Nadeen Ayoub

Nadeen Ayoub (; born August 23, 1998) is a Palestinian model, and beauty pageant titleholder. As Miss Universe Palestine 2025, she was the first representative of Palestine at Miss Universe 2025, where she reached the top 30. She was previously crowned Miss Earth – Water in Miss Earth 2022, becoming the first Palestinian to win the title.

Early life and education Ayoub was born on August 23, 1998, in Michigan, United States, to Palestinian parents. Her family moved there to treat her epileptic brother. Her mother was born in Hebron, while her father was born in Nablus to parents who were forced to flee from Jaffa and Ramle in 1948; they met during their studies at An-Najah University and later settled in Ramallah. as well as volunteering with United for Humanity and the Palestine Children's Relief Fund. In her answer, she highlighted the "ignorance and selfishness of people", which she cited as the cause of environmental catastrophes and sought to correct through an "educational campaign with governmental and non-governmental organizations in Palestine".

Miss Universe 2025

Following Miss Earth, Ayoub was called for a modeling session at a fashion show in Italy; there, representatives from the Miss Sweden organization noticed her and helped her establish the Miss Universe Palestine organization. With the announcement, Ayoub stated that she was to compete in Miss Universe after Miss Earth, having won in 2022, but her participation was delayed after the outbreak of the Gaza war. The Miss Universe Organization welcomed her participation as part of its efforts in "celebrating diversity, cultural exchange, and the empowerment of women".

The announcement received significant international attention in the press due to its timing amid the Gaza war. Marni Rose McFall of Newsweek deemed her participation significant because of her stated mission to "challenge perceptions of Palestinians and empower women and children" amid heavy casualties in the Israeli bombing and invasion of the Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, Ritu Singh of NDTV questioned Ayoub's appointment and expressed skepticism over the dearth of biographical information about her online. For the contest, Ayoub planned to wear designs from Palestinian and International designers to express her Palestinian identity.

During the opening ceremony, media outlets noted the perceived animosity of Melanie Shiraz of Israel toward Ayoub, an observation Shiraz denied but was criticized for online. According to Ayoub, Shiraz had repeatedly tried to take a picture besides her with an Israeli flag.

Personal life Ayoub describes herself as a "Palestinian international citizen", splitting her time between Ramallah, Amman, and Dubai. Her parents live in Canada and she has family across the West Bank and Jordan.

According to Middle East Eye (MEE), Ayoub was subjected to online harassment and personal attacks from pro-Israel groups following her interview with the outlet in December 2025. Betar USA and StopAntisemitism had focused on her previous marriage to Sharaf Barghoutithe son of Palestinian political leader Marwan Barghouti, who has been imprisoned in an Israeli jail since 2002, and whom Ayoub had described as someone that Palestinians are proud of and "a peace symbol". MEE compared the personal remarks against Ayoub with those StopAntisemitism had made about children's content creator Ms. Rachel.