Miss Universe
|
Logo of the Miss Universe event. |
Miss Universe is an annual international
beauty contest, and the title for the winner of the contest, founded in
1952 by
California clothing company
Pacific Mills. The pageant became part of
Kayser-Roth and then
Gulf and Western Industries, before being acquired by
Donald Trump in 1996. Despite its historical rivalry with the
Miss World contest, Miss Universe retains unparalleled prestige in many parts of the world, particularly Asia and
Latin America. The reigning Miss Universe is
Zuleyka Rivera, representing
Puerto Rico. This event is sometimes referred to as the World Cup of Beauty.
Main article: Miss Universe 2006
The Miss Universe 2006 pageant took place in Los Angeles, California on Sunday, July 23rd in the Shrine Auditorium. This was the first time since 1998 that the pageant has been held in the United States, and the second time that it has been held in Los Angeles, having previously been held there in 1990.
Zuleyka Rivera (Miss Puerto Rico), won the event. The first runner-up was Kurara Chibana (Miss Japan), the second runner-up was Lauriane Gillieron (Miss Switzerland), third runner-up was Lourdes Arevalos (Miss Paraguay) and fourth runner-up was Tara Conner (Miss USA). Lia Andrea Ramos (Miss Philippines) was chosen as this year
s Miss Photogenic in an internet vote, Kurara Chibana of Japan won Best National Costume, and Angela Asare of Ghana was voted by a majority of her fellow delegates as Miss Congeniality.
The winner of 1950's "
Miss America 1951" pageant,
Yolande Betbeze, refused to pose in a swimsuit from major sponsor
Catalina swimwear. As a result, the brand's manufacturer Pacific Mills withdrew from Miss America and set up the
Miss USA and Miss Universe contests. The first Miss Universe Pageant was held in
Fontana, California in 1952. It was won by
Armi Kuusela from
Finland, who gave up her title to get married to a Filipino tycoon, Virgilio Hilario, shortly before her year was complete. Until 1958 the Miss Universe title (like Miss America) was post-dated, so at the time Ms. Kuusela's title was Miss Universe 1953.
The pageant was first televised in 1955. CBS began nationally broadcasting the Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants combined from 1960, and separately from 1965. In 2003, NBC took over the television rights.
The main pageant was held in the United States until 1972, when it was hosted by
Dorado,
Puerto Rico. Since then it has usually been held in a different city each year, though
Manila,
Miami,
Los Angeles,
Las Vegas,
Bangkok, and
Panama City have each hosted it twice.
The
Miss Universe Organization, a
New-York-based partnership between
NBC and
Donald Trump, has run the contest since
June 20,
2002. The current president is
Paula Shugart. The Organization sells television rights to the pageant in other countries, and also produces the
Miss USA and
Miss Teen USA contests. The winner of Miss USA represents the USA in Miss Universe.
Candidate selection
Each year, bids are received by the Miss Universe organizers from organizations who wish to select the Miss Universe contestant for a country. This allows competition between different pageants to hold a country's license, as happened for Miss Italy and Miss France for example when the licenses for their respective traditional organizations were revoked (the usual Miss France competition returned in 2004).
Usually a country's candidate selection involves pageants in major cities, with the winners competing in a national pageant, but this does not always occur. For example, in 2000
Australia's competition was abolished as a relic of a bygone era, with Australian delegates instead chosen by a
modelling agency. Such "castings" are generally discouraged by the Miss Universe Organization, which prefers national pageants that preserve an aura of respectability and competition. Despite the "casted" Australian delegate,
Jennifer Hawkins, being chosen as Miss Universe in 2004, Australia resumed its national pageant to choose
Michelle Guy as Miss Universe Australia 2005.
Among the most important national pageants in the world are
Miss India,
Miss Philippines (which is actually known as
Binibining Pilipinas in the Philippines, because another organization called Carousel Productions has since put up a pageant called
Miss Philippines to represent the country in the environment-centered
Miss Earth after their organization stopped producing
Miss Asia-Pacific Quest),
Miss USA,
Miss Colombia,
Miss Peru,
Miss Puerto Rico, and
Miss Venezuela Universe contests, which command consistently high interest and television ratings in their respective countries. Organizations attempting to build themselves up to the level of these established contests include
Nuestra Belleza Mexico (Miss Mexico), Miss Universe Japan, and the triumvirate of Miss Bolivia, Miss Paraguay, and Miss Uruguay (all directed by Gloria de Limpias). Recent arrivals in the pageant include
China (2002),
Albania (2002),
Vietnam (2004),
Georgia (2004),
Ethiopia (2004),
Latvia (2005) and
Kazakhstan (2006); there have also been efforts to revive strong national pageants in Chile, Uruguay, Argentina,
Canada, and the Caribbean, among other regions. There are continually efforts to expand the pageant, but the participation of some countries such as Indonesia and Algeria has proven difficult due to cultural barriers to the swimsuit competition, while others such as Mozambique, Armenia and Nepal have balked at sending representatives due to the cost (in fact, of all the major international pageants, the franchise fee for Miss Universe is the most expensive). As of 2005, only four countries have been present at every Miss Universe since its inception in 1952:
Canada,
France,
Germany, and the
USA.
Many European countries allow 17-year-old contestants to compete in their pageants, while Miss Universe's minimum age is 18, so national titleholders often have to be replaced by their runners-up. Miss Universe also prohibits
transsexual applicants and
age fabrication.
Main pageant
The main Miss Universe Pageant, as of now, is held over a two week period between May-July. In the 1970s through the 1990s, the pageant was a month-long extravaganza. This allows time for rehearsals, appearances and the preliminary competition, with the winner being crowned by the previous year's titleholder during the final competition. According to the organisers, the Miss Universe contest is more than a beauty pageant: women who aspire to become
Miss Universe must be intelligent, well-mannered and cultured. Often a candidate has lost because she did not have a good answer during the interview rounds; although this section of competition has held less importance during recent pageants than it did in the twentieth century. Delegates also compete in swimsuit and evening gown competitions.
Currently, the final placement of the finalists is determined by a ranked vote, where each judge ranks each of the final three/five candidates, with the contestant posting the lowest cumulative score becoming the winner. If there is a tie, which often happens when there are even members of the jury, the higher semifinal scores become decisive.
The winner is assigned a one-year contract with the Miss Universe Organisation, travelling overseas to spread messages about the control of diseases, peace, and public awareness of AIDS. Since Donald Trump took over the pageant, the winner has been given the use of a
Trump Tower apartment in
New York City for use during her reign.
Aside from the main winner and her runners-up, special awards are also given to the winners of the best National Costume, Miss Photogenic, and Miss Congeniality. Miss Congeniality is chosen by the delegates themselves, while in recent years Miss Photogenic has chosen by popular internet vote (the winner used to be chosen by media personnel covering the event).
The PreliminariesThe competition for the Miss Universe title has seen many changes, although there have been several constants throughout its history. All the contestants compete in a preliminary round of judging (nowadays called the "Presentation Show") where the field is narrowed to a select number of semi-finalists. This number has fluctuated over the years. The very first Miss Universe pageant had ten semi-finalists. The next two years, the number of semi-finalists grew to 16. In 1955, the number dropped to a stable 15, which remained through 1970. In 1971, the number was reduced to 12. That number was further reduced to a mere 10 in 1984. This lasted until 2003, when the number of 15 was re-instated. In 2006, there were 20 semi-finalists, the highest number ever. It remains to be seen if the pageant will retain this number in the future.
In the early years, the contestants were judged in swimsuit and evening gown only. In later years, the contestants also competed in a preliminary interview round in a one-on-one meeting with each individual judge.
The Final CompetitionIn the early years of the pageant, the ladies who make the cut are announced after the preliminary competition. From 1965 until the present day, the semi-finalists were not announced until the night of the main event. The semi-finalists once again competed in evening gown and swimsuit and a top 5 was announced. An interview portion was introduced in 1960. From there, the runners-up and winner was selected. However, in 1959 through 1963, there was no cut to 5 finalists; the runners-up and winners were called from the assembled 15 semi-finalists.
