Miss Universe 2001 : Denise Quiñones (Puerto Rico)

Denise Marie Quiñones August (born September 9, 1980 in Ponce, Puerto Rico) was the fourth Puerto Rican winner of the Miss Universe contest. Prior to winning the Miss Universe pageant, she represented her hometown of Lares in the Miss Puerto Rico pageant.

Quiñones won the contest in her own nation, Puerto Rico in 2001. Her win, over Greek supermodel Evelina Papantoniou came on the Miss Universe pageant's 50th anniversary.
Quiñones resided in New York City for a year, enjoying the benefits that all winners of the pageant receive, including complimentary make-up and haircare, a car, complete wardrobe, professional representation by the Miss Universe Organization, a $60,000 scholarship to a New York City film school, and traveling opportunities.
On the night of the Miss Universe 2002 contest, she gave her crown, once again in Puerto Rico (this time the event was held in the city of San Juan), to the controversial Oxana Fedorova of Russia.

Since relinquishing the title, Quiñones attended the School for Film and Television's two-year conservatory acting program. Many of her classmates were surprised to find out Quiñones was a former Miss Universe.
Presently an actress, Quiñones has starred in the Spanish version of Nilo Cruz's play Ana en el trópico (Anna in the Tropics) and continues to hone her talent in the United States. For her role in Anna in the Tropics she was nominated and awarded an ACE and Hola Awards. In October 2005 she was selected for the role of Doña Rosita, in a productions of Federico Garcia Lorca's play Doña Rosita la soltera.


Most recently, Quiñones guest-starred in an episode of the WB Network television series Smallville. She played Andrea, a masked avenger who fought crime in Metropolis and invited Clark Kent (Tom Welling) to join her in her adventures. On the heels of her Smallville role, she was also cast in the role of "Rachel", a young fighter pilot in the pilot for the TV series Aquaman which was in development for the CW Television Network. The pilot did not make the Fall 2006 lineup.
Quiñones has been recently been romantically linked to René Pérez, also known as Residente in the Puerto Rican hip hop duo Calle 13.

In November 2006, Denise led the off-Broadway cast of "Zanahorias" (or "Carrots" in English), a Spanish comedy by Spanish playwright Antonio Zancada. [1] For her role in "Zanahorias" she was nominated and subsequently won the renowned ACE Awards, 2007 edition.




from : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denise_Quiñones

Miss Universe 2000 : Lara Dutta (India)

Lara Dutta (born April 16, 1978) is an Indian actress, UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador and the 2000 Miss Universe.

Biography

Early lifeDutta was born on April 16, 1978 in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh. Her father is Wing Commander L.K. Dutta (retired) and British mother is Jennifer Dutta. She also has two older sisters, one of whom serves in the Indian Air Force and a well known younger sister. Famed composer and DJ Nitin Sawhney is Dutta's cousin.[1] The Dutta family moved to Bangalore in 1981 where she completed high school from St.Francis Xavier Girl's High School. Lara graduated in economics with a minor in communications from Bombay University at Bangalore. She was crowned Miss Universe in 2000 which led to her appointment as a UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador in 2001.

Modeling career
Dutta won the annual Gladsrags modelling competition in her native India, thus winning the right to be the first Indian representative at the 1997 Miss Intercontinental pageant, in which she took first place. Later, she was crowned Femina Miss India Universe and Miss Universe in 2000.

At Miss Universe 2000 in Cyprus, Dutta was the clear favourite ahead of fierce competition from Venezuela, Spain, USA and Canada. Her finalist interview score, in the last year that such marks were televised, was the highest individual score in any category in the history of the Miss Universe contest, as her perfect interview saw a majority of the judges giving her the maximum 9.99 mark. After her final question, in which Dutta delivered a passionate defense of the Miss Universe contest (and other beauty pageants), she became the second Indian Miss Universe.

In the same year, Priyanka Chopra and Diya Mirza won their respective Miss World and Miss Asia Pacific titles which gave India a rare triple victory in the world of beauty pageants.

Acting career

Dutta primarily signed up to do the Tamil film, Arasatchi in 2002, but due to financial problems, it only released in mid-2004. She made her Hindi debut in 2003 with the film Andaaz which was a box office success and won her a Filmfare Best Female Debut Award. She then appeared in a number of films, some of which failed at the box office and some of which were mildly successful. Her box office "hits" include Masti (2004), Kaal (2005),No Entry (2005) and Partner (2007).
In 2006, she starred in the comedy, Bhagam Bhag which did well at the box office.

