Phoebe Michaelides on Loss, Renewal, and the Power of Authentic Beauty When Phoebe Michaelides was crowned Miss Cosmo England 2025, she described it as “a surreal but beautiful reminder that we are the authors of our own lives.”
All images on this page – Alan Strutt
In the same glittering evening ceremony held at the Grand Station Woloverhampton, she also won the Miss World England Public Vote, securing her place in the Miss England national finals next month.
A successful evening for Phoebe indeed!
Phoebe with No12Chocolatier who gifted the contestants with hand made chocolates
For Phoebe, the path to this moment has never been about crowns, but about meaning — about what beauty can express, not merely display. A Certified Nutritionist with a BSc in Human Nutrition, now completing her Master’s in Psychology at Queen Mary University of London, she has spent years exploring how science and art together can illuminate the depths of the human experience. Her studies in science and psychology, coupled with her background in performance and storytelling, allow her to bridge intellect and emotion — to ask not just how we live, but why. That question became deeply personal three years ago, when Phoebe lost her mother to an aggressive cancer that spread rapidly to her spine, leading to complete deterioration within just three months of diagnosis. Her mother’s final act — donating her body to medical science — was a gesture of extraordinary courage and generosity that profoundly reshaped Phoebe’s understanding of life, death, and purpose. “Witnessing that act of selflessness changed everything,” she says. “It showed me that love and meaning can survive even in loss, and that the human spirit, though fragile, can also be immeasurably strong.” In the wake of that experience, Phoebe found her purpose: to transform loss into learning, and to study the mind not as an abstract discipline, but as a living expression of resilience.
This philosophy runs through all her work. Her TEDx talk on resilience and modern spirituality first explored how myth and psychology can guide personal renewal. That same thread runs through her award-winning Greek-inspired play Through the Grapevine, which reimagines ancient myth to examine grief, autonomy, and transformation, earning international recognition from the Oniros Film Awards (New York), Best Script Awards (London), and the Greece International Film Festival. In 2025, Phoebe was honoured with a Global Recognition Award for Artistic Excellence, celebrating her contribution to theatre and social impact. She has since completed multiple charity marathons (running 26.2 miles) in her mother’s honour, raising money and awareness for bereavement causes.
Beyond pageantry, Phoebe is developing several creative and philanthropic projects that reflect her belief in beauty as an act of meaning. Among them is Inner Vogue, an evolving editorial initiative exploring beauty as an inner force — where psychology meets glamour and self-awareness. Alongside this, she is shaping The Phoenix Letters, a letter-writing campaign offering words of hope to those navigating loss and major life transitions, and continuing her work as a Certified Nutritionist and emerging psychologist, developing integrative approaches to body image and emotional wellbeing. Together, these projects form part of her broader vision: to unite intellect and empathy, science and art, into a new understanding of strength — one that heals as it inspires.
Phoebe Michaelides by Alan Strutt – Phoebe will be travelling to Vietnam in December for Miss Cosmo International
As the founder of Studio Michaelides Ltd, a creative house uniting psychology, theatre, and philanthropy, Phoebe embodies the ethos of both Miss Cosmo and Miss World — using beauty as a platform for purpose. “To me, impactful beauty begins in self-awareness,” she says. “It’s not about surface perfection, but about coherence — when your inner world and
outer expression align, you create a presence that others can feel.” With both titles now intertwined in her journey, Phoebe’s focus remains on using each platform to champion meaningful beauty. As she prepares to compete nationally at Miss
World England and to represent England internationally at Miss Cosmo 2025, she reflects with quiet optimism:
“If it were to become a double win,” she says, “I’d see it not only as a personal triumph, but as proof that intellect, empathy, and authenticity truly resonate — that beauty – when it carries depth – can lead.”
ENDS
