Miss Universe is an annual international major beauty pageant that is run by the Thailand and Mexican-based Miss Universe Organization.[1] Along with Miss World, Miss International, and Miss Earth, it is one of the Big Four beauty pageants.[2]
The Miss Universe Organization and its brand is owned by JKN Global Group and Legacy Holding Group USA Inc., an American division of Mexican company Legacy Holding through the joint venture company JKN Legacy Inc.[3] Telemundo had the licensing rights to air the pageant through 2023.[4] The pageant's advocacy is "humanitarian issues and is a voice to affect positive change in the world".[5][6]
The reigning Miss Universe is Fátima Bosch from Mexico who was crowned on November 20, 2025, in Pak Kret, Thailand.[7]
History
The title "Miss Universe" was first used by the International Pageant of Pulchritude in 1926. This contest was held annually until 1935, when the Great Depression and other events preceding World War II led to its demise.
The current Miss Universe pageant was founded in 1952 by Pacific Knitting Mills, a California-based clothing company and manufacturer of Catalina Swimwear, and it has since been headquartered in the United States. The company sponsored the Miss America pageant until 1951, when the winner, Yolande Betbeze, refused to pose for publicity pictures wearing one of its swimsuits. In 1952, Pacific Knitting Mills organized the Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants, co-sponsoring them for decades.[8] The first Miss Universe Pageant was held in Long Beach, California, in 1952. It was won by Armi Kuusela of Finland, who gave up her title, though not officially, to marry shortly before her year was completed.[9] Until 1958, the Miss Universe title, like that of Miss America, was dated by the year after the contest, so Kuusela's title was Miss Universe 1953. Since its founding by Pacific Mills, the pageant has been organized and conducted by the Miss Universe Organization.
Contestant selection
To participate in Miss Universe, a country needs a local company or person to buy the competition's local rights through a franchise fee. The fee includes the rights of image, brand, and everything related to the pageant. Often the owner of the franchise returns the franchise to the Miss Universe Organization, which resells it to a new stakeholder. The reselling of the franchise from one owner to another has occurred often in the event's history, sometimes for contractual breaches or financial reasons. The number of participants fluctuates annually because of the franchising of the pageant paired with conflicting schedules to the regular calendar, but has steadied above 70 countries since 1989.
Usually a country's candidate selection involves pageants in the nation's local subdivisions, where local winners compete in a national pageant, but there are some countries who opt for an internal selection. For example, from 2000 to 2004, Australian delegates were chosen by a modeling agency. Although the Miss Universe Organization generally discourages such "castings", Jennifer Hawkins was chosen to represent Australia in Miss Universe 2004 and won the crown. Australia reinstated its national pageant for Miss Universe in 2005.
Recent countries that debuted in the pageant include Cameroon (2020), Bahrain (2021), Bhutan (2022), Pakistan (2023), Belarus, Eritrea, Guinea, Macau, Maldives, Moldova, North Macedonia, Somalia, United Arab Emirates, and Uzbekistan (2024). Macau is the latest newcomer and the most recent country to obtain its first ever semifinal placement at Miss Universe, after debuting in 2024 as a semifinalist in the Top 30.
Botswana remains the most recent first-time entry to win Miss Universe in its debut year (with Mpule Kwelagobe in 1999), and Denmark is the most recent country to obtain its first ever national win in Miss Universe (with Victoria Kjær Theilvig in 2024).
Main pageant
Throughout the history of Miss Universe, the main pageant's scheduling has varied widely. In the last decade, the competition has been consistently held over a two-week period between early November and late January. Because of television schedule demands (largely as a result of international time zone differences) or conflicting national events during the organizing process (such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the Olympics, FIFA World Cup, and elections), four editions (2014, 2016, 2020, and 2022) have been postponed to next year. Since the 2022 edition held in New Orleans in 2023, the Miss Universe Organization has regularly announced the hosting nation of the next edition on coronation night. Between the early 1970s through the late 2000s, the pageant spanned a full month (typically between March and June) to allow time for rehearsals, appearances, and the preliminary competition, with the winner 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, though they are expected to participate in swimsuit and evening gown competitions. Women aspiring to become Miss Universe must be intelligent, well-mannered, and cultured. If a candidate is unable to perform well during each round, she may be eliminated. Normally, the candidates' placements are determined by a ranked vote, where each judge ranks the candidates. In the past, semifinalists were chosen by a round-robin system. Between 2017 and 2019, the semifinalists were selected based on highest scores per continental group followed by the judging panel's wildcard list alongside one candidate chosen by the public. In the semifinals, all preliminary results are reset and a new competition starts with the highest-placed positions. In 2020, the round-robin system was reinstated: in each round of the grand final, the group of candidates with the lowest ratings was progressively eliminated. But this criterion has been modified to use weighted averages or points accumulated by stages from the preliminary competition to coronation night, with the assessment in ascending or descending order.
Crowns of Miss Universe
The crown of Miss Universe has changed twelve times over the course of its 70-year history.[36]
- The Romanov Imperial Nuptial Crown (1952) was the first crown. It was previously owned by the Russian czar. It contains 1,529 flawless diamonds weighing 300 carats and was insured for US$500,000. It was used to crown Armi Kuusela in 1952.[36][37]
- The Christiane Martell Crown (1953), or infamously known as The Metallic Bronze Crown due to its solid metallic bronze design, replaced the inaugural crown. Miss Universe 1953 Christiane Martel was the only titleholder to wear it.[36]
- The Star of the Universe Crown (1954–1960) was named for the star shape at its top. It is made up of approximately 1,000 oriental cultured black pearls set in solid gold and platinum and weighed 1.25 pounds. It was insured for US$500,000.
Recent titleholders
Miss Universe Organization
The Miss Universe Organization owns and runs the Miss Universe, Miss USA, and Miss Teen USA beauty pageants. Between 2020 and 2022, it stopped organizing the Miss USA and the Miss Teen USA competitions. They were operated by Crystle Stewart until her suspension in October 2022, after which they returned to the Miss Universe Organization.[54][55]
Based in New York City and Bangkok, the organization has been owned by the Thai JKN Global Group since October 2022, when WME/IMG sold the pageant. The organization sells television rights to the pageants and pageant organizations in other countries.
Gallery
In other media
Electronic Arts was reportedly developing a video game based on the pageant in 2013, but development status is currently uncertain due to the closure of EA Black Box, the studio allegedly developing the game.[56]
See also
- List of beauty pageants
- Big Four beauty pageants
External links
References
- Natalie Tadena (July 2, 2015)."Donald Trump's Miss USA Pageant Lands on Reelz Cable Channel". The Wall Street Journal.^
- Amee Enriquez. Beauty Pageant Basics BBC News, February 2, 2014, retrieved May 4, 2018^
- Ani Bundel. Miss Universe is the only major beauty pageant worth watching. Here's why