MONTREAL – Studying Theater and Film at York University in Toronto, Alexia Antonio is a sophomore, and her goal is to become a successful actress. She speaks fluent Greek, her family is from Rhodes, and she was crowned Miss Teenage Toronto 2017, aspiring to win the Miss Teenage Canada title in the competition scheduled for Sunday, August 13.

Antonio is officially the most beautiful teenager in the province of Ontario. With her Mediterranean beauty, her passion for the performing arts, sports and volunteering, she won the competition. Her career path, she says, focuses primarily on the dramatic arts, “which have always been and remain my passion.”

The 19-year-old Alexia, whose full last name is Hatziantoniou, plays piano, and her hobbies include swimming, reading, and studying of classic plays – mainly by Shakespeare. A member of York University’s fencing team, she hopes to make it to the Olympic Games.

Alexia said in a blog post, “Fencing is physically and mentally demanding – the main reasons why I love it so much. It’s pretty cool to also hold a sword! It’s very empowering, especially for women! My dream and future goal is to compete in the Olympics for Team Canada!”

Dedicated to volunteering, Alexia wrote in her blog, “As Miss Teenage Toronto 2017 I aim to increase awareness and raise money for research for the fight against breast cancer. I would like to empower women going through the toughest battle of lives; to give them strength; to give all women strength; to encourage women to support other women; to be united; to be confident; to never give up; to believe; TO BE FEARLESS.”

To this end, she has already created an online donation platform for those who wish to contribute.
She said, “I cannot begin to express enough how honored and excited I am to represent my hometown of Toronto and begin this journey with you! Competing in the Provincial pageants was an experience that I will cherish forever. Meeting such wonderful, kind and welcoming ladies from all parts of Ontario was such a heart filling experience that I will bring along with me to the Miss Teenage Canada Pageant.”

Alexia also dances Greek traditional dances and is proud of her Greek cultural identity. Another of her interests is photography.

On the Miss Teenage Toronto 2017 website, she reveals that in her high school years she often felt “left out” and had been victimized by bullying.

However, with the help of her family and friends, she managed to overcome this traumatic experience and devote herself to excelling at her studies. Her collection of photographs is titled Light through the Darkness, based precisely on that difficult time in her life.

“Through photography I expressed the message of hope and strength using color techniques. The colors represented hope and it breaking through all darkness,”Alexia said