Dutta's first release of 2007 was Shaad Ali's Jhoom Barabar Jhoom. The film was a box office failure in India but did better overseas, especially in the U.K.[4] She received mixed reviews for her performance in the film. Her latest release, Partner opened to a good response and became a hit

from : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lara_Dutta

Miss Universe 1999 : Mpule Kwelagobe (Botswana)

Mpule Keneilwe Kwelagobe of Gaborone, Botswana was crowned Miss Universe in May of 1999 in Trinidad and Tobago. Like Angela Visser, the 5 10' Kwelagobe participated in the Miss World pageant (in 1997) but did not place. Mpule became the first black African woman to win an international pageant and the first black African Miss Universe ever. She was the first Miss Universe Botswana and the first Miss Botswana to participate in the Miss Universe pageant.

Following her reign as Miss Universe, Mpule became a spokesmodel for Clairol. The two page ads first appeared in magazines in the US while Mpule was still Miss Universe.
Since being crowned Miss Universe 1999, Mpule has been recognized and honored as a human health rights activist, especially for her fight against HIV/AIDS and advocacy for youth and women to have greater access to sexual reproductive education and services.

In 2000, she was appointed as a Goodwill Ambassador by the United Nations, focusing on youth and HIV/AIDS. Among others, she has addressed the United States Congress (the United States House of Representatives Committee on Banking and Financial Services. Mpule testified on the socioeconomic impact of AIDS in Africa and proposed a bill to set up a World Bank AIDS prevention trust fund). She has also addressed:The 4th United Nations World Youth Summit (Dakar, Senegal), The United Nations General Assembly (New York, USA), The World Summit on Sustainable Development (Johannesburg, South Africa), the 3rd United Nations Least Developed Countries Conference (Brussels, Belgium) and moderated an AIDS panel during the Congressional Black Caucus at the invitation of Congresswoman Barbara Lee.

Mpule Kwelagobe was honored with the Jonathan Mann Health Human Rights Award by the International Association of Physicians in AIDS Care (IAPAC). She was honored alongside the principal administrator of the European Commission HIV programme, Lieve Fransen, and former American president William Clinton. In 2003, she was selected as a Global Leader for Tomorrow (GLT) by the World Economic Forum, joining nearly 500 individuals from business, politics, public interest groups, the media, and the arts and the sciences, including Bill Gates, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Michael Dell and Bono, who have been selected since the programme’s inception in 1993.

In 2006, she was again selected by the World Economic Forum as a Young Global Leader (YGL). The Forum of Young Global Leaders is a newly formed, unique, multi-stakeholder community of the world’s most extraordinary leaders who are 40 years old or younger and who are ready to dedicate their time and energy to jointly work towards a better future.

Mpule holds a degree in political science (international political economy) from Ivy League university, Columbia University in the City of New York.



from : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mpule_Kwelagobe

Miss Universe 1998 : Wendy Fitzwilliam (Trinidad and Tobago)

Wendy Marcelle Fitzwilliam, born October 4, 1972, is a former Miss Universe, Trinidad and Tobago's second after 1977 winner Janelle 'Penny' Commissiong. Commissiong was also the first black woman to capture the Miss Universe title; Fitzwilliam was the second.

In 1996, the first of two daughters graduated from the University of the West Indies with a Bachelor's degree in law.

At 25, she won the 1998 Miss Universe competition held at the Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu, Hawaii. She beat off challenges from South Africa, Russia, Ireland, Brazil, India, Venezuela (the eventual runner-up Veruska Ramirez), U.S., Colombia, and Puerto Rico to win the crown. Fitzwilliam's regal air and perfect presentations won her the honor of being the second Trinidadian (and second black woman) to hold the Miss Universe title, but during the telecast her halting final answer led to the jury deadlocking between her and Veruska Ramirez of Venezuela. Because there were eight members of the panel and no way to break the tie, the higher semifinal scores, which were Fitzwilliams', became decisive.

During her reign, she was honored by the United Nations and bestowed the title of UNAIDS and UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador for her work in HIV/AIDS education and awareness.

