Eve is the apple of judges’ eyes at beauty contest

The 13-year-old now goes forward to represent Northern Ireland in the Face of the World pageant in Disneyland Paris in November.

The Lurgan Junior High School pupil told the ‘MAIL’: “It was an amazing experience. Whenever I got placed in the top 15 I was happy, excited and surprised because I was so young. I was in the 13 to 17 category so I thought the winner would be at least 15.

“It was amazing when my name was called. I couldn’t describe the mix of emotions.

“I’m very excited about going to Disneyland, but very nervous at the same time.”

In Paris Eve will compete against other teens from across the world from countries including the UK, USA, Russia and across Europe.

In taking part in the NI pageant Eve raised money for Headway Newry and Headway East Kent. She’s hoping to attract sponsorship ahead of the Disney showpiece.

Her mum Natasha said: “This has been only her second pageant. I entered her into Teen Face Of NI last year as a surprise and we were stunned when she got through to the finals. She enjoyed last year so much she nagged me to let her do it again - but we never thought she would win it.

“She just enjoys taking part, doing something good for charity and getting the chance to be a princess and dress up for the day.”

Eve said: “I really want to be in the West End. It’s always been a dream of mine since I was eight.”

Eve also competed in a UK wide pageant this summer called Junior Miss Teen Great Britain.

She was the only finalist selected from Northern Ireland and she was placed in the top 10 overall out of 42 finalists and hundreds of applications from across the UK.

Eve is a past pupil of Waringstown Primary School. She studies ballet, modern, tap and lyrical dance and attends Donna Whitten Dance Studio in Portadown. She is also a trained singer, having recently passed her Grade Five Music Theatre exam with a distinction. Her teacher is Christine Fairley. She is a former pupil of Shelley Lowry Speech and Drama group.