In 1964, the top 15 became a top 10, and after a round of interview, the winner and runners-up were called from the 10 finalists.
In 1965, the pageant returned to a cut to 5 finalists, and remained so until 1989. Also, in 1969, a final question was posed to the last five contestants. The final question was an on-and-off feature of the pageant, especially in the 1980s. In 1990, it had taken root and every pageant since the final 5 contestants have to answer a final question.
In 1990, the pageant implemented major format changes in the competition itself. Instead of five finalists, the field was reduced from 10 semi-finalists to six (in 1998, the number of finalists return to 5). Each contestant then randomly selected a judge and answered the question posed by the judge. After that, the field is narrowed down further to a final three. However, in 2001, it became a final five again.
In 2000, the interview portion of the semi-finals was quietly dropped and the contestants once again, as in the early days of the pageant, competed only in swimsuit and gowns.
In 2006 twenty semi-finalists were announced, with these delegates competing in the swimsuit competition. The number of competing delegates was then cut to ten, with those delegates competing in the evening gown competition. After that round of competition, the final five were announced, with the finalists competing in the "final question" or interview round. At the end of competition the runners-up were announced and the winner crowned by the outgoing queen.
:
The following is a list of winners of the previous ten years. See List of Miss Universe winners for the full list of titleholders.
| Year | | Miss Universe | National title | Country | Venue |
|---|
| 2006 | | Zuleyka Rivera Mendoza | Miss Puerto Rico Universe | Puerto Rico | Los Angeles, USA |
| 2005 | | Natalie Glebova | Miss Universe Canada | Canada | Bangkok, Thailand |
| 2004 | | Jennifer Hawkins | Miss Universe Australia | Australia | Quito, Ecuador |
| 2003 | | Amelia Vega | Miss Republica Dominicana Universo | Dominican Republic | Panama City, Panama |
| 2002 | | Justine Pasek | Señorita Panama-Universo | Panama | San Juan, Puerto Rico |
| Oxana Fedorova | Miss Russia | Russia |
| 2001 | | Denise Quiñones | Miss Puerto Rico Universe | Puerto Rico | Bayamon, Puerto Rico |
| 2000 | | Lara Dutta | Femina Miss India Universe | India | Nicosia, Cyprus |
| 1999 | | Mpule Kwelagobe | Miss Universe Botswana | Botswana | Chaguaramas, Trinidad and Tobago |
| 1998 | | Wendy Fitzwilliam | Miss Trinidad & Tobago-Universe | Trinidad and Tobago | Honolulu, USA |
| 1997 | | Brook Mahealani Lee | Miss USA | USA | Miami Beach, USA |
Winning years for each country
|
Map of Miss Universe-winning countries as of 2006. |
| Country | Titles!Winning years |
|---|
| 7 | 1954, 1956, 1960, 1967, 1980, 1995, 1997 |
| 5 | 1970, 1985, 1993, 2001, 2006 |
| 4 | 1979, 1981, 1986, 1996 |
| 3 | 1955, 1966, 1984 |
| 2 | 1982, 2005 |
| 2 | 1972, 2004 |
| 2 | 1994, 2000 |
| 2 | 1977, 1998 |
| 2 | 1965, 1988 |
| 2 | 1952, 1975 |
| 2 | 1969, 1973 |
| 2 | 1963, 1968 |
| 1 | 1991, |
| 1 | 2003 |
| 1 | 2002 |
| 1 | 1999 |
| 1 | 1992 |
| 1 | 1990 |
| 1 | 1989 |
| 1 | 1987 |
| 1 | 1983 |
| 1 | 1978 |
| 1 | 1976 |
| 1 | 1974 |
| 1 | 1971 |
| 1 | 1964 |
| 1 | 1962 |
| 1 | 1963 |
| 1 | 1959 |
| 1 | 1958 |
| 1 | 1957 |
| 1 | 1953 |
| 1 | 2002 (Dethroned) |
|
Best performances by continental regions
As of 2006| REGION | Best performance |
|---|
| Europe | 12 titles won by Sweden (3), Finland (2), France, Germany, Greece, Netherlands, Norway, Russia* and Spain (1) |
| North America | 11 titles won by USA (7), Canada (2), Mexico (2) |
| South America | 10 titles won by Venezuela (4), Brazil (2), Argentina, Colombia, Chile, and Peru (1) |
| Asia | 9 titles won by India, Philippines and Thailand (2), Israel, Japan, and Lebanon (1) |
| Central America & the Caribbean | 8 titles won by Puerto Rico (5), Trinidad & Tobago (2), Dominican Republic, Panama* (1) |
| Africa | 3 titles won by Botswana, Namibia and South Africa (1) |
| Oceania | 3 titles won by Australia (2), New Zealand (1) |
| * 2002 Miss Universe Dethronement | In 2002, Russia's Oxana Fedorova won the Miss Universe crown in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
However, she was dethroned a few months later by the Miss Universe Organization for not fulfilling the duties stipulated in her contract.
