Catriona Gray, the 24-year-old advocate, model and, of course, Miss Philippines, was crowned the winner of this year’s Miss Universe competition, which took place in Bangkok this morning.
The decision was a popular one if the roar that accompanied Steve Harvey’s bellowing announcement was any indicator. (Editor: Then again, maybe some of the audience was just happy Harvey got it right this time.)
Second and third place went to Miss South Africa Tamaryn Green and Miss Venezuela Sthefany Gutiérrez, respectively.
Having already gone viral for her perfect “slow-mo twirl” during Friday’s swimsuit round, the Australian-born contestant beat out a record-setting 93 other contestants after being chosen by an all-female panel of judges, which included Colombian-American CEO Liliana Gil Valletta, fashion designer Monique Lhuillier, and former Miss Universe winner Michelle McLean.
A graduate of Boston’s Berklee College of Music, Gray positioned herself early on as a “budding songwriter and singer.” (You can listen to the beauty queen for yourself on Soundcloud.) She’s also a writer with her own fashion and lifestyle blog: Cat’elle.
Meanwhile, our own Miss Thailand Sophida “Ning” Kanchanarin only made it to the top 10. (Good enough, Ning. We still love you.)
This year’s competition had an especially intense international spotlight, particularly after Miss USA Sarah Rose Summers landed herself in hot water for mocking two non-English-speaking beauty queens just three days before the finale.
After that squirm-inducing performance, it’s probably not that surprising that, while she made it to the top 20, she went home empty-handed.
Related:
Miss USA mocks Asian contestants for not speaking English while fellow contestants laugh it up
