PAGEANT Circle

The Miss Universe 2026 season is nearly upon us, and Puerto Rico—the gracious host territory—stands ready to embrace the universe's most beautiful women as they vie for the prestigious title. Reigning Miss Universe Fátima Bosch from Mexico will crown her successor on November 24 at the iconic José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum in San Juan. Who will be crowned the next Miss Universe? Meet our pre-arrival favorites: (in alphabetical order) Colombia - María Alejandra López Dominican Republic - Melissa Núñez Finland - Veera Grönlund Honduras - Luisa Pineda India - Kaziah Mejo Mexico - María Vargas Netherlands - Melissa Bottema New Zealand - Georgia Waddington Philippines - Bea Millan-Windorski Puerto Rico - Jennifer Barreto Spain - Susana Medina South Africa - Bajabulise Thela Tanzania - Elizabeth Makune USA - Justus Kelley VENEZUELA - Clara Vegas Special mentions:  Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Chile, Ethiopia, Great Britain, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Panama, Peru

Garance Authié was proclaimed Miss Universe France 2026 on October 18 and will represent her country at Miss Universe 2026 in Puerto Rico this November. The 22-year-old Paris-born international fashion model is the first representative under the new organization after Miss France parted ways with the Miss Universe license. Lilou Emeline-Artuso and Mareva Michel were the rest of the Top 3 finalists who battled it out for the national title. With a background in business administration and a master's in management and finance from London, the new Miss Universe France embodies beauty, intelligence, and ambition. Passionate about women's empowerment, Garance champions independence, authenticity, and the freedom for every woman to define her own success. "Waking up and it still feels like a dream," she wrote on social media after winning her title. Road to the 75th Miss Universe: View this post on Instagram A post shared by Garance Authié (@garance.auth...

Dominika Viktorie Kotoučková has taken on the role of Miss Universe Czech Republic 2026 following Sophia Maria Osako's decision to resign. "Representing the Czech Republic is a great honor and a great responsibility. After careful consideration of all circumstances, I have decided to pass the participation in the international competition to another candidate," Sophia shared. The newly appointed Miss Universe Czech Republic is a 25-year-old biomedical student and equestrian from Prague. She was officially sashed and crowned in a special ceremony held on Wednesday, October 21 at the iconic Lobkowicz Palace. Previously first runner-up of Miss Universe Czech Republic 2026, Dominika will now prepare to represent her country at the 75th Miss Universe (Miss Universe 2026) pageant in Puerto Rico this coming November. "We are incredibly proud to welcome Dominika as our official representative and wish her every success as she prepares to carry the Czech flag onto the global ...

With just weeks left before the Miss Universe 2026 pageant in Puerto Rico, the Miss Universe Organization (MUO) has announced the official start of fan voting. Fans can visit missuniverseorg.com to view profiles of the official contestants and cast their votes. The contestant earning the most fan votes will automatically advance to the Top 30. Beyond voting for a Top 30 spot, fans can also participate in special voting categories such as Best Evening Gown, Best Swimsuit, and Best National Costume. According to MUO, the launch of fan voting is part of Crown Season, the period of celebration leading up to the final show, during which fans can engage with the Miss Universe experience and show their support for contestants from their countries. The 75th Miss Universe officially launches on November 8, when the contestants arrive in Puerto Rico to begin activities that will culminate in crowning of the next Miss Universe in front of a global audience on November 24. MUO encourages fans to ...

After Miss World, Olga Lombardo is heading to Puerto Rico to compete as Belgium's representative at the Miss Universe 2026 pageant happening this November. This 23-year-old beauty clinched the Miss Belgium 2026 crown earlier this year and recently made waves at Miss World 2026 in Vietnam, where she landed in the Top 20 out of 111 contestants. Olga was born to a Gabonese mother and a Belgian-Italian father. She lives in Brussels and is currently pursuing her master's degree in pharmaceutical sciences. The 75th Miss Universe final competition will be held at the José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum in San Juan on November 24. Photo: Selina De Maeyer / Miss Belgium

