1950 VFL season

Dayana Mendoza, Miss Universe 2008.

Miss Universe is an annual international beauty contest run by the Miss Universe Organization.

The contest was 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.

Alongside with its rival Miss World and Miss Earth contests, this pageant is one of the most publicized beauty contests in the world. The current Miss Universe is Dayana Mendoza, from Venezuela.

History

File:Miss Universe logo.png

Logo of the Miss Universe event.

The winner of the "Miss America 1951" pageant, Yolande Betbeze, refused to pose in a swimsuit from its 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 Long Beach, 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 combined Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants from 1960 and, separately, from 1965. In 2003 NBC took over the television rights.

The main pageant was held consecutively in the continental US from 1952 to 1971. Since then, the pageant has been held in locales around the world.

Competition formats

Zuleyka Rivera, Miss Universe 2006

In the early years of the pageant, the delegates who made the cut were announced after the preliminary competition. From 1965 to 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 were announced. An interview portion was introduced in 1960 to decide the runners-up and winner.

From 1959 to 1964, there were slight format changes. 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 the original format of a cut to 5 finalists, and remained so until 1989.

In 1969, a final question was posed to the last five contestants. The final question was an on-and-off feature of the pageant. In 1990, it had taken root and every pageant since, the final 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 6. Each contestant then randomly selected a judge and answered the question posed by the judge. After that, the field was narrowed down further to a final 3. In 1998, the number of finalists was reduced to 5, although there still was a cut to a final 3. This continued to 2001, where the final 5 format was re-instated.

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 2003, the Top 15 was again selected instead of the Top 10. Cuts were made to make the Top 10, and eventually the Top 5. The final question varied, each coming from the final delegates themselves and the current Miss Universe.

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.

In 2007 the format changed slightly with the top 15 moving to the swimsuit competition; from there, 10 selected contestants moved on to the evening gown competition where half were eliminated. The final five answered the final question to decide the ultimate winner.

The contest today

Jennifer Hawkins, Miss Universe 2004

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 with the winner of Miss USA representing 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 national pageant was abolished as a relic of a bygone era, with Australian delegates instead chosen by a modeling agency. Such "castings" are generally discouraged by the Miss Universe Organization, which prefers national pageants that preserve an aura of respectability and competition. Despite being "cast", Miss Australia, Jennifer Hawkins, was chosen as Miss Universe 2004. Later that year, Australia resumed its national pageant and chose Michelle Guy as Miss Universe Australia 2005.

Some of the most successful national pageants in the last decade have been Venezuela, USA, Puerto Rico, India, Mexico, and etc which command consistently high interest and television ratings in their respective countries.Recent arrivals in the pageant include China (2002), Albania (2002), Vietnam (2004), Georgia (2004), Ethiopia (2004), Latvia (2005), Kazakhstan (2006), Tanzania (2007) and Kosovo (2008); there have also been efforts to revive strong national pageants in South Africa, Canada, Spain, Japan, Colombia; South America 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 2007, only four countries have been present at every Miss Universe since its inception in 1952: Canada, France, Germany, and the United States. 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

Natalie Glebova, Miss Universe 2005

The main Miss Universe Pageant, as of now, is held over a two week period in May and July. In the 1970s through the 1990s, the pageant was a month long. This allowed 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 organizers, the Miss Universe contest is more than a beauty pageant: women aspiring 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 question responses rounds; although this section of competition has held less importance during recent pageants than it did in the twentieth century. Delegates also participate 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 Organization, going 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 awarded to the winners of the best National Costume, Miss Photogenic, and Miss Congeniality. Miss Congeniality is chosen by the delegates themselves. In recent years, Miss Photogenic has been chosen by popular internet vote (the winner used to be chosen by media personnel covering the event).

Final judgment

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 2006, there were 20 semi-finalists, the highest number ever. In 2007, the Organization announced the Top 15 system will be back, which is also used in 2008.

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.

In 2007, 77 contestants started the competition; the top 15 moving to the swimsuit competition. From there, 10 were selected for the evening gown competition which halved the contenders to 5. These final five then answered a final question to decide the winner.

Crown

The Miss Universe crown used from 2002-2007 was designed by Mikimoto, the official jewellery sponsor of the Miss Universe Organization, and depicted the phoenix rising, signifying status, power and beauty. The crown has 500 diamonds of almost 30 carats (6.0 g), 120 South Sea and Akoya pearls, ranging in size from 3 to 18mm diameter and is valued at $250,000. The Crown was designed specifically for the pageant on Mikimoto Pearl Island in Japan with the Mikimoto crown and tiara being first used for Miss Universe 2002.

For Miss Universe 2008 a new crown was unveiled. Valued at $120 thousand dollars, it is made of 18K white and yellow gold. It is comprised of over 1,000 precious stones; including 555 white diamonds (30 carats), 375 cognac diamonds (14 carats), 10 smoky quartz crystals (20 carats) and 19 morganite gemstones (60 carats). The colors of the jewels chosen for the crown have great significance. The yellow luster of the gold represents the prosperous thriving economy in Vietnam. White, light pink and cognac are the main hues in the crown which represent inspiration and feeling. Each piece of the crown was designed to represent an important attribute of the Miss Universe Pageant. The curves of inlaid precious stones represent the strong development and potential of each country. The image of the crane (Lac Bird) symbolizes Vietnamese spirit and culture. The image of the heart represents unified breath, rhythm and vision, which are powerful internal forces that stress faith, hope and unity. But this Vietnamese crown will only be used in the 57th edition of Miss Universe Pageant and the Mikimoto crown will return in 2009.

Recent titleholders

Further information: List of Miss Universe titleholders

Year	Country/Territory	Miss Universe	National title	Location
2008	Venezuela	Dayana Mendoza	Miss Venezuela	Nha Trang, Vietnam
2007	Japan	Riyo Mori	Miss Universe Japan	Mexico City, Mexico
2006	Puerto Rico	Zuleyka Rivera	Miss Puerto Rico	Los Angeles, USA
2005	Canada	Natalie Glebova	Miss Universe Canada	Bangkok, Thailand
2004	Australia	Jennifer Hawkins	Miss Australia	Quito, Ecuador
2003	Dominican Republic	Amelia Vega	Miss Republica Dominicana Universo	Panama City, Panama
2002	Panama	Justine Pasek	Señorita Panamá	San Juan, Puerto Rico
2001	Puerto Rico	Denise Quiñones	Miss Puerto Rico	Bayamón, Puerto Rico
2000	India	Lara Dutta	Femina Miss India	Nicosia, Cyprus
1999	Botswana	Mpule Kwelagobe	Miss Universe Botswana	Chaguaramas, Trinidad & Tobago

Hosts and invited artists

The following is a list of finals hosts and invited artists of the previous ten years. See List of Miss Universe hosts and invited artists for the full list of hosts and invited artists.

Year	Masters of Ceremonies	Color Commentators	Special Musical Guests
2008	Jerry Springer and Melanie Brown	None	Lady Gaga and music by Mika and Robin Thicke
2007	Vanessa Minnillo and Mario Lopez	None	RBD and music by Nelly Furtado and Sean Paul
2006	Carlos Ponce and Nancy O'Dell	Shandi Finnessey and Carson Kressley	Chelo and Vittorio Grigolo
2005	Billy Bush and Nancy O'Dell	None	None
2004	Billy Bush and Daisy Fuentes	None	Gloria Estefan
2003	Billy Bush and Daisy Fuentes	None	Bond and Chayanne
2002	Phil Simms and Daisy Fuentes	Brook Mahealani Lee	Marc Anthony
2001	Elle Macpherson and Naomi Campbell	Brook Mahealani Lee and Todd Newton	Ricky Martin and La Ley
2000	Sinbad	Julie Moran and Ali Landry	Elvis Crespo, Montell Jordan, Dave Koz and Anna Vissi

"League tables"

Map of Miss Universe-winning countries and territories as of 2008; not including Russia, since dethroned after 4 months