After her reign, she recorded a jazz demo and continued her education. In 2000, she was admitted into the bar.

She has also been appointed the Red Cross Ambassador of Youth for the Caribbean. This is the first time the Red Cross has appointed anyone to this high honorary office.

Wendy has acted as a judge and host for many regional and international pageants, such as Miss Guyana, Miss Trinidad & Tobago, and Miss Universe.

Currently, she is the Vice President of Business Development at the Evolving TecKnologies and Enterprise Development Company Limited, a state-owned company in Trinidad and Tobago. She is also attached to the Trinidad Guardian's Guardian in Education: Making a Difference project, a series of motivational school tours that also features former World Champion sprinter Ato Boldon and cyclist Michael Phillips.

In January 2006, Fitzwilliam announced that she is expecting her first child in June 2006. She appeared at the Miss Universe Guide to Beauty book launch in April 2006 and was heavily pregnant at this time. It was reported in May that Wendy gave birth to a son in the United States by many media houses in Trinidad and Tobago, this was later confirmed by her mother, Juditha Fitzwilliam.

from : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wendy_Fitzwilliam

History of Miss Universe

Miss Universe is an annual international female beauty contest run by the Miss Universe Organization.

The contest was founded in 1952 by California clothing company Pacific Mills. The pageant became part of Kayser-Roth and then Gulf and Western Industries, before being acquired by Donald Trump in 1996.

Alongside with its rival Miss World and Miss Earth contests, this pageant is one of the most publicised beauty contests in the world.

History

The winner of the "Miss America 1951" pageant, Yolande Betbeze, refused to pose in a swimsuit from its major sponsor, Catalina swimwear. As a result, the brand's manufacturer Pacific Mills withdrew from Miss America and set up the Miss USA and Miss Universe contests. The first Miss Universe Pageant was held in Long Beach, California in 1952. It was won by Armi Kuusela from Finland, who gave up her title to get married to a Filipino tycoon, Virgilio Hilario, shortly before her year was complete. Until 1958 the Miss Universe title (like Miss America) was post-dated, so at the time Ms. Kuusela's title was Miss Universe 1953.

The pageant was first televised in 1955. CBS began nationally broadcasting the combined Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants from 1960 and, separately, from 1965. In 2003 NBC took over the television rights.

The main pageant was held consecutively in the continental US from 1952 to 1971. Since then, the pageant has been held in locales around the world.

Competition formats

In the early years of the pageant, the ladies who made the cut were announced after the preliminary competition. From 1965 to the present day, the semi-finalists were not announced until the night of the main event. The semi-finalists once again competed in evening gown and swimsuit and a top 5 were announced. An interview portion was introduced in 1960 to decide the runners-up and winner.

From 1959 to 1964, there were slight format changes. In 1959 through 1963, there was no cut to 5 finalists; the runners-up and winners were called from the assembled 15 semi-finalists. In 1964, the top 15 became a top 10, and after a round of interview, the winner and runners-up were called from the 10 finalists.

In 1965, the pageant returned to the original format of a cut to 5 finalists, and remained so until 1989.

In 1969, a final question was posed to the last five contestants. The final question was an on-and-off feature of the pageant. In 1990, it had taken root and every pageant since, the final contestants have to answer a final question.

In 1990, the pageant implemented major format changes in the competition itself. Instead of five finalists, the field was reduced from 10 semi-finalists to 6. Each contestant then randomly select a judge and answer the question posed by the judge. After that, the field is narrowed down further to a final 3. In 1998, the number of finalists was reduced to 5, although there still was a cut to a final 3. This continued to 2001, where the final 5 format was re-instated.

In 2000, the interview portion of the semi-finals was quietly dropped and the contestants once again, as in the early days of the pageant, competed only in swimsuit and gowns.

In 2006, twenty semi-finalists were announced, with these delegates competing in the swimsuit competition. The number of competing delegates was then cut to ten, with those delegates competing in the evening gown competition. After that round of competition, the final five was announced, with the finalists competing in the "final question" or interview round. At the end of competition the runners-up were announced and the winner crowned by the outgoing queen.

In 2007 the format changed slightly with the top 15 moving to the swimsuit competition; from there, 10 selected contestants moved on to the evening gown competition where half were eliminated. The final five answered the final question to decide the ultimate winner.

origianl from : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miss_Universe