A 21-year-old Danish woman was crowned Miss Universe on Saturday evening during this beauty contest organized in Mexico which, for the first time, featured mothers.
Victoria Kjaer, who is a professional dancer, beat 130 competitors, a record for the competition formerly owned by Donald Trump. This 73rd edition was marked by the presence for the first time of candidates with children. There were ten of them, including Beatrice Njoya from Malta, aged 40 and mother of three children.
In 2023, the competition included married women, plus-size women and two transgender women.
Among the public favorites of this 73rd edition, a 28-year-old Venezuelan Ileana Márquez, is the mother of a daughter. This educator, model and television presenter came 5th. Among the 12 semi-finalists, Jennifer Colón, from Puerto Rico, is 36 years old and has three children. Also among them was Logina Salah, a 34-year-old single mother Egyptian model who suffers from vitiligo, an autoimmune disease.
Criticized for its promotