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The choreograpaher for the Miss Universe pageant, Michael Schwandt, said in an interview that Donald Trump hand picks six of the 15 Miss Universe finalists, and that the judges are only responsible for the final nine. "His reason for doing so, as he told me and he’s told the girls before, is that he left it all up to preliminary judging in the past and some of the most beautiful women, in his opinion, were not in the top fifteen and he was kind of upset about that," Schwandt told the website Guanabee.com. "And he decided that he would pick...

NASSAU, Bahamas – Miss Venezuela has been named winner of the 2009 Miss Universe pageant in the Bahamas. Stefania Fernandez was crowned Sunday night. Miss Dominican Republic, Ada Aimee de la Cruz, was the runner up.

We've introduced you to all 84 beauties participating in the Miss Universe pageant on August 23. You voted and we've narrowed down on the 10 most popular contestants.Which of these 10 do you think will take home the crown?Has Miss India made it to the final list?Move ahead to find out and vote once more at the end for the country you think will win the 2009 pageant! The lovely Angelika Jakubowska, 20, Miss Poland, just about made it to the top 10, with 456 readers voting for her. Luscious-locked Lourdes Figueroa, 21, was a favourite with 480 readers -- she nabbed...

NBC's coverage on the Miss Universe contestants. HULU still has commercials, but they are only one at a time!

Bolivia and Peru are not always on the best of terms but their latest row is not of a political nature - it's down to the choice of a dress. For her appearance at the Miss Universe contest in the Bahamas this month, Miss Peru has chosen a dress inspired by an Andean dance popular in both nations. She will perform in a costume bedecked with diabolical horns and eyes. Bolivia has accused the Miss Peru organisers of unfairly appropriating Bolivian cultural heritage. The issue has pricked national pride on both sides of the border. It has prompted angry newspaper...

Iveta Lutovska, Miss Czech Republic, poses poolside at the Atlantis resort in the Bahamas in preparation for the Aug. 23 finals of the Miss Universe 2009 pageant. Lourdes Figueroa, Miss Guatemala. Mareike Baumgarten Oroa, Miss Paraguay.

The contestants worked the runway in the Bahamas in a swim wear show leading up to the biggest pageant in the world on August 23.

* Miss Universe Australia visits croc park * Gets too close to "Eric" * Monster saltie chooses her over chicken MISS Universe Australia Rachael Finch met some crocodiles during her Northern Territory visit yesterday and had to run for her life when a 5m croc named Eric lunged at her. The stunner told the Northern Territory News it was an incredible - yet scary - experience. She said it was one of the more unusual events she had been involved in since being announced winner of the pageant in April. "As soon as I saw him move I got nervous,"...

Just one day after learning that Carrie Prejean will keep her Miss California crown, state pageant director Shanna Moakler resigned. _________________________________ Prejean was named first runner-up at the April 19 pageant, during which she cause a firestorm by responding to a judge's question by saying she favored limiting marriage to a man and a woman.Shortly afterward, Moakler and her co-director Keith Lewis criticized the beauty queen for appearing in advertisements for groups opposed to same-sex marriage and for failing to reveal that she had posed in racy photos. Lewis slammed Prejean Monday, saying her actions caused the Miss California title...

Carrie Prejean didn't lie to beauty pageant officials even though she'd appeared semi-nude in photos a few years back, so let's just get off that high Godiva horse right now. Here's the thing: Since the old pictures were of her real breasts, she never actually exposed the new breasts she's now using for contests. Those were the old, God-given breasts, see? So, technically speaking, the world has never actually gotten a look at her current breasts. No exposure, no violation of pageant rules. Case closed. I may not know this for a true fact because I'm not canonballing into the...

A glowing report by the reigning Miss Universe Dayana Mendoza of Venezuela speaking of her trip to Guantanamo Bay has disappeared from her blog, only to be replaced by a censorious and political correct note from the President of the Miss Universe organization. Dayana Mendoza's now-deleted late-March posting sounded like a note home from a spring breaker. "We hung out with the guys from the East Coast and they showed us the boat inside and out, how they work and what they do, we took a ride around the land and it was a loooot of fun!" Mendoza wrote. "The...

