beauty pageant

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Octogenarian Nearly Became the Oldest Miss Universe Contestant

Choi Soon-hwa made it to finals of Miss Universe Korea pageant, but won't advance

(Newser) - Choi Soon-hwa may not have won Miss Universe Korea, but her appearance at Monday's pageant proved, as CNN put it, that "age is just a number." Choi, variously reported as 80 or 81, had hopes of becoming the oldest woman ever to compete in the Miss Universe...

Miss Kansas Calls Out Her Abuser in Public

Alexis Smith said he was in the pageant audience in video now gone viral

(Newser) - A newly posted video of Miss Kansas calling out her domestic violence abuser from the stage the night she was crowned is whipping up a maelstrom of support on social media. Alexis Smith, who works overnight shifts as a cardiothoracic intensive care nurse in Wichita, was crowned Miss Kansas on...

Miss Teen USA Quits 2 Days After Miss USA

UmaSofia Srivastava cites 'personal values'

(Newser) - Something appears to be amiss in the world of beauty pageants. Miss Teen USA UmaSofia Srivastava announced her resignation on Wednesday, just two days after Noelia Voigt abruptly resigned as Miss USA, reports USA Today . In a statement posted on Instagram , the 11th-grader said she was stepping down after "...

Miss USA 2023 Abruptly Resigns
Miss USA 2023
Abruptly Resigns

Miss USA 2023 Abruptly Resigns

'Never compromise your physical and mental well-being,' Noelia Voigt says

(Newser) - Noelia Voigt, who was crowned Miss USA 2023 last September, announced Monday that she has made the "very tough decision" to resign. In an Instagram post, the 24-year-old said she strongly values "the importance of making decisions that feel best for you and your mental health," USA ...

Ukrainian-Born Miss Japan Resigns Over Affair
Miss Japan Resigns Over Affair

Miss Japan Resigns Over Affair

Ukrainian-born Karolina Shiino largely blamed for relationship with a married man

(Newser) - The first woman of European descent to be crowned Miss Japan has given up her title following a report that she had an affair with a married man. Shukan Bunshun reported last week on Ukrainian-born model Karolina Shiino's relationship with Takuma Maeda, a married doctor and influencer. The Miss...

New Miss Japan Was Born in Ukraine



New Miss Japan
Is a Bit Different
Than Past Winners
in case you missed it

New Miss Japan Is a Bit Different Than Past Winners

Carolina Shiino was born in Ukraine to Ukrainian parents, moved to Japan at age 5

(Newser) - Carolina Shiino was crowned Miss Japan on Monday, but the headlines on her win are focused on the debate surrounding it. The 26-year-old model from Nagoya, who was born in Ukraine to Ukrainian parents and moved to Japan when she was 5, is the country's first naturalized citizen to...

This Country Gets Its First Miss Universe Crown

Miss Nicaragua Sheynnis Palacios wins 72nd edition of the beauty pageant

(Newser) - Miss Nicaragua Sheynnis Palacios won the Miss Universe competition late Saturday in El Salvador, the first to wear the crown from her country. Palacios is a 23-year-old communicologist, reports the AP , who says she wants to work to promote mental health after suffering debilitating bouts of anxiety herself. Miss Thailand,...

Miss Netherlands Scores a First
Miss Netherlands
Scores a First

Miss Netherlands Scores a First

Rikkie Valerie Kolle is the first trans woman with the crown and will compete for Miss Universe

(Newser) - Here she is—Miss Netherlands. And for the first time, Miss Netherlands is a transgender woman. With her new crown, Rikkie Valerie Kolle will be the second trans woman to compete for the title of Miss Universe later this year, NPR reports. Kolle is looking to support young women and...

Miss England Finalist Goes Makeup-Free

Melisa Raouf says she's accepted her 'imperfections'

(Newser) - A finalist for the Miss England title has set herself apart by showing her true face in the competition. Melisa Raouf, 20, who has long worn makeup, made her decision after a bare-faced semifinal round Monday, CNN reports. She plans to compete the same way in the final in October....

Scholarship Cash Used to Pay for Exec's Dating Sites: Prosecutors

Mary Wickersham is also accused of using pageant scholarship funds for maid services, meals out

(Newser) - The Miss Florida Scholarship Program was designed to distribute funds to young women coming up through the beauty pageant world, but prosecutors say that for Mary Wickersham, an ex-executive director for the nonprofit, it was a personal piggy bank used to buy an array of goods and services for herself....

