History repeats itself as India crowns USA at 71st Miss Universe


Another history repeats itself moment just happened during the culmination of the 71st Miss Universe pageant in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.

The highly talked about coronation event brought us back to the iconic moment when India's first Miss Universe Sushmita Sen crowned her successor, the late Chelsi Smith of the USA as Miss Universe 1995 in Namibia.

Almost 28 years later, another winner from India, Harnaaz Sandhu, crowned R'Bonney Gabriel of the USA as Miss Universe 2022 on January 14 at the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center.

What's more interesting is that both biracial Americans Chelsi and R'Bonney competed in Miss Texas USA twice before winning the state title, then went on to become Miss USA, and eventually, Miss Universe.

They are both trailblazers for other women with a mixed-race background who wish to take the same path. While Chelsi was the first ever African-American to win Miss Texas USA, R'Bonney became the first Filipino-American to win Miss Texas USA, Miss USA, and Miss Universe.

Whatever connection there is, without question both phenomenal and empowered women were crowned on the world's most prestigious stage run by women for women.

Forever in our hearts, Chelsi was diagnosed with liver cancer in 2017 and died in 2018 at age 45. She was the seventh Miss Texas USA to win Miss USA and the sixth US representative to win Miss Universe.

Photos: Miss Universe

RELATED POSTS:




Popular posts from this blog

Miss Nepal 2023: Meet the winners of Miss Nepal World, Earth and International titles

Image
The Dabur Vatika Miss Nepal 2023 final competition was held on Saturday, May 27 at the Godawari Convention Hall in Lalitpur. Contestant number 17   Srichchha Pradhan, a Bennington College graduate with a degree in environmental studies, was proclaimed Miss Nepal World 2023. Raina Majgaiya, a commercial pilot, clinched the title Miss Nepal Earth 2023 while Prasiddhy Shah, also an environmental studies graduate, was named Miss Nepal International 2023. They are expected to represent Nepal at Miss World 2024, Miss Earth 2023 (Vietnam), and Miss International 2023 (Japan), respectively. A total of 24 contestants from around the country were selected to take part in the 27th edition of the Miss Nepal pageant. Last year's titleholders Priyanka Rani Joshi, Sareesha Shrestha, and Nancy Khadka crowned their respective successors at the end of the event. In case you missed it, here's the full show: Photo: Miss Nepal - The Hidden Treasure / Instagram
Read more

Miss Illinois USA 2023 is Samantha Elliott of Freeport

Image
Miss Freeport, Samantha Elliott, was crowned Miss Illinois USA 2023 in a glittering state competition held on Sunday, May 28 at Braden Auditorium of the Illinois State University. The runners-up were Grace Rodi of DuPage County, Olivia Santelli of Edison Park, Yolina Lindquist of Southern Illinois, and Abby Foster of East Central. Samantha succeeds Angel Reyes, last year's winner who placed fourth runner-up and bagged the Miss Photogenic award at Miss USA 2022. The 22-year-old University of Kansas alumna with degrees in accounting and analytics will now prepare to represent Illinois at Miss USA 2023 in Reno, Nevada this fall. "Truly honored to be your new Miss Illinois USA. Words cannot express how excited I am to get this year started and to be headed to Miss USA," she wrote on social media. Sunday's event also crowned Vivica Lewandowski of Gold Coast as Miss Illinois Teen USA 2023 while Sofia Console, Karolina Kozbial, Sophia Xia, and Grace Toomey were announced as
Read more

Miss Universe Albania 2023 is Endi Demneri from Tirana

Image
Endi Demneri was crowned Miss Universe Albania 2023 in a national competition held on Thursday, June 1 at Pallati i Kongreseve (Palace of Congresses) in Tirana. The 24-year-old model from Tirana succeeds Deta Kokomani and will now prepare to represent Albania at the 72nd Miss Universe (Miss Universe 2023) pageant in El Salvador later this year. "I want to dedicate this beautiful journey to my grandmother and grandfather, my two angels. I am convinced that if they were in the hall last night, the loudest ovations would come from them," she shared on social media after winning her national title. "I strongly believe that beauty isn't just about having a beautiful image, but having a beautiful mind, a beautiful heart, and a beautiful soul," she added. Hosted by Teni Vllaçaj and Eriona Sejdiu, the star-studded glittering event aired exclusively on Vizion Plus, an Albanian media company. Albania has yet to win Miss Universe since its debut in the international compe
Read more

Miss Michigan USA 2023 is Alexis Fagan-Williams

Image
Alexis Fagan-Williams, representing Motown, was crowned Miss Michigan USA 2023 on Saturday, June 3 at the McMorran Place Sports & Entertainment Center in Port Huron. The 22-year-old psychology graduate from Detroit succeeds Aria Hutchinson and will now prepare to represent Michigan at Miss USA 2023 in Reno, Nevada. "Words cannot express how grateful I am to have won the title of Miss Michigan USA 2023. I want to thank everyone who has helped me on this long journey to the crown. It means the world to have such an amazing support system behind me," she wrote in a statement on social media. Her court of runners-up includes Sidnei Austin of Somerset, Alexandria Kelly of South Canton, Sabrina Ramos of Dearborn, Michele Lewandoski of Norton Shores, and Victoria Singleton of Macomb County. Farmington Hills' Avery Hill succeeds Isabella Mosqueda as she was proclaimed Miss Michigan Teen USA 2023. She will now proceed to compete in Miss Teen USA 2023 final this fall. The teen&
Read more