<p>Reigning Miss Universe Dayana Mendoza caused more than a few jaws to drop when she described her recent tour of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as "a lot of fun" and a "relaxing, calm, beautiful place," Reuters reported Tuesday.</p> <p>"It was a loooot of fun!" Mendoza wrote of her time at the camp, a prison surrounded by barbed-wire fence and minefields. She wrote that she went to a bar on the naval base and visited the "unbelievable" beach, Reuters reported.</p>

Paris Hilton may not be ready for her planned charity work in Rwanda, but she was up for judging a beauty contest in Tokyo on Tuesday. Hilton and her younger sister, Nicky, each chose one finalist for the Miss Universe Japan contest. A dozen or so more will be selected next month. "I love Tokyo," Hilton said. "The shopping is great."

MARIA ELENA SALINAS Showing the ugly side of a nation June 4, 2007 The young ladies were handpicked from among the most beautiful women in the world, but it was not a pretty sight. Miss USA, Rachel Smith, slipped and fell during a crucial moment in the Miss Universe pageant on May 28. The formal gown competition is not just about how you look in the gown, but about how you carry yourself in it. Smith stepped on her dress and fell on her rear end. She picked herself right up and, unfazed, struck a pose with a wide smile....

The United States government is on the verge of approving a mass amnesty to millions of illegal aliens — a plan pushed aggressively by meddling Mexican officials who reap billions of dollars in remittances (illegal aliens' earnings sent back to Mexico) without having to lift a finger to clean up their own country. And the thanks we get? Internationally televised public humiliation. On Monday night, the beautiful young woman who represented America in the Miss Universe pageant was booed and mocked as she competed on stage in Mexico City. Rachel Smith, 22, did her best to respond with grace and...

MEXICO CITY - A 20-year-old dancer from Japan was crowned Miss Universe 2007 on Monday night, marking only the second time her country has won the world beauty title. Dressed in a black, red and purple Japanese-style gown, Riyo Mori nervously grabbed the hands of first runner-up, Natalia Guimaraes of Brazil, just before the winner was announced. Then she threw her hands up and covered her mouth, overcome with emotion. But she gathered herself together enough to catch the diamond-and-pearl-studded headpiece valued at $250,000 as it slipped off her head when Miss Universe 2006 Zuleyka Rivera of Puerto Rico crowned...

I just caught the last 30 minutes or so of the Miss Universe pageant which was held in Mexico City. When I turned on the tv, they were down to ten girls including Mexico and USA. The girl from USA actually slipped and landed right on her butt, but made a nice save and finished well. When the judges announced which five would move to the next round, USA was announced and the crowd started booing loudly. I haven't seen the Miss Universe pageant in a long time, but I don't ever remember a crowd booing. I know that an...

MEXICO CITY - This year's Miss Universe pageant is missing one of its most noted contestants: Miss Sweden, a statuesque blonde whose country is one of the few to win the crown three times. Isabel Lestapier Winqvist, 20, has dropped out because Swedes say the Miss Universe competition, airing live Monday night from Mexico City's National Auditorium, is degrading to women and weighed down by scandals. "We're taking a big beating by being linked to it," said Panos Papadopoulos, the organizer of the Miss Sweden contest, which scrapped its swimsuit competition and allowed women to apply for the position like...

The pageant's still a few days away, but the contestants have already hit the catwalk to show off "native dress" costumes.

22 March 2007, 13:47 To love somebody else’s husband is not Christian - Miss Universe winner Oxana Fyodorova Moscow, March 22, Interfax - Romantic feeling to someone who already has a family is contrary to the Christian commandments, the Miss Universe 2002 winner, TV presenter and actress Oxana Fyodorova thinks. ‘To love somebody else’s husband is not for me, it is not Christian! I would never consider mine a man who is already in relationship with another woman,’ Fyodorova said in her interview for Komsomolskaya Pravda daily published on Thursday. She told some married men attempted to court her. ‘I...

Zuleyka Rivera Mendoza's reign as the new Miss Universe got off to a rocky start when the 18-year-old from Puerto Rico fainted briefly after winning the crown.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Miss Puerto Rico, Zuleyka Rivera Mendoza, the youngest of the five finalists, was crowned Miss Universe on Sunday night. The first runner-up to Mendoza, 18, was Miss Japan, Kurara Chibana, 24.

See for example this thread first. I'll keep today's poem quite terse Lebanon, Israel are no worse And to my delight Not a burqa in sight Cause I'm talking 'bout Miss Universe!