By number of wins

Country/Territory	Titles	Winning years
USA	7	1954, 1956, 1960, 1967, 1980, 1995, 1997
Venezuela	5	1979, 1981, 1986, 1996, 2008
Puerto Rico	5	1970, 1985, 1993, 2001, 2006
Sweden	3	1955, 1966, 1984
Japan	2	1959, 2007
Canada	2	1982, 2005
Australia	2	1972, 2004
India	2	1994, 2000
Trinidad & 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 (Inherited crown after Russia was dethroned)
Russia	1	2002 (Dethroned; reigned for 4 months)
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
Lebanon	1	1971
Greece	1	1964
Argentina	1	1962
Germany	1	1961
Colombia	1	1958
Peru	1	1957
France	1	1953

Source:

By country tally

Anyone who follows the Olympic Games or other sporting events will be familiar with the concept of the Medal Table, which ranks countries based on their first (gold), second (silver) and third (bronze) place finishes. Below is a similar table of the top rankings for the Miss Universe pageant, based on all results from the first event in 1952 to the most recent competition in 2008. Note that, from 1990 to 2000, there was only a "Top 3" with the third and fourth runner-ups positions eliminated.

Rank	Country/Territory	Miss Universe	1st Runner-Up	2nd Runner-Up	3rd Runner-Up	4th Runner-Up	Total	Semifinalists
1	USA	7	8	6	1	5	27	53
2	Venezuela	5	6	5	4	2	22	35
3	Puerto Rico	5	1	2	1	1	10	16
4	Sweden	3	1	2	3	4	13	28
5	Brazil	2	5	0	2	3	12	29
6	Finland	2	3	5	1	1	12	18
7	Australia	2	1	2	0	2	7	12
8	Japan	2	1	1	2	3	9	18
9	India	2	1	1	1	1	6	19
10	Canada	2	1	1	0	0	4	16

Trivia and statistics

Scores

• Electronic voting was introduced to television viewers in 1978 when the pageant was held in Acapulco, Mexico: for the first time in a televised pageant, the audience got to see how the judges voted. The pageant still uses a computer voting system. There is a team of three people who install, maintain, and operate the voting system. They sit somewhere in the audience area with a view of the stage, usually just in front of the accountants. They are listed in credits as “Computer Score Operators”. The same system is used for Miss Teen USA and Miss USA.

Locations

For the full list of venues, see List of Miss Universe winners and venues.

• 6 winners have been crowned Miss Universe on home turf:
  • 1954: Miriam Stevenson (USA) was crowned in Long Beach, California, USA.
  • 1956: Carol Morris (USA) was crowned in Long Beach, California, USA.
  • 1960: Linda Bement (USA) was crowned in Miami Beach, Florida, USA.
  • 1967: Sylvia Hitchcock (USA) was crowned in Miami Beach, Florida, USA.
  • 1997: Brook Mahealani Lee (USA) was crowned in Miami Beach, Florida, USA.
  • 2001: Denise Quiñones (Puerto Rico) was crowned in Bayamón, Puerto Rico.

• In 1972, the Miss Universe Pageant was held outside the continental US for the first time, taking place in Dorado, Puerto Rico.

• In 2008, the Miss Universe Pageant was held in a contemporary Communist state for the first time, taking place in Nha Trang - Khanh Hoa province, Vietnam.

• Outside the continental US, Mexico has hosted the most Miss Universe pageants, with four. The various locations were:
  • Mexico: Acapulco (1978), Cancún (1989) and Mexico City (1993, 2007)

• Apart from the United States and Mexico, the other territory/states to host the pageant more than once were:
  • Puerto Rico: Dorado (1972), Bayamón (2001), San Juan (2002)
  • Manila, Philippines (1974 & 1994)
  • Panama City, Panama (1986 & 2003)
  • Bangkok, Thailand (1992 & 2005)

Competing states

See also: List of Miss Universe countries

• 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, five fourth runners-up, six finalists, and seventeen semi-finalists. Miss USA has missed the semi-finals only three times: 1976 (Barbara Peterson, from Minnesota), 1999 (Kimberly Pressler, from New York), and 2002 (Shauntay Hinton, from Washington,DC). In 1957, Leona Gage, from Maryland, was disqualified from the semi-finals after it was revealed that she was married and a mother.

• After the USA, Venezuela is the next most successful nation in terms of overall placements in the semi-finals (34); it is followed in turn by Brazil (29), Colombia and Sweden (both 28), Germany (21), Israel (20), England and India (both 19), Finland and Greece (both 18), Japan and Norway (both 17), Canada, Peru, Puerto Rico and South Africa (16 each). Of these countries, only England has yet to win the contest.