First runner-up, Panama's Justine Pasek was crowned Miss Universe for 2002. |
*
Peabo Bryson (1994)
*
Jon Secada (1995)
*
Michael Crawford (1996)
*
Enrique Iglesias (1997)
*
K-Ci & JoJo (1998)
*
Julio Iglesias, Jr. (1999)
*
Elvis Crespo,
Montell Jordan and
Dave Koz (2000)
*
Ricky Martin &
La Ley (2001)
*
Marc Anthony (2002)
*
Bond &
Chayanne (2003)
*
Gloria Estefan (2004)
*
Chelo &
Vittorio (2006)
*
Bob Russell (1952-1957)
*
Byron Palma (1958-1959)
*
George DeWitt,
Arthur Godfrey,
Charles Collingwood and
Jayne Meadows (1960)
*
Johnny Carson and
Jayne Meadows (1961)
*
Gene Rayburn (1962-1963)
*
Jack Linkletter and
June Lockhart (1964-1966)
*
Bob Barker (1967-1987)
*
June Lockhart (1967-1971)
*
Helen O'Connell (1972-1980)
*
Corinna Tsopei (1978)
*
Elke Sommer (1981)
*
Joan Van Ark (1982-1985)
*
Mary Frann (1986-1987)
*
Alan Thicke and
Tracy Scoggins (1988)
*
John Forsythe,
Emma Samms and
Karen Baldwin (1989)
*
Dick Clark,
Leeza Gibbons and
Margaret Gardiner (1990)
*
Dick Clark,
Leeza Gibbons and
Angela Visser (1991)
*
Dick Clark,
Leeza Gibbons and
Angela Visser (1992)
*
Dick Clark,
Cecilia Bolocco and
Angela Visser (1993)
*
Bob Goen,
Arthel Neville and
Angela Visser (1994)
*
Bob Goen and
Daisy Fuentes (1995)
*
Bob Goen and
Marla Maples (1996)
*
George Hamilton and
Marla Maples (1997)
*
Jack Wagner,
Julie Moran and
Ali Landry (1998-1999)
*
Sinbad,
Julie Moran and
Ali Landry (2000)
*
Todd Newton,
Elle MacPherson,
Naomi Campbell and
Brook Mahealani Lee (2001)
*
Phil Simms,
Daisy Fuentes and
Brook Mahealani Lee (2002)
*
Billy Bush and
Daisy Fuentes (2003-2004)
*
Billy Bush and
Nancy O'Dell (2005)
*
Carlos Ponce,
Nancy O'Dell,
Shandi Finnessey and
Carson Kressley (2006)
* Electronic voting was introduced to televiewers in 1978 when the pageant was held in Acapulco, Mexico and for the first time in a televised pageant, the audience got to see how the judges voted. After twenty-four years, in 2003, pageant officials decided to eliminate the electronic voting system in favor of traditional judging system.