LOS ANGELES - Peace reigns at least at the Miss Universe 2006 contest, where beauties Miss Lebanon and Miss Israel are the "best of friends" despite the bloody fighting between the two countries back home, their companions said. Even as Israel has bombarded Lebanon in the wake of a missile barrage by the Hezbollah militia in the country's south, the two women -- Gabrielle Bou Rached of Lebanon and Israel's Anastacia Entin -- have struck up a friendship ahead of Sunday's tough competition to see who is named the world's most beautiful woman. "I think the perpetrators of the current...

Miss Universe pageant owner Donald Trump says he is considering a tribute to the newly crowned Miss Iraq, who has been hiding amid death threats. "She is very proud to have won, and now she is in a very tough position," Trump told Friday's New York Post. "She is extremely brave." Silvia Shahakian, 23, a Christian of Armenian ancestry, was crowned Sunday when the original winner stepped down after receiving threats from extremists. Shahakian told ABC's "Good Morning America" she was going into hiding, but the Post said it is believed she is still in Iraq. Trump said there may...

Toronto gives Miss Universe cold shoulder CBC News The city of Toronto, which years ago prevented the Barenaked Ladies from playing at City Hall because of the group's name, has now barred Miss Universe from opening a festival over concerns about sexual stereotyping. "I was a little bit hurt by the whole thing. I love Toronto. It's my hometown," said Natalie Glebova, the 23-year-old Canadian woman who captured the Miss Universe title in Bangkok in May. Natalie Glebova in Toronto, Tuesday. "I definitely don't think that the Miss Universe title is any kind of stereotype or sexual stereotype." Glebova was...

Natalie Glebova in Toronto, Tuesday. "I definitely don't think that the Miss Universe title is any kind of stereotype or sexual stereotype." The city of Toronto, which years ago prevented the Barenaked Ladies from playing at City Hall because of the group's name, has now barred Miss Universe from opening a festival over concerns about sexual stereotyping. "I was a little bit hurt by the whole thing. I love Toronto. It's my hometown," said Natalie Glebova, the 23-year-old Canadian woman who captured the Miss Universe title in Bangkok in May. Glebova was set to open the Tastes of Thailand...

NEW YORK, NY, May 24 /PRNewswire/ - Sportsbook.com has released odds on who will win the Miss Universe competition, which will be televised live by NBC on May 30 from Bangkok, Thailand. Eight of the top ten favorites according to odds makers come from the Caribbean and the Americas, led by Renata Sone from the Dominican Republic and Cynthia Olavarria from Puerto Rico, both listed at 12-1. The US delegate, Chelsea Cooley from Charlotte, North Carolina, is a 25-1 favorite.

Miss Universe organisers scrambled on Thursday to calm a furore over photos of bikini-clad contestants posing near an ancient Buddhist temple in pageant host Thailand after the images infuriated religious leaders. The photos, which showed beauty queens on a Bangkok river cruise with the famed Wat Arun, or "Temple of Dawn", in the background, were swiftly removed from the pageant Web site. But religious leaders and culture watchdogs are still upset, saying the episode violated traditional values and morality just days before a key Buddhist holiday. "This is the time of Visakha Bucha when we are reminded of Lord Buddha's...

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Miss Universe organizers scrambled on Thursday to calm a furor over photos of bikini-clad contestants posing near an ancient Buddhist temple in pageant host Thailand after the images infuriated religious leaders. The photos, which showed beauty queens on a Bangkok river cruise with the famed Wat Arun, or "Temple of Dawn," in the background, were swiftly removed from the pageant Web site. But religious leaders and culture watchdogs are still upset, saying the episode violated traditional values and morality just days before a key Buddhist holiday. "This is the time of Visakha Bucha when we are reminded...

Beauty queen brighter than nuclear physicist A Slovenian TV programme that tried to prove top models were brainless bimbos was scrapped after a beauty queen turned out to have a higher IQ than a nuclear physicist. Iris Mulej, a former Miss Universe contestant, was found to have an IQ of 156 by scientists working for the programme makers.She had to take a series of logic tests looking at spatial awareness, mathematical equations and problem solving ability.The test result forced Slovenia TV, the state broadcaster, to cancel its programme involving the model who left school at 16 to pursue a...

