Rima Fakih Profile - Lebanese Pride
Fakih was born in Srifa, a small city in the Jabal Amel region of Southern Lebanon, to a powerful Shi'a Muslim family. As a young child, she lived in the village of Souk El Gharb in Mount Lebanon, and attended St. Rita's, a Catholic school near Beirut.
In 1993, her parents, Hussein and Nadia Fakih,
moved their family to New York in order to escape effects of the Lebanese Civil War.
Fakih attended St. John's Preparatory School, a Catholic high school in Queens,
and her father ran a restaurant in Manhattan.
In New York, Fakih's family felt they were subjected to threats and vandalism based on events in the Middle East, and business at her father's restaurant declined following the September 11, 2001, attack
In 2003, her family moved to the large Arab-American community in Dearborn, Michigan.
Fakih and her family are Muslim, but they also celebrate elements of Christianity, such as Christmas.
Fakih resides in Dearborn.
She graduated from Henry Ford Community College, went on to earn degrees in economics and business management from the University of Michigan–Dearborn, and plans to attend law school after her year-long reign.
She has a sister, who returned to live in Lebanon, and two brothers.
Prior to winning the Miss USA title she worked as a sales associate at the Detroit Medical Center, developing and recruiting in the Arab American community
.
She is currently dating Ricky Romero, a starting pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays
Miss Lebanon Emigrant
In 2008, Fakih was selected to represent Michigan in the Miss Lebanon Emigrant competition.
The event is part of the Miss Lebanon pageant, and is open to young women who are Lebanese or of Lebanese origin, living in countries of the overseas Lebanese community.
Fakih placed third in the contest, held August 13 in Batroun, Lebanon, finishing behind Carina El Kaddissi of Brazil and Jessica Kahawaty of Australia
Miss USA
Fakih won the Miss Michigan USA pageant on September 19, 2009 at the McMorran Place Theater Port Huron. In May 2010 she represented Michigan at the Miss USA 2010 pageant held at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. She won the Miss USA title on May 16, 2010, becoming the first Miss Michigan USA to win the national title since Kenya Moore in 1993.
During and after the Miss USA pageant, Fakih's religious and ethnic identity became the subject of widespread discussion. On the subject of identity, she was quoted as saying "I'd like to say I'm American first, and I am an Arab-American, I am Lebanese-American, and I am Muslim-American