Locations
*Miss
Puerto Rico 2001, Denise Quiñones, is the first titleholder to win Miss Universe in her home country (outside the USA). The USA hosted the early years of the pageant (1952-1971), with 4 Miss USA's crowned on home turf (1954 and 1956 in Long Beach, CA, and 1960 and 1967 in Miami Beach, FL). In 1997, Miss USA
Brook Mahealani Lee (a native of Hawaii) was crowned Miss Universe in Miami Beach.
*Outside the USA, Mexico and Puerto Rico have hosted the most Miss Universe pageants, with three each. The various locations were:
**
Mexico: Acapulco (1978), Cancun (1989), Mexico City (1993).
**
Puerto Rico: Dorado (1972, the first pageant held outside the 50 states of the U.S.), Bayamon (2001), San Juan (2002)
*Apart from the United States, Mexico and Puerto Rico, the only countries to host the pageant more than once were:
**
Manila, Philippines (1974 & 1994)
**
Panama City, Panama (1986 & 2003)
**
Bangkok, Thailand (1992 & 2005)
Competing states
* As of the
2006 contest, the United States has won the event the most times, with seven Miss Universe crowns, followed by
Puerto Rico with five titles,
Venezuela with four,
Sweden with three and
Australia,
Brazil,
Canada,
Finland,
India,
Philippines,
Thailand,
Mexico and
Trinidad and Tobago with two each.
*The United States has performed the best throughout the pageant's entire history, with seven winners, eight first runners-up, six second runners-up, one third runner-up, three fourth runners-up, six finalists, and seventeen semi-finalists. Miss USA has missed the semi-finals only three times: 1976 (Barbara Peterson), 1999 (Kimberly Pressler), and 2002 (Shauntay Hinton). In 1957, Leona Gage of Maryland was disqualified from the semi-finals after it was revealed that she was married and a mother.
*The USA is followed by Venezuela (33), Sweden and Brazil (both 28), Colombia (27), Germany (21), Israel (20), England (19), Finland, Greece and India (all 18), Norway(17), Peru, South Africa, Canada, Japan, and Puerto Rico (16 each). Of these countries, only England has yet to win the contest.
*The United States has been the most successful state to compete in Miss Universe in the 1950s, 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. In the 1960s, Finland was the most successful nation, and Venezuela has been most successful in the 2000s. [
1]
*The nations that have competed every single year of competition (from 1952 to date) are France, Germany, USA and Canada. Sweden lost this distinction when they failed to send a contestant in 2005. Israel missed the pageant in 1953, while Greece was absent in 1988 (their delegate withdrew because of illness).
*Before becoming states in 1959, Alaska and Hawaii both sent delegates to the pageant during the 1950s. In fact, Miss Hawaii was 1st runner-up in 1952 and 2nd runner-up in 1958 (before winning Miss Universe as Miss USA in 1997), while Miss Alaska reached the semi-finals in 1957.
*The most successful state in the past twenty years has been Venezuela, which placed continually for 21 years, from 1983 to 2003, nearly beating the United States' 22-year streak between 1977-1998. While Alicia Machado has been the only Venezuelan Miss Universe in the last decade, of the nine following pageants, four have seen Venezuela's representative place first runner-up (1997, 1998, 2000, and 2003).
* Other than Venezuela and the USA, the countries that have made the semi-finals the most in a row are India (who in recent years have emerged as a pageant powerhouse) with 11 (1992-2002) consecutive placements; Germany with ten (1952 to 1961); and Finland with 8 (1962-1969).
* Colombia had three first-runner up placements from 1992-1994, a streak that has been unparallelled in competition history. The only country to have done better is Venezuela, which won in 1996 and placed first runner-up in 1997 and 1998.
*Finland has had the most consecutive runners-up. For five years, from 1965 to 1969, its delegates placed among the five finalists without interruption (1965: Virpi Miettinen, first runner-up, 1966: Satu Ostring, first runner-up, 1967: Ritva Lehto, third runner-up, 1968: Leena Brusiin, second runner-up, and 1969: Harrieti Eriksson, first runner-up).