The Newcastle woman recently crowned Miss Universe has found a simple way of avoiding any repeat of an embarrassing fashion incident. Former cheerleader Jennifer Hawkins yesterday gave hundreds of shoppers in Sydney's south an unintended view of her underwear during a fashion parade when her skirt fell off. Today she arrived back in Newcastle for the first time since winning her title. She says she will ensure there is no similar mishap at a catwalk appearance in a local shopping centre tonight. "Safety pins. I'll be having safety pins," she said. "I don't know if I'll be wearing that dress,...

Miss Universe de-frocked: Jennifer Hawkins stumbled during a fashion show at Westfield shopping centre in the Sydney suburb of Miranda yesterday, snagging her dress on her shoe and losing the lot. Her modesty was saved by a g-string. Photos: Russell Scarf/Network Ten

SPIEGEL ONLINE - 30. Juli 2004, 8:33 URL: http://www.spiegel.de/panorama/0,1518,310945,00.htmlGirl-Power Beauty Queen Knocks Down Attackers The two men probably hadn't reckoned with that when they attacked the petite woman: The 20-year-old Dominican Republic beauty queen not only commands the art of the charming smile, but judo as well. AP Larissa del Mar Fiallo: "I knocked the taller one down" Santo Domingo -- Larissa Del Mar Fiallo suspects that the two men wanted to kidnap her. Yesterday afternoon, unknown men tried to drag her into a car on a shopping street in Santo Domingo. "I defended myself. They began to beat on me." Fiallo - a...

A JUDGE in the Miss Universe pageant selected because of his role in Donald Trump's US television reality show The Apprentice has been sacked from the competition panel. Kwame Jackson, a contestant for the reality show's April 15 final prize - a year-long, US$250,000 ($350,000) job with the billionaire developer - was disqualified by pageant organizers for waving at beauty queens he bumped into in their hotel lobby. "Kwame is intelligent, charming and we were really looking forward to him judging on our panel," pageant president Paula Shugart said in a statement. "But his interaction with the delegates, albeit unintentional,...

LA PAZ, Bolivia (Reuters) - Bolivia's entrant in next week's Miss Universe contest faces calls to quit after she described herself as being a tall, white woman and not a short Indian peasant. The remarks by Gabriela Oviedo, 21, caused furore in Bolivia, one of the Western hemisphere's poorest countries. "Unfortunately, people that don't know Bolivia very much think that we are all just Indian people ... poor people and very short people and Indian people," local media quoted her as saying in English in Ecuador, where the Miss Universe pageant will be held on Tuesday. "I'm from the other...

Miss USA Is A Strong Supporter of President Bush Shandi Finnessey, 25, won the title Monday night over 50 other contestants and will represent the United States at the Miss Universe pageant in Quito, Ecuador, on June 1. Shandi, a 5-foot-11, blue-eyed blonde from Florissant, Mo., holds bachelor's and master's degrees in psychology and counseling from Lindenwood University, and would like to use her counseling degree in a television job. She has published a children's book, and has listed bungee jumping and wrestling a greased pig in a mud pit as among the craziest things she has ever done....

Chen Lili, a 24-year old transsexual from Sichuan Province, was shut out of the Miss Universe contest by organizers, saying she is an artificial woman. In a fax to the Sichuan organizing committee, the Miss Universe headquarters says Chen is disqualified because she is a transsexual. It says there never has been any such case in the 53-year history of the contest. Lili was granted permission early this week to participate in the international event by Miss Universe-China contest officials in New York. "A sex-change woman registering for the Miss Universe contest is something that has never happened before," Miss...

Miss Universe is 'immature' 06/06/2003 09:14 - (SA) Amelia Vega Sonette Lombaard Johannesburg - Powder puffs are flying following the crowning of an 18-year-old high school student as the new Miss Universe. Amelia Vega, who became the first beauty from the Dominican Republic to win this sought-after title, was such an unpopular choice that only 15 of the 71 competitors attended the crowning ball. During the three weeks leading up to the crowning ceremony, Vega was considered to be "very immature" and was involved in several "incidents" with the other contestants. The largest international website for beauty competitions, globalbeauties.com, openly...

Dominican Republic hails its first Miss Universe SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (Reuters) - Newly crowned Miss Universe (news - web sites) Amelia Vega of the Dominican Republic was the toast of her Caribbean nation on Wednesday, with President Hipolito Mejia leading the cheers for the 18-year-old beauty. Vega, a 6-foot high school student and daughter of a former Miss Dominican Republic, won the pageant on Tuesday in Panama City. "I followed all of this incredible event, which is a great plus for the Dominican Republic," Mejia told reporters on Wednesday. "She's beautiful and intelligent and a national pride," Mejia...

