About
Anne-Julia Hagen is a German model and beauty-pageant titleholder born on 22 May 1990 in Berlin. She first caught national attention when she earned the Miss Germany crown in 2010 and later added the Miss Universe Germany title in 2013, giving her the chance to represent her country on the global Miss Universe stage in Moscow that same year. Although the international jury did not advance her to the Top 16, her confident walk, effortless smile, and down-to-earth interviews impressed viewers worldwide. After the pageant spotlight, she broadened her résumé by stepping onto American television as briefcase model #23 on CNBC’s reboot of Deal or No Deal in 2018, blending her academic curiosity with show-business polish.
Before Fame
Growing up in the German capital, Anne-Julia balanced school with piano lessons, figure skating, and an early fascination for literature—an interest that later steered her toward humanities. She enrolled at the University of Potsdam to study English and American Studies alongside Cultural Studies, eventually focusing her coursework on Military Studies. Friends recall her treating pageant prep like a university project: flash-cards for posture cues, late-night language drills, and a stack of classic novels tucked beside runway shoes. Before her national win, she held the regional sash of Miss Berlin 2009, which served as a springboard to Miss Germany. By the time she walked onto the Europa-Park stage in Rust in February 2010, she had already perfected the “confident but kind” presence that judges repeatedly praised.
Trivia
- Serial scholar: While many contestants pause academics during pageant seasons, Anne-Julia kept studying—and as of 2018 she had started an individualized Ph.D. pathway, diving into the intersection of culture and conflict studies.
- Polyglot flair: Fluent in German and English with conversational French, she often jokes that finding the perfect word in three languages can make an Instagram caption take hours.
- Runway to game-show stage: Her stint on Deal or No Deal wasn’t merely a cameo—fans quickly associated Case 23 with her bright grin and academic fun-facts, earning her a small cult following among trivia-loving viewers.
- Height advantage: Standing about 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in), she jokes that she’s “tall enough for the catwalk and short enough to borrow her friends’ jeans.”
- Gemini energy: Born under the sign of the Twins, she credits her adaptable personality to a star chart that “never lets things get boring.”
Family Life
Anne-Julia keeps her immediate family out of the tabloids, yet interviews reveal strong support behind the scenes. Her parents encouraged both her academic ambitions and her pageant pursuits, seeing the latter as an exercise in discipline rather than vanity. She often reminisces about Sunday breakfasts in Berlin where discussions bounced between poetry readings and world news headlines. Though her schedule includes trans-Atlantic flights and photo shoots, she still calls Berlin home and frequently returns for family barbecues in the summer. A younger brother—described by her as “the taller sibling who skips hair-spray but never a soccer match”—cheers her on via group-chat whenever a new project drops. These quiet anchors, she says, keep her grounded amid the spotlight.
Associated With
Competing at Miss Universe 2013 placed Anne-Julia alongside future industry icons. Venezuelan delegate Gabriela Isler ultimately claimed the crown at that event and later headed the Miss Venezuela organization, a journey Anne-Julia cites as “proof that pageants can blossom into powerful leadership roles.” Earlier winner Olivia Culpo—who passed on the title that night—served as another example of translating pageant fame into multimedia success. In her television chapter, Anne-Julia followed a path once walked by Meghan Markle, Chrissy Teigen, and other Deal or No Deal alumnae who leveraged a numbered briefcase into broader creative careers. She often notes that friendly backstage chats with such peers remind her how the beauty circuit is less rivalry and more rotating mentorship: “Someone’s always one step ahead to offer advice, and you’re always one step ahead for the next newcomer.”
