December 8, 2019
by Yvette Thomas
Miss South Africa Zozibini Tunzi was crowned Miss Universe 2019, in a ceremony that took place December 8 at Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta. Fox had the U.S. telecast of the show, which was hosted by Steve Harvey. Former beauty-pageant queens Olivia Culpo and Vanessa Lachey provided commentary, while Ally Brooke (of Fifth Harmony fame) was the show’s musical performer. The annual Miss Universe ceremony (now in its 68th year) is produced by the Miss Universe Organization.
The new Mouawad Power of Unity crown made its debut at the ceremony this year. According to Mouwad, the crown was created with 18-karat gold and handset with more than 1,770 white diamonds and three golden canary diamonds. The crown’s centerpiece is a shield-cut golden canary 62.83 carat diamond.
Contestants from 90 countries and territories were at the pageant, including Swe Zin Htet of Myanmar, who was the first openly lesbian contestant to compete for the Miss Universe title. Ultimately, she did not place in the Top 20. Bangladesh and Equatorial Guinea made their Miss Universe debuts this year.
The all-female panel of Miss Universe 2019 judges were:
- Gaby Espino, Venezuelan actress
- Sazan Hendrix, American businesswoman and social media personality
- Riyo Mori. Miss Universe 2007 from Japan
- Cara Mund, Miss America 2018[39]
- Bozoma Saint John, American businesswoman and marketing executive
- Crystle Stewart, American actress and Miss USA 2008
- Paulina Vega, Miss Universe 2014 from Colombia
- Olivia Jordan (only as preliminary judge). American actress, model, and Miss USA 2015
Internet voting from the public returned after a two-year absence. The public Internet voting was for the contestants who placed in the Top 20.
Here are the Top 20 contestants of the 2018 Miss Universe pageant:
Zozibini Tunzi, Miss South Africa — Winner
Madison Anderson, Miss Puerto Rico — First runner-up
Sofía Aragón, Miss Mexico — Second runner-up
Gabriela Tafur, Miss Colombia — Top 5
Paweensuda Drouin, Miss Thailand— Top 5
Maëva Coucke, Miss France — Top 10
Birta Abiba Þórhallsdóttir, Miss Iceland — Top 10
Frederika Alexis Cull, Miss Indoensia — Top 10
Kelin Rivera, Miss Peru— Top 10
Cheslie Kryst, Miss USA — Top 10
Cindy Marina, Miss Albania — Top 20
Júlia Horta, Miss Brazil — Top 20
Mia Rkman, Miss Croatia — Top 20
Clauvid Dály, Miss Dominican Republic — Top 20
Vartika Singh, Miss India — Top 20
Olutosin Araromi, Miss Nigeria — Top 20
Gazini Ganados, Miss Philippines — Top 20
Sylvie Silva, Miss Portugal — Top 20
Thalía Olvino, Miss Venezuela — Top 20
Hoàng Thùy, Miss Vietnam — Top 20