JUSTINE PASEK MISS UNIVERSE® 2002 Justine Pasek, a crowd favorite during the 2002 MISS UNIVERSE competition, is a 22-year-old native of Panama City, Panama. She has been recognized all over the world for her supermodel looks and humble personality. Her natural beauty is indicative of the beauty in the new millennium. As Justine moves to New York City to take on the title of Miss Universe, she is ready to work hard as an ambassador for women around the world by representing the Miss Universe Organization. Before putting on the crown, Justine worked in production for television specials, charity...

Link to photo gallery HERE.

The controversial "national costume" worn by Miss Canada in this week's Miss Universe competition was a rental inspired by the Brazilian carnaval tradition and originally worn by a drag queen in several gay pride parades. Ronei Fernandes, a Toronto costume designer, created and wore the costume in 2001. He recently rented it to Denis Davila, national director for Miss Universe Canada, for $600, said Jamie Good, a friend of Mr. Fernandes' who is familiar with the agreement. In an interview with the Post earlier this week, Mr. Davila said he and two friends designed the costume. It was supposed to...

As has happened before, the Taiwanese contestent for the Miss Universe pageant is not being allowed to be called Miss Taiwan. At the demand of the Chinese communists she had her name changed to Miss Chinese Taipei. Szu Yu Chen, competing in Miss Universe (news - web sites) as Miss Chinese Taipei, wipes away a tear as she tells journalists she wants to be known as Miss Taiwan, in Panama City, May 23, 2003. Panama is hosting the 2003 Miss Universe pagent, which has a television audience of 600 million viewers from 176 countries, on June 3. REUTERS/Alberto Lowe

Businesswoman and former Miss Universe Marisol Malaret denied yesterday that she is planning to run for Mayor of San Juan, while admitting at the same time that, following a brief conversation with Governor Sila Calderón, she has considered to run for a seat in the Legislature. "I don't believe that the San Juan City Hall is what I am pursuing. If I decide to run for something, I see myself more for the Legislature, [either] the House [of Representatives] or the Senate. It would not be City Hall. I would not put my family in that position," she stated. In...

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - For the first time in decades, the country that has won more major beauty pageants in recent years than any other won't be offering a candidate for Miss Universe. The Miss Venezuela Organization said Friday that the country's strict foreign exchange controls, imposed amid a general strike earlier this year, have made it unable to obtain the dollars to send a candidate to the June 3 pageant in Panama. "The decision not to send Miss Venezuela to this prestigious international contest came after we exhausted all our efforts to send our usual and always distinguished representative,"...

Tabloids have stirred up rumors about Oxana’s boyfriend. He is reportedly a dark-haired man involved in the construction business in St.Petersburg and very rich. His last name has definitely not been exposed, but everyone is certain that the beauty queen of the Universe got knocked up by that “mysterious builder.”

She did not fufill her duties, she got married, and is now having a baby. What's the big deal?Oxana Federova is no longer Miss Universe. Actually, this is sad news. Someone could make a movie called 'The Russian Character of a Cop.'Oxana's first steps as Miss Universe were not very successful. The Russian girl was used to promote the contest itself, while her honor and dignity were stolen. Everybody remebers the scandalous talk show where Oxsana was not allowed to show any indignation at all. The host of the show asked her about her attitude towards oral sex and her...

Miss Universe toppled Oxana Fedorova (l) says she wants to study Officials governing the Miss Universe beauty pageant have reportedly sacked this year's winner for failing to live up to the role - the first such sacking in the show business extravaganza's 52-year history. Oxana Fedorova has left the United States, where the pageant is based, to return to her native Russia. My prime goal is my studies and career in Russia Oxana Fedorova Ms Fedorova has denied being sacked, or that she is pregnant or secretly married - taboos for a Miss Universe - but the main gripe of...

As some of you might recall, I predicted at the VERY BEGINNING of the Miss Universe Contest the other evening that the winner would be Miss Russia. However, I wasn't quite as unique as I thought since I have since spoken to quite a few people who also thought that Miss Russia would be the winner from the get-go. To be able to determine the Miss Universe winner at the very beginning of the contest takes some skill. However, I am now taking it to a new level. I might now be able to predict not only the Miss Universe...