FAVORITES: 71st Miss Universe special awards favorites

Based on the 71st Miss Universe preliminary and national costume competitions, and the official headshots posted by the Miss Universe Organization, we scored the 84 contestants to come up with our own set of winners for the special awards.

Meet the winners:


Best in National Costume

Winner - Ukraine, Viktoria Apanasenko
2nd - Guatemala, Ivana Batchelor
3rd - USA, R'Bonney Gabriel

---

Best in Evening Gown

Winner - Thailand, Anna Sueangam-iam
2nd - USA, R'Bonney Gabriel
3rd - Dominican Republic, Andreína Martínez Founier

---

Best in Swimsuit:

Winner - Dominican Republic, Andreína Martínez Founier
2nd - USA, R'Bonney Gabriel
3rd - Puerto Rico - Ashley Cariño

---


Miss Photogenic

Winner - Philippines, Celeste Cortesi
2nd - Venezuela, Amanda Dudamel
3rd - Peru, Alessia Rovegno

Don't miss the 71st Miss Universe final competition live from the New Orleans Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA this Saturday, January 14 at 7 p.m. CST.


RELATED POSTS:




Popular posts from this blog

75th Miss Universe: Miss Universe 2026 Fan Vote is officially OPEN

Image
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 ...
Read more

FAVORITES: Miss Universe 2026 Top 15 pre-arrival favorites

Image
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
Read more

Miss Universe 2026 final competition tickets sell out in just 48 hours

Image
The Miss Universe Organization has just announced that Miss Universe 2026 final competition tickets completely sold out within just 48 hours of becoming available for purchase. This year's much awaited pageant will conclude on November 24 at the José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Although the final competition has already sold out, you can still secure tickets for the National Costume Show and Preliminary Competition through ticketera.com . As stated by the organization, "Both shows will showcase NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN musical performances and cultural surprises that will make this 75th anniversary unforgettable." MUO has also shared the first look at the STATE-OF-THE-ART stage (pictured above) created for the 75th edition of the prestigious pageant. Photo: Miss Universe
Read more

Dominika Viktorie Kotoučková is the new Miss Universe Czech Republic

Image
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 ...
Read more

LIVE UPDATES: Miss Grand International 2026 Grand Final Results

Image
Miss Grand International 2026, the 14th Miss Grand International beauty pageant is happening tonight at MGI Hall in Bangkok, Thailand. A total of 77 grand beauties from around the world will compete for the golden crown currently held by Emma Mary Tiglao of the Philippines. The show is live streaming on Grand TV official YouTube channel and is hosted by Matthew Dean alongside former queens Isabella Menin, Luciana Fuster, CJ Opiaza. Also joining as hosts of the evening are reigning MGI All-Stars winner Vanessa Pulgarin and runner-up Nguyen Huong Giang. Who will be crowned the next Miss Grand International? View this post on Instagram A post shared by 𝐌𝐈𝐒𝐒 𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋 (@missgrandinternational) --- FINAL RESULTS --- SPECIAL AWARDS Best National Costume Pakistan - Zara Younus Thailand - Patthama Jitsawat Philippines - Angelica Lopez Hong Kong - Xuebing Liu --- TOP 25 Ecuador - Shyare Andrade (Country's Power of the Year...
Read more

Paris-born model Garance Authié is the new Miss Universe France

Image
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...
Read more

Mister Global 2026 is Dilhan Divrikli from Turkey

Image
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...
Read more

Tanzania's Jihan Dimack crowned Miss Grand International 2026

Image
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...
Read more

Mexico's Andrés Briseño wins Mister International 2026

Image
The 18th Mister International pageant wrapped up with an electrifying final show on Saturday, September 26 at MCC Hall Bangkapi in Bangkok, Thailand. Andrés Briseño, a 21-year-old athlete and law student from Mexico, was proclaimed Mister International 2026. This remarkable achievement marks a historic moment as he becomes the first Mexican ever to claim this prestigious title. Ignacio Monclus of Spain was named first runner-up, while Indonesia's Gede Aiswarya Kartika, Turkey's Doğukan Navdar, Vietnam's Nguyen Vu Linh, and Sri Lanka's Ravindu Wijesooriya secured the second, third, fourth, and fifth runner-up positions respectively. Rounding out the Top 10 were impressive competitors from Nigeria (Abure Ebosetale), the Philippines (John Wayne Alba), Korea (Jung Gyu Park), and Thailand (Waranyu Tharasiriwattanakul). The rest of the Top 20 were from Australia (Dylan Mahoney), Canada (Maverick Service), Iraq (Mustafa Bayati), the Netherlands (Yannick Tavernier), Northern Cy...
Read more

Miss Belgium Olga Lombardo to compete in Miss Universe 2026

Image
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
Read more