Delegates
*Miss Universe 1957, from
Peru,
Gladys Zender is the youngest Miss Universe in history. She was 17 when she won the title. The Miss Universe Organization let her keep the crown because it was found that a woman in Peru is declared her appoximate age once she passes the 6 month duration of the current age.
* The very first Miss Universe (from Finland), the very first
Miss Asia (from Malaysia), and the very first
Miss International (from Colombia), all married
Filipinos.
* On three occasions, contestants that did not place in
Miss World: Georgina Rizk, Angela Visser, and Mpule Kwelagobe, won Miss Universe. However, no contestant who failed to place at Miss Universe have ever gone on to win Miss World.
* Eight Miss Universe delegates placed as runner-up or semifinalist in that pageant and later won the
Miss World title. They were:
Carmen Susana Duijim Zubillaga - semi-finalist, Venezuela 1955;
Corinne Rottschafer - semi-finalist, Holland 1958;
Rosemarie Frankland - First Runner-up, Wales 1961;
Madeleine Hartog Bell - semi-finalist, Peru 1966;
Eva Von Rueber-Staier - semi-finalist, Austria 1969;
Helen Morgan - first runner-up, Wales 1974 (dethroned);
Gina Ann Casandra Swainson - First Runner-up, Bermuda 1979 and
Agbani Darego - semi-finalist, Nigeria 2001.
* At 5'4" tall, Miss Thailand 1965,
Apasra Hongsakula is the shortest Miss Universe ever crowned.
* In 1957,
Miss USA Mary Leona Gage was disqualified for being married, though she had qualified for the semi-finals. She was replaced by Miss Argentina.
*
Amparo Muñoz of
Spain, Miss Universe 1974, was dethroned shortly before her reign ended and did not crown her successor, but she was not formally replaced. Amparo's runner-up,
Helen Morgan of
Wales, went on to represent the
United Kingdom in the
Miss World pageant later that same year. She won, only to resign a few days later when she was revealed to be an unwed mother.
*
Irene Sáez, Miss Universe
1981, ran for President of
Venezuela in 1998 (losing to
Hugo Chávez), after having been elected mayor of
Chacao in
1992 and governor of Margarita Island in
1999.
* Trinidad & Tobago's
Janelle Commissiong became the first woman of black descent to be crowned Miss Universe, in 1977 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The first black African to win Miss Universe of was
Mpule Kwelagobe, of Botswana, crowned in 1999 at Chaguaramas, Trinidad & Tobago.
* Only once have black women won Miss Universe in succession.
Wendy Fitzwilliam of Trinidad & Tobago won the title in 1998, followed by
Mpule Kwelagobe of Botswana in 1999.
* Andrea Stelzer was
Miss South Africa in 1985, but pulled out of Miss Universe because of anti-apartheid demonstrations. She competed in 1989 as Miss Germany, and was a top 10 semi-finalist.
*
Miss Lebanon 2001, Christina Sawaya, pulled out of the 2002 Miss Universe competition because of the participation of
Miss Israel. She went on to win the rival
Miss International competition in the same year.
*
2002's winner,
Oxana Fedorova of
Russia, became the first Miss Universe who officially did not finish her reign, making first runner-up
Justine Pasek the first
Panamanian to hold the title. Fedorova was crowned in Puerto Rico in mid-May, and was replaced by Pasek in early August. It is unclear whether Fedorova was fired for failure to perform her duties (the official version), or chose to resign because she had not expected the heavy workload.
* The strong rivalry between
Puerto Rico and
Venezuela is so well-known in popular culture, that their struggle has been immortalized in several Spanish-language television commercials in the United States for such companies as
MasterCard and
Budweiser. In the latter, former Miss Universe winners
Dayanara Torres of Puerto Rico and
Alicia Machado of Venezuela cause mayhem in a sports bar as they compete to win the admiration of the men present in a comical manner.
