When Layla Berry walked onto the Miss France 2020 stage in Marseille on December 14, 2019, she wasn’t just representing the Caribbean islands of Saint-Martin and Saint-Barthélemy. She was also juggling a demanding economics degree at Paris’ Sorbonne University—and a career plan that had nothing to do with pageants.
Berry, 19 at the time and listed at 5-foot-9, competed against 29 other contestants for the national crown, which would go to Clémence Botino of Guadeloupe. Berry’s profile, highlighted in a TV Magazine feature during the competition, stood out for its specificity: she said she wanted to become a financial engineer.
That combination—beauty-title visibility paired with an academic track in business strategy and economics—set her apart in a field where many candidates were pursuing management master’s degrees or business schools.
A Sorbonne economics student with a defined target: financial engineering
At the time of Miss France 2020, Berry was enrolled in a bachelor’s program in business strategy and economics at the Sorbonne. The curriculum centers on core building blocks such as microeconomics, corporate finance, and strategy—an intensity that doesn’t always match the public’s stereotypes about pageant contestants.
Berry embraced both worlds. And her stated ambition—financial engineering—signaled a path rooted in applied math, risk modeling, and financial markets rather than a pageant-first trajectory.
One regional title spanning two French Caribbean territories
Berry held the title Miss Saint-Martin and Saint-Barthélemy 2019, a regional competition that combines two separate French overseas collectivities—distinct geographically and administratively, but paired for the national Miss France contest.
Saint-Barthélemy, where Berry has family ties according to business registry data cited in the article, is a small island known for high-end tourism and a particular tax status. Representing both territories at Miss France means carrying a specific Caribbean identity into a national competition dominated by larger regions of mainland France, which naturally draw from a bigger pool of candidates.
The national final in Marseille featured 30 contestants from across France and its overseas territories.
Business registry details point to a family company in Saint-Barthélemy
Official business registry information adds another layer to Berry’s background. A company called Makala, created in March 2018 and headquartered in Grande Saline on Saint-Barthélemy, is registered in the Berry family’s name.
Layla Charlotte Berry is listed as a partner with unlimited liability alongside Stephan Berry, identified as the manager, and Kathleen Blanchard, also listed as a partner with unlimited liability. The company’s legal structure—a general partnership—typically means partners are personally responsible for the firm’s debts, a setup often seen in small, family-run businesses where owners directly shoulder risk.
Pageant exposure—without treating the crown as the end goal
For contestants from France’s overseas territories, Miss France can offer rare national visibility. The 2020 finalists reflected a wide range of backgrounds cited in the article: Miss Tahiti worked as a model; Miss Poitou-Charentes was preparing for a military competition; Miss Rhône-Alpes was pursuing a master’s degree in luxury management.
Berry fit into the group balancing the pageant with a rigorous academic track. Her stated goal of financial engineering—work associated with major banks, funds, and trading floors—suggested a professional plan that didn’t depend on where she placed in the competition.
Miss Guadeloupe, Clémence Botino, ultimately won the Miss France 2020 title. For Berry, the next morning meant a return to the Sorbonne—and to financial equations.
