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Miss Universe

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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 first winner was Armi Kuusela from Finland. 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 Mendoza, representing Puerto Rico.

Zuleyka Rivera, Miss Universe 2006

Miss Universe 2006

Main article: Miss Universe 2006

The Miss Universe 2006 pageant took place in Los Angeles, California on Sunday, July 23 at 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 Mendoza (Miss Puerto Rico), won the event. The first runner-up was Kurara Chibana (Miss Japan), the second runner-up Lauriane Gillieron (Miss Switzerland), third runner-up Lourdes Arevalos (Miss Paraguay), and fourth runner-up Tara Conner (Miss USA). Lia Andrea Ramos (Miss Philippines) was picked as this year's Miss Photogenic in an internet poll, Kurara Chibana of Japan won Best National Costume, and Angela Asare of Ghana won Miss Congeniality.

The contest today

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 Place 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 Competition Proper

The Preliminaries

The 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 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 Competition

In 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.

Titleholders

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 Miss Universe Puerto Rico 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 Krasa Rossi 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 2005.
Country Titles Winning years
  United States 7 1954, 1956, 1960, 1967, 1980, 1995, 1997
  Puerto Rico 5 1970, 1985, 1993, 2001, 2006
  Venezuela 4 1979, 1981, 1986, 1996
  Sweden 3 1955, 1966, 1984
  Canada 2 1982, 2005
  Australia 2 1972, 2004
  India 2 1994, 2000
  Trinidad and Tobago 2 1977, 1998
  Thailand 2 1965, 1988
  Finland 2 1952, 1975
  Philippines 2 1969, 1973
  Brazil 2 1963, 1968
  Dominican Republic 1 2003
  Panama 1 2002
  Russia 1 2002 (dethroned)
  Botswana 1 1999
  Namibia 1 1992
  Mexico 1 1991
  Norway 1 1990
  Netherlands 1 1989
  Chile 1 1987
  New Zealand 1 1983
  South Africa 1 1978
  Israel 1 1976
  Spain 1 1974
1 1971
  Greece 1 1964
  Argentina 1 1962
  Germany 1 1963
  Japan 1 1959
  Colombia 1 1958
  Peru 1 1957
  France 1 1953

Best performances by continental regions

As of 2006

Continent Best performance
North America 19 titles won by USA (7), Puerto Rico (5), Canada and Trinidad & Tobago (2), Dominican Republic, Mexico and Panama(1)
Europe 12 titles won by Sweden (3), Finland (2), France, Germany, Greece, Netherlands, Norway, Russia and Spain (1)
South America 10 titles won by Venezuela (4), Brazil (2), Argentina, Colombia, Chile and Peru (1)
Asia 9 titles won by Philippines (2), India (2) and Thailand (2), Israel, Japan, and Lebanon (1)
Africa 3 titles won by Botswana, Namibia and South Africa (1)
Oceania 3 titles won by Australia (2), New Zealand (1)

Invited artists

Hosts

Trivia

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:

Competing states

  • 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 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. Venezuela, however, remains the most successful overall beauty powerhouse, having won all of the major beauty pageants.
  • 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 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).

Delegates

  • 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.
  • 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 Munoz 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.
  • Trinidad & Tobago's Janelle Commissiong became the first woman of black descent to be crowned Miss Universe, this occurred 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 .
  • Natalie Glebova of Canada has the longest reign in Miss Universe history: one year and two months from the time she was crowned on May 31, 2005 in Bangkok, Thailand.

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."

Statistics

  • USA is the country that has made the semi-finals most often, missing the cut only three times (1976, 1999, & 2002, with one disqualification in 1957). 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.
  • 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.
  • In terms of successive placements, Venezuela has performed the most successfully overall during the last two decades: for 21 years, from 1983 to 2003, its representatives placed in the semifinals without interruption, nearly beating the United States' 22-year streak between 1977-1998. In the last decade every Miss Venezuela who has made the finals progressed to the top five or top six. Although Venezuela has won fewer crowns than the USA, it has had a far superior record in terms of overall placement. While Alicia Machado has been the only Venezuelan Miss Universe in the last decade, of the nine pageants that have followed her victory, 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 unparalelled in competition history. The only country to have done better is Venezuela. They had a winner in 1996 followed by 2 first runner-ups in 1997 and 1998
  • Peru is the only Latin American country to compete since the beginning, win a Miss Universe, and host the Miss Universe pageant.
  • The Philippines have won the Miss Photogenic award six times, followed by England and Puerto Rico, both with five. In fact, 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).
  • It seems like it doesn't pay to be nice at Miss Universe. No Miss Congeniality has ever gone on to win Miss Universe. The closest was Miss El Salvador 1955, who was 1st runner-up.
  • In addtion to winning the Miss Universe title in 2001, Denise Quiñones (Miss Puerto Rico) also won Miss Photogenic and the Clairol Best Style Award, making her the only Miss Universe to win 2 other awards on pageant night.
  • 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 terms of successive placements in the runner-ups, Finland is the country that has made them most often: 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).
  • Puerto Rico has won five titles, making it the country with the most victories in the Hispanophone world and the second in the Americas (after the 50 U.S. states).

See also

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