* A new trend of delegates representing countries they were not born in has developed. Miss Universe 2002
Justine Pasek was born in
Kharkiv Ukraine. Miss Israel 2005,
Elena Ralph was also born in Ukraine and moved to Israel when she was 8 years old. The most famous country-swapper was probably
Natascha Borger. After placing 12th in the 2000
Miss Venezuela pageant she moved to Germany where she easily won the crown of
Miss Germany Universe. Other notable contestants who represent countries other than their birth place include the Miss Canada Universe and Miss Universe 2005
Natalie Glebova who is Russian by birth and Miss Germany Universe 2006
Natalie Ackermann who is Colombian by birth .
Winners
*
Natalie Glebova of Canada, Miss Universe 2005 reigned for the longest period in Miss Universe history: one year and two months from the time she was crowned on May 31, 2005 in Bangkok, Thailand.
* Four
Black contestants have won the pageant: Janelle Penny Commisiong of
Trinidad and Tobago in 1977, Chelsi Smith from the USA in 1995, Wendy Fitzwilliam of Trinidad and Tobago in 1998, and Mpule Kwelagobe of Botswana in 1999.
* In April 2006, a reunion of former titleholders took place in New York City to celebrate the launch of the book "Universal Beauty" by Cara Birnbaum. The reunion included
Sylvia Hitchcock (1967, USA);
Margaret Gardiner (1978, South Africa);
Yvonne Ryding (1984, Sweden);
Deborah Carthy-Deu (1985, Puerto Rico);
Barbara Palacios Teyde (1986, Venezuela); Porntip "Bui" Nakhirunkanok (1988, Thailand); Mona Grudt (1990, Norway); Lupita Jones (1991, Mexico);
Michelle McLean (1992, Namibia);
Brook Lee (1997, USA);
Wendy Fitzwilliam (1998, Trinidad & Tobago);
Denise Quiñones (2001, Puerto Rico);
Justine Pasek (2002, Panama);
Amelia Vega (2003, Dominican Republic) and
Natalie Glebova (2005, Canada).
* Six contestants of Far Eastern descent have won the pageant:
Akiko Kojima of Japan in 1959,
Apasra Hongsakula of Thailand in 1965,
Gloria Diaz and
Margarita Moran of the Philippines in 1969 and 1973 respectively,
Porntip Nakhirunkanok of Thailand in 1988, and
Brook Mahaelani Lee from the state of Hawaii in 1997.
Awards
* The Philippines have won the Miss Photogenic award six times, followed by England and Puerto Rico, both with five. Puerto Rico won its five awards during a six-year period (1999-2004, did not win in 2000).
* Colombia has won the Best National Costume Award six times.
* Guam and Trinidad/Tobago have both won the Miss Congeniality awards three times (and both within a four-year period).
*No Miss Congeniality has ever gone on to win Miss Universe. The closest was Miss El Salvador 1955, who was 1st runner-up.
*The only Miss Universe to win 2 other awards on pageant night was Denise Quiñones (Miss Puerto Rico), who in 2001 also won Miss Photogenic and the Clairol Best Style Award.
The Miss Universe Creed
From 1960 to 1990, the Miss Universe Creed was read at each pageant:
"We, the young women of the universe, believe people everywhere are seeking peace, tolerance and mutual understanding. We pledge to spread this message in every way we can, wherever we go."
The Crown
* Design by
Mikimoto. The official jewelry sponsor of the
Miss Universe Organization.
[The Miss Universe Mikimoto Crown]* Kept by the Miss Universe Organization to be used in the crowning of the new Miss Universe every year.
* Valued at $250,000.
* 800
diamonds, almost 18
carats.
* 120
pearls South Sea and Akoya pearls, ranging in size from 3.0 - 18 mm.
* Design depicts the
phoenix rising, which signifies status, power and beauty.
* The Crown was designed specifically for the pageant on Mikimoto Pearl Island in Japan, Mikimoto crown and tiara first used for Miss Universe 2002.
*
Miss Universe 2007*
Miss Universe 2006*
Miss Universe 2005*
Miss Universe 2004
*
Miss Universe official website*
Miss Universe Blog*
Pageant Almanac: Miss Universe*
Missosology.Org: Analyzing Beauty Pageants