• The United States has been the most successful nation to compete in Miss Universe in the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. Venezuela has been most successful in the 1990s and 2000s.

• The nations that have competed every single year of competition (from 1952 to date) are Canada, France, Germany, and the USA. Sweden lost this distinction when it failed to send a contestant in 2005. Israel missed the pageant in 1953, while Greece was absent in 1988 (its 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.

• After the USA, Venezuela ranked second in terms of consecutive placements in the semi-finals: 21 years, from 1983 to 2003, nearly beating the United States' 22-year streak between 1977-1998.

• Other than the USA and Venezuela, the countries that have made the semi-finals the most in a row are India (who in recent years has 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 in a row (1992-1994) a streak that has been unparalleled in competition history.

• 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 Östring, first runner-up, 1967: Ritva Lehto, third runner-up, 1968: Leena Brusiin, second runner-up, and 1969: Harriet Eriksson, first runner-up).

• Both Puerto Rico and Venezuela have had at least one winner in each of the last four decades, the only two nations/territories to accomplish this feat. ( Puerto Rico: Marisol Malaret in the 70s (1970), Deborah Carthy-Deu in the 80s (1985), Dayanara Torres in the 90s (1993), and Denise Quiñones (2001) & Zuleyka Rivera (2006) in the 2000s. Venezuela: Maritza Sayalero in the 70s (1979), Irene Sáez (1981) & Bárbara Palacios Teyde (1986) in the 80s, Alicia Machado in the 90s (1996), and Dayana Mendoza in the 2000s (2008).

Delegates

• Miss Universe 1957, Gladys Zender from Peru was the youngest Miss Universe in history. She was 17 when she won the title.

• 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 has ever gone on to win Miss World.
• Eight Miss Universe delegates placed as runner-up or semi-finalist in that pageant and later won the Miss World title. They were: Susana Duijm - semi-finalist, Venezuela 1955; Corine Rottschäfer - semi-finalist, Holland 1958; Rosemarie Frankland - First Runner-up, Wales 1961; Madeleine Hartog Bell - semi-finalist, Peru 1966; Eva Rueber-Staier - semi-finalist, Austria 1969; Helen Morgan - first runner-up, Wales 1974 (dethroned); Gina Swainson - First Runner-up, Bermuda 1979 and Agbani Darego - semi-finalist, Nigeria 2001.

• At 5 feet 4 inches (1.63 m) 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 and a mother, though she had qualified for the semi-finals. She was replaced by Miss Argentina, Mónica Lamas.

• 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 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 late September. 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 Latin-American 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 caused mayhem in a sports bar as they competed to win the admiration of the men present.

• A new trend of delegates representing countries they were not born in has developed. Miss Universe 2002 Justine Pasek was born in Kharkiv, Ukraine, where her Panamanian mother was completing her University studies. Miss Israel 2005, Elena Ralph was also born in Ukraine and moved to Israel when she was 18 years old. The most famous country-swapper was probably Natascha Börger. After placing 12th in the 2000 Venezuelan pageant she moved to Germany where she easily won the crown of Miss Deutschland 2002. Other notable contestants who represented countries other than their birth place include the Miss Universe Canada and Miss Universe 2005 Natalie Glebova who is Russian by birth, Miss Universe Canada 2006 Alice Panikian who is Bulgarian by birth, Miss Germany Universe 2006 Natalie Ackermann who is Colombian by birth, and Venezuelan born Francys Sudnicka representing Poland. Such is also reflected in the growing number of delegates from different parts of the world being sent to a third country (almost always Latin American) for further training before going on to the host country and compete in the pageant proper.

• In 1999, Botswana sent Mpule Kwelagobe as its first ever delegate to the pageant and she won.

• In 2007 Jamaica sent the first ever Rastafarian contestant.

• In 2007, Riyo Mori of Japan was crowned in Mexico City, Mexico in another controversial competition. All ten finalists were brunettes. When Miss Mexico failed to make the final cut, the crowd loudly booed Miss USA who did pass despite falling over in the evening gown competition.

