Sonia Rolland

Sonia Rolland (born 11 February 1981) is a French actress who was Miss France 2000. She was the first African-born winner of the Miss France pageant. Born in Kigali, Rwanda, to a Rwandan mother and a French father, Rolland and her family fled the country due to safety concerns with the Rwandan genocide instigating, especially since her mother is Tutsi. In 1990 they moved to the neighboring country of Burundi. With the growing unrest that led to the Burundi Civil War, they moved to France in 1994. At the age 13, Rolland settled with her family in Burgundy in the small town of Cluny. In October 1999, Sonia Rolland won the "Miss Burgundy" beauty contest that allowed her to compete for the Miss France 2000 title and at the age of 18 she was the first woman of African descent to win. At the Miss Universe 2000 pageant, which took place in Cyprus, Rolland was a top 10 semi-finalist, placing 9th...