Jacksonville 13-year-old Yan Ning Chen is taking home an international pageant crown—and a much bigger microphone for a message about healing. She won the International United Miss Pre-Teen 2026–27 title in Orlando, pairing a polished pageant victory with a platform built from her own mental-health journey.
Chen was crowned at the International United Miss pageant in Orlando, according to The Florida Times-Union. The outlet reports she was born in the Netherlands, raised in the United States and comes from a Chinese family—an international backstory for a title now headed back to Northeast Florida.
Her Crown Comes With A Cause
A profile shared by Grand ICONIC Miss says Chen founded Hair We Go, a platform rooted in her experience with trichotillomania, and uses Hair We Go Talks, Turn-A-Page Tuesday and H.E.R.O.I.C. Diaries to encourage healing and self-confidence. The profile also describes her journey through social anxiety, personal loss and self-doubt.
The National Library of Medicine’s MedlinePlus describes trichotillomania as hair loss linked to repeated urges to pull or twist hair. That makes Chen’s advocacy notably personal rather than a generic pageant talking point.
Chen Has Already Built A Pageant Résumé
The new international title follows earlier success on the pageant circuit. The Bolles School reported in 2025 that Chen had been crowned National American Miss Florida Pre-teen Queen after a July 23 state competition in Orlando, where she also earned honors including Spokesmodel, Top Model, Fun Fitness and Actress Winner.
Now Chen’s story reaches beyond the usual crown-and-sash photo op. The Florida Times-Union reports that her platform is based on her own mental-health journey, giving the new reign a clear local angle: a Jacksonville teenager using an international stage to make an often-hidden struggle easier to discuss.
For Jacksonville, the result is a hometown titleholder whose pageant résumé is growing alongside a message about resilience. The crown may be the shiny part, but Chen’s bigger challenge will be keeping that conversation going after the photos are packed away.