Winners

• Natalie Glebova of Canada, Miss Universe 2005 reigned for the longest period in Miss Universe history: one year and 53 days (almost 2 months) from the time she was crowned on May 31, 2005 in Bangkok, Thailand. Riyo Mori of Japan, Miss Universe 2007 reigned for almost the same length: one year and 45 days from the time she was crowned on May 28, 2007 in Mexico City, Mexico.

• 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); Bárbara Palacios (1986, Venezuela); Porntip Nakhirunkanok (1988, Thailand); Mona Grudt (1990, Norway); Lupita Jones (1991, Mexico); Michelle McLean (1992, Namibia); Brook Mahealani 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).

• Miss Universe 2000, Lara Dutta's (India) finalist interview was the highest individual score in any category in the history of the Miss Universe contest, as her perfect interview saw a majority of the judges giving her the maximum 9.99 mark. It was the last year such scores were televised until 2007.

• Highest Televised Scores in the Semi-Finals:

Evening Gown competition - 9.897 by Carolina Gómez of Colombia in 1994.

Swimsuit competition - 9.88 by Oxana Fedorova of Russia in 2002.

Interview competition - 9.843 by Milka Chulina of Venezuela in 1993.

• The largest interval between a nation winning Miss Universe (at present) is Japan; Akiko Kojima won the title in 1959 and, 48 years later, Riyo Mori became the second recipient from Japan. The shortest gap is two years; USA won in 1954 and 1956, then in 1995 and 1997 and Venezuela won in 1979 and 1981. Curiously, between the Venezuelan triumphs of 1979 and 1981, the winner was from the USA, and between the two USA wins in 1995 and 1997, the winner was from Venezuela.

Awards

Further information: Miss Universe special awards

• The Philippines has won the Miss Photogenic award seven times (including a back-to-back and a three-peat), followed by the UK 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 has won the Miss Congeniality award four times.

• 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 three other awards on pageant night was Denise Quiñones (Miss Puerto Rico), who in 2001 also won Miss Photogenic, Bluepoint Swimsuit Award, and Clairol Best Style Award.

• Four Miss Universe winners were awarded Miss Photogenic: Margareta Arvidsson (Sweden, 1966), Margarita Moran (Philippines, 1973), Janelle Commissiong (Trinidad/Tobago, 1977) and Denise Quiñones (Puerto Rico, 2001)

• Three titleholders have also won Best National Costume: Porntip Nakhirunkanok (Thailand, 1988), Wendy Fitzwilliams (Trinidad/Tobago, 1998) and Amelia Vega (Dominican Republic, 2003)

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."

Controversies

• Armi Kuusela of Finland was the first Miss Universe in 1952. She resigned to get married to Virgilio Hilario, a Filipino businessman, a month before her reign ended, the first international beauty queen to do so, but retained her title.

• Miss Universe 1974, Amparo Muñoz, resigned her title six months into her reign. The title was not offered to first runner-up Helen Morgan who by then had also won the 1974 Miss World pageant. Morgan resigned several days later when it was revealed she was an unmarried mother.

• In 1993, Miss USA Kenya Moore was booed during the pageant held in Mexico. Early in the pageant, Moore tripped and fell on the floor. Later in the show, Moore was selected as one of ten semifinalists, while Miss Mexico was not. Fourteen years later, Rachel Smith of USA was also booed in Mexico. During the evening gown portion of the pageant, Smith's dress got caught up in her shoes, which caused her to fall. Later in the show, Miss USA was selected as one of the final five contestants, while Miss Mexico was not.

• Miss Universe 1996, Alicia Machado, of Venezuela, was warned by the organization because she exceeded the maximum weight required during her reign, but the requirement was not enforced.

• Miss Guam 1999, Trisha Heflin, was disqualified from the pageant that year for being pregnant, a report initially denied by officials in Guam. Finalist Mpule Kwelagobe's final question on the night of the live telecast was whether she thought a Miss Universe who became pregnant should be allowed to continue her reign, to which she responded that she should, since being pregnant was a sign of femininity, which Miss Universe stands for. Her answer to this controversial question would meet with the approval of the audience, as evidenced by the applause she received, and would earn her the title that night.

External links

• Miss Universe official website