Born July 18, 1998
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Alma mater Duke University
University of Southern California
Home town Temecula, California, U.S.
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Title Miss Universe Albania 2019
Beauty pageant titleholder
Hair color Blonde
Eye color Blue
Marina was born on July 18, 1998 in Chicago, Illinois to Albanian parents Ardian and Kristina Marina from Shkodër. She was named after Cindy Crawford. Her father played collegiate football in Albania, while her mother was a professional volleyball player in Albania and Italy. She has two brothers. When Marina was seven years old, the family moved from Chicago to Temecula, California. She attended Great Oak High School in Temecula, graduating in 2016. After finishing high school, Marina attended Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, but transferred to the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California for her sophomore year. She is a member of the Pi Beta Phi sorority.
Marina began playing volleyball in her youth. She was a setter on her high school team, where she was a California state nominee for Gatorade Player of the Year in volleyball. After graduating from high school, Marina joined the Duke Blue Devils women's volleyball, and was named to the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) All-Freshman Team. For her sophomore year, Marina left Duke and began playing for the USC Trojans women's volleyball team. She joined the Albania women's national volleyball team in 2015, and led the team to a third-place finish in the Silver League during the 2018 Women's European Volleyball League in Hungary. At 17 years old, Marina became the youngest person to ever play for the Albanian national team.
Marina began modeling at age 14. Her career in modeling began after being recruited by fashion designer Ema Savahl to model her dresses; Savahl is a friend of Marina's mother. She began her pageantry career in 2019, competing in the Miss Universe Albania 2019 competition. She went on to win the competition on June 7, 2019, becoming the first American-born woman to ever win the title.
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