Oleksandra Nikolayenko

Oleksandra Nikolayenko-Ruffin (Ukrainian: Олександра Ніколаєнко; born 3 July 1981 in Budapest, Hungary) is a Ukrainian actress, model and beauty pageant titleholder.

Education

edit

She studied at the Odesa National Law Academy, and worked for Savrox Models Agency in Odesa.[1] She takes an active part in charitable projects. She speaks Ukrainian, Russian and English.

Pageantry

edit

She held the "Miss Odesa", "Miss Ukraine South", "Miss Ukraine", "Miss Student", "Miss Tourism-Europe", "First vice-Miss Tourism-Planet", "Miss American Dream" and "Miss Tourism International" titles. She represented Ukraine at Miss World 2001 and placed among the top ten. Later, she was the 2004 Miss Ukraine Universe winner and represented Ukraine at Miss Universe 2004 in Ecuador 2004. She has received more beauty awards than any other woman in Ukraine. She was invited to judge the Miss Universe 2005 finals in Thailand.

Life after pageants

edit

Donald J. Trump introduced then-72-year old Phil Ruffin, to Oleksandra Nikolayenko — like Melania Trump, a much younger former model. The couple were married in 2008[2] at Mar-a-Lago, Trump's private club in Palm Beach, Florida, with him as best man. The men's wives are quite close, Ruffin has said, “like peas in a pod.”[3]

They have two children: Richard William Ruffin (born April 2010)[4] and daughter Malena (born 2013).[5] She is currently the National Director Chairman of Miss Ukraine Universe.

She also designed the "Oleksandra Spa & Salon" at the Treasure Island Hotel and Casino in Paradise, which is owned by her husband.

References

edit
  1. ^ Oleksandra Nikolaenko. Miss Tourism World - 2002 Welcome to Ukraine.
  2. ^ "Phil Ruffin - An American business success story". Hotel & Resort Insider. Archived from the original on 17 August 2016. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  3. ^ Craig, Susanne; McIntire, Mike; Buettner, Russ (9 October 2020). "Trump's Taxes Show He Engineered a Sudden Windfall in 2016". The New York Times.
  4. ^ Wichita Eagle: "Vegas a comfortable fit for Phil Ruffin's billions" BY ROY WENZL AND TRAVIS HEYING Archived 2012-11-08 at the Wayback Machine 25 April 2010.
  5. ^ Las Vegas Journal-Review: "Ruffin, Trump pals in business, leisure" by NORM CLARKE 24 February 2013.
Preceded by
Olena Shcherban
Miss Ukraine
2001
Succeeded by
Iryna Udovenko
Preceded by
Lilja Kopytova
Miss Ukraine Universe
2004
Succeeded by
Juliya Chernyshova