Steve Harvey Takes Heat for Miss Universe Question

Host requested that Miss India Harnaaz Sandhu do her best animal impression

(Newser) - If you're vying to become Miss Universe, it's expected you'll have to wear a swimsuit, brag about your accomplishments, and answer some questions. During Sunday's competition in Eilat, Israel, Miss India was instead thrown by a rather unusual request from host Steve Harvey. "I hear...

Nearly Half of Miss Mexico 2021 Contestants Got COVID

Beauty pageant was still held, though winner was crowned 2 days early

(Newser) - Contestants from 14 of Mexico’s 32 states at a Miss Mexico contest tested positive for the coronavirus, a health official in the northern Mexico border state of Chihuahua said Tuesday. State Health Secretary Eduardo Fernández Herrera told local media that all the contestants had all submitted negative tests...

Meet the First Transgender Miss USA Contestant

Kataluna Enriquez was just crowned Miss Nevada in another first

(Newser) - For the first time in the history of the Miss Nevada pageant, an openly transgender woman has nabbed the crown. Kataluna Enriquez bested 21 other women to become the first openly transgender Miss Nevada at a ceremony at the South Point Hotel Casino in Las Vegas on Sunday, per USA ...

Mrs. World Gives Up Her Crown After On-Stage Fracas

After Caroline Jurie's exit, Kate Schneider from Ireland is the new Mrs. World

(Newser) - Kate Schneider from Ireland has been named the new Mrs. World after the reigning titleholder resigned following an on-stage fracas in which she pulled the crown off the head of the winner of the Mrs. Sri Lanka beauty pageant. Mrs. World Inc. said it has received the resignation of Caroline...

Mrs. World 2020 Arrested in Crown-Grabbing Incident

The current Mrs. Sri Lanka, who has been re-crowned, was injured

(Newser) - Mrs. World 2020 now faces assault charges. Caroline Jurie, who won Mrs. Sri Lanka in 2019 before going on to win Mrs. World, was arrested after the bizarre Sunday night incident in which she yanked the crown off the head of the new Mrs. Sri Lanka moments after she'd...

She Was Miss Papua New Guinea —Until TikTok Video

Lucy Maino stripped of title after posting video of her twerking

(Newser) - She posted a video of herself twerking on TikTok. That generally wouldn't have been a big deal, but for this 25-year-old, it meant the loss of a crown. Lucy Maino has been stripped of her Miss Papua New Guinea title after sharing the now-deleted video, reports the Guardian . Critics...

After 'Mrs. Sri Lanka' Is Named, a Weird Turn of Events

Mrs. World 2020 declared Pushpika De Silva ineligible and removed her crown

(Newser) - It's an event that's high-profile enough that the prime minister's wife attended. The "Mrs Sri Lanka" pageant unexpectedly ended up being high-drama as well on Sunday night. The BBC calls it the country's "biggest beauty prize," and reports Pushpika De Silva was named...

'It's Us Who Will Be Attacked': Beauty Pageant Has Rare Agenda

Miss Muslimah USA is breaking boundaries in Michigan

(Newser) - "I am a Muslim feminist. Many people think those two words are incompatible, but I am here to prove you wrong." So said 22-year-old Zeytuna Mohamed after taking the stage last July at the Miss Muslimah USA pageant in Dearborn, Michigan—a little-known event that casts a fresh...

Beauty Queen Trades Crown for Stethoscope

Bhasha Mukherjee cut her humanitarian work short to return to UK and her old job as a doctor

(Newser) - Bhasha Mukherjee was crowned Miss England last year—but with the coronavirus pandemic ravaging the UK, she has now returned from the overseas charity work she was doing so that she can work as a doctor in her home country. Mukherjee was a junior doctor, but took a break from...

Science Demonstration Clinches Win for Miss America

'Miss America is someone who needs to educate'

(Newser) - The new Miss America is the fourth Miss Virginia to wear the crown—and the first candidate to perform a science demonstration in front of judges. "Miss America is someone who needs to educate," 24-year-old biochemist Camille Schrier told the judges after a colorful demonstration of the catalytic...

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