Miss Arizona USA 2023 is Candace Kanavel of Tempe

Image
Candace Kanavel was crowned Miss Arizona USA 2023 on Monday, May 29 at the Higley Center for the Performing Arts in Gilbert, Arizona. The 27-year-old Arizona State University alumna and police officer from Tempe will now represent her home state at Miss USA 2023 in Reno, Nevada this fall. She succeeds last year's winner Isabel Ticlo after trying to win the title for several years. Jordyn Owen, Khayla Munir, Zari Chacon, Sammi Landsman, and Victoria Jackson were declared the runners-up to the new Miss Arizona USA. "Is this real life?! So excited and honored to represent the state of Arizona as your Miss Arizona USA 2023," Candace wrote in a statement on social media. "It’s true when they say it takes a village, and I couldn’t have done this without mine," she added and went on to thank the people who made her victory possible. Her message for her fellow competitors: "To my amazing class, you are beautiful, inspiring, intelligent, and kind. This isn’t just my
Read more

Femina Miss India 2023: Meet the 30 contestants

Image
Following several rounds of auditions across the country, the Top 30 state winners of Femina Miss India 2023 have been officially revealed. The national pageant is expected to hold its 59th edition this April at Imphal, Manipur, but the exact date of the final competition is yet to be announced. Last year's winner Sini Shetty of Karnataka, who will represent India at the 71st Miss World edition (Miss World 2023) in the UAE, will crown her successor at the end of the event. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Femina Miss India (@missindiaorg) After two years of online pageant activities due to the pandemic, this year's pageant will be held entirely in person. This is also the very first time in history for the grand coronation of Femina Miss India to be hosted in northeast India. The next Femina Miss India is expected to represent her country at the 72nd Miss World pageant. Meet the contestants: ANDHRA PRADESH - Gomathy Reddy ARUNACHAL PRADESH - T
Read more

Miss Pakistan World 2023 is Misbah Arshad

Image
Misbah Arshad was proclaimed Miss Pakistan World 2023 in a crowning ceremony held on Wednesday, May 31 at the Grand Palm Hotel in Lahore. The 25-year-old Pakistani beauty lives in Munich, Germany with her family and is pursuing her bachelor's degree in psychology at the University of Hagen. She succeeds last year's titleholder Anniqa Jamal Iqbal and will represent Pakistan at Miss Earth 2023 in Vietnam later this year.  Alongside the new Miss Pakistan World, the rest of the winners this year were also awarded titles in different categories — Miss for under 29 years of age, Ms. for over 30, and Mrs. for married women. They are Ms. Pakistan World 2023 Shafina Shah, Mrs. Pakistan World 2023 Fatima Fakhar, Miss Trans Pakistan 2023 Alina Khan, Miss Pakistan Universal 2023 Kapothaqkhy Chanchala, Miss Pakistan Global 2023 Warda Muneeb Rao, Ms. Pakistan Universe 2023 Beenish George, and Miss Pakistan Supreme 2023 Sabeen Baledina. Participated by beauties from overseas and various citie
Read more

Miss Rhode Island USA 2023 is Mary Malloy

Image
Cumberland's Mary Malloy was crowned Miss Rhode Island USA 2023 on Sunday, May 28 at the Veterans Memorial Auditorium (The VETS) in Providence. The first runner-up was Katie Bergantine while Jesaura Peralta, Briana Vega, and Kaitlynne Santana were announced as the second, third, and fourth runners-up, respectively. No stranger to pageantry, the new Miss Rhode Island USA is a former Miss Rhode Island Teen USA titleholder. She also participated twice at Miss California USA where she placed first runner-up in 2021 and Top 16 semifinalist in 2022. Mary will now prepare for the Miss USA 2023 pageant to be held in Reno, Nevada later this year and hopefully conquer the second national title for the state after former Miss Universe Olivia Culpo in 2012. The 26-year-old is a journalism graduate of Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts. She is also a mental health advocate who volunteers as a crisis counselor for Crisis Text Line, a nonprofit that provides free mental health support. For
Read more

Miss Universe Philippines 2023 Michelle Dee comes out as bisexual

Image
Miss Universe Philippines 2023 Michelle Dee has finally put an end to online speculations on her sexuality after several photos of her younger "tomboy" days surfaced. The beauty queen went to social media to announce her first "Mega" magazine cover since winning her national title and where she also came out as a proud bisexual. "This cover is about telling MY personal story and taking control of MY narrative," Michelle captioned a post with her photos wearing Balmain for the Philippines' best fashion magazine. "It's an embodiment of how I truly own who I am and how I want to encourage others to do the same," she added and went on to thank the publication, her national pageant organization, and supporters. She also wrote, "I hope this cover and my story not only empowers you to be authentic to who you are but to also be a champion of the people who are also taking the steps to be as true as they can be to themselves." "Let&
Read more

Miss Nederland 2023 final will be held on July 8 in Leusden

Image
Miss Nederland 2023 (Miss Universe Netherlands 2023) final competition will be held on Saturday, July 8 at the AFAS Theater in Leusden, Netherlands. Nine official finalists will compete for the national title and the opportunity to represent the Netherlands at Miss Universe 2023 in El Salvador later this year. They are Rikkie Valerie Kollé, Habiba Mostafa, Ruby-Ann Chwatchko, Nazeli Kouki, Chanille Hupsel, Beate van der Weide, Nathalie Mogbelzada, Christina Cairo, and Lou Dirchs. Hosted by former titleholders Denise Speelman and Zoey Ivory, the event will also feature musical performances from several artists such as SERA, Paul Morris, and Patricia van Haastrecht. An esteemed panel of judges who will have the difficult task of choosing the winner will consist of William Rutten, Edsilia Rombley, Bart Ettekoven, Marvy Rieder, Awura Abena, Julia Sinning, and national director Monica van Ee. Who will succeed last year's winner Ona Moody? You don't want to miss the final show. For t
Read more