María Alejandra López Pérez was crowned Miss Universe Colombia 2026 on Saturday, October 10 in Barranquilla. The 32-year-old model and engineer from Risaralda will represent Colombia at the Miss Universe 2026 pageant in Puerto Rico this coming November. Marly Velásquez of Medellín, Lauren Escandón of Región Andina, Andrea Aguilera of Antioquia, and Susana del Portillo of Valle were announced first, second, third, and fourth runners-up, respectively. The new Miss Universe Colombia received her crown from last year's first runner-up Gloria Mutis of Santander.  Last year's winner Vanessa Pulgarín, who recently clinched the MGI All Stars title in Thailand, was in Bangkok to cohost the Miss Grand International 2026 pageant. María Alejandra is no stranger to pageantry. She was first runner-up at Señorita Colombia 2013 and went on to win Reina Hispanoamericana 2013 in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. In 2015, she competed in Miss World pageant held in Sanya, China but narrowly missed a...

Saffron Maya Snook from Thailand has won Miss Global 2026 on Sunday, October 11 at MCC Hall, The Mall Lifestore Ngamwongwan in Nonthaburi, Thailand. The 24-year-old beauty bested 60 other contestants to win the beauty title. She became the first Thai woman to become Miss Global. Kelly Kirstein of the USA, Bianca Caraballo of Puerto Rico, Jayvee Lorejo of the Philippines, and Kyaw Kyaw Eaindra of Myanmar were announced the first, second, third, and fourth runners-up, respectively. Hosted by actor Vasin Asvanarunat alongside former Miss Universe Thailand Anntonia Porsild, this year's competition marked the 10th edition of the annual Miss Global pageant. The new Miss Global was crowned by her predecessor Nguyen Dinh Nhu Van from Vietnam. View this post on Instagram A post shared by TPN GLOBAL (@tpn.global) Photos: Miss Global, TPN Global / Instagram

Dilhan Divrikli from Turkey was proclaimed Mister Global 2026 on Saturday, October 10 at MCC Hall, The Mall Lifestore Ngamwongwan in Nonthaburi, Thailand. The 21-year-old model and aspiring actor bested 38 other contestants to win the coveted international male beauty title. He also bagged the Media Choice award. Bethel Mbamara of Nigeria was named first runner-up while MJ Ordillano of the Philippines, Anthony Moua of Hmong, and Alejandro Quintero of Venezuela were the second, third, and fourth runners-up, respectively. The rest of the Top 11 finalists were from Brazil (Yago Cavalcante), Dominican Republic (Bray Vargas), Mexico (Alexander Cardona), Myanmar (Htet Wai Aung, Netherlands (Anthony Henricus) and Spain (Abel Villamor Díaz). Contestants from Canada (Jay Stokes), Colombia (Kevin Perez Gonzalez), France (Bizien Maxime), Japan (Dan Reynolds), Korea (Jeong-chan Lee), Nepal (Girish Ratna Shakya), Portugal (Joan Figueira), Puerto Rico (Armando Cordero), and USA (Alijah Johnson) made...

Jihan Dimack from Tanzania was proclaimed the winner of Miss Grand International 2026 on Saturday, October 10 at MGI Hall in Bangkok, Thailand. The 30-year-old Tanzanian-Lebanese model bested over 70 other contestants to win her country's first golden crown. She succeeds Emma Mary Tiglao of the Philippines. Shyare Andrade of Ecuador was named first runner-up while Beau Megan Goos of the Netherlands, Ximena Carrillo of Guatemala and Emoura Pham of Vietnam finished as the second, third, and fourth runners-up, respectively. The rest of the Top 11 and were awarded fifth runners-up were from Côte d'Ivoire (Marlène Kany Kouassi), Cuba (Alyanni Gómez), Mexico (Pety Juárez), Puerto Rico (Vicky Carbonell), Thailand (Patthama Jitsawat), and Venezuela (Lady Di Mosquera). No stranger to pageantry, the new Miss Grand International is a former Miss Universe Tanzania titleholder. She participated in Miss Universe 2016 held in the Philippines. Jihan became the first Tanzanian woman and the fi...