Standing tall in a figure-revealing dress, the newly crowned Miss Maltese Islands, Joyce Gatt, seems oblivious to the impact that her striking looks have on others.
Though she is unsure of her exact height, she is over 5' 10" and with the vital statistics of 90-60-90, Joyce is every modelling agency's dream.
"Height is an advantage in any beauty competition, but it's certainly not everything," the 18-year-old beauty said in a calm voice.
Joyce is lucky to be blessed with a fast metabolism and unlike most models, who often starve themselves to stay trim, she can never say no to food - be it chocolate, salad or chips.
Though she is happy to have been chosen Miss Maltese Islands from among 25 contestants on Saturday, her excitement is muted by the confidence she has gained in the past from doing photo shoots and fashion shows abroad.
The contest, which was held at the New Dolmen Hotel, Qawra, was organised by Modelle International which is run by former beauty models Sue Rossi and Claudia Calleja.
Joyce will now go on to represent Malta in the Miss World International Beauty Pageant being held in Nigeria on November 30, competing against 107 other beauties from around the world.
Coming from a modest background, Joyce never had any aspirations for modelling - and even less to take part in beauty competitions.
Her life changed course when at 14 she went shopping to Hot Couture. Her flawless complexion coupled with her sleek and sinuous figure caught the eye of Marisa Grima, sales and marketing manager at Hot Couture.
"I remember Marisa asking me to give her my particulars and I immediately thought the shop would be a nice place to work in. I was quite taken aback when she asked me to model because modelling had never crossed my mind," she said.
Joyce had absolutely no experience and she was a bundle of nerves when she went for her first fashion show.
"I had no idea how I was supposed to walk or move, but Marisa immediately put me at ease and told me to be natural - I never looked back," she said, her pouty lips stretching to a warm smile.
Two years later, Joyce was encouraged to enter the Miss Maltese Beauty competition and after placing first she flew to Munich where she was chosen as the second runner-up for the Miss Model of the World Contest.
Her placing paved the way for numerous contacts and she was signed up with the modelling agency Style. Soon after, she was travelling abroad to do photo shoots for magazines and modelling for French designers.
Joyce's family was initially reluctant to let the youngest of their brood travel abroad unaccompanied to honour these contracts, but she now feels it has helped her mature and become more independent.
So how far did she think her modelling career will go?
"To make it as a model you have to live abroad, and though I enjoy doing the occasional monthly stints, I would never dream of leaving the island, family and friends for much longer," she said.
Having a boyfriend, Matthew Busuttil, makes it harder to leave.
"Matthew supports me a lot because he knows how much I love what I do," she smiles.
Beauty is not the be all and end all for Joyce and she has great difficulty naming one beautiful woman who has inspired her.
However, she does feel that there are a lot of beautiful girls in Malta who never enter beauty contests and who never come to the fore to take up modelling.
This is something which both Ms Rossi and Ms Calleja are extremely aware of, and in an attempt to have a good selection of contestants Modelle International has this year not issued applications for Miss Maltese Islands.
"Instead we opted to do our own scouting, encouraging girls whom we felt had a lot of potential to come forward," Ms Rossi said.
Another first for Modelle International was the presence of the Miss World organiser Steve Morley who flew to Malta specifically for the final selection process on Saturday.
On the night, Joyce was crowned with a Lm150,000 Miluna crown which is on loan from sponsors Classic Jewellers. She also won various vouchers, trophies and other gifts.
Placing second in the contest was 18-year-old Roberta Seychell from Zabbar, followed by Melanie Mallia, 22, from Qormi.
The evening dresses of all the contestants were designed and made by Ray Ashley, while photography was left in the hands of Kevin Casha.
All the gifts will be presented to the winners at a farewell party on October 24 being held at Palazzo Nobile in Naxxar.