids who are being picked on because of how they look or the color of their hair.”
“It’s nice to be able to stand up for the younger kids and tell them, “I’ve been there, and you can use what I went through to get better.” Use it as your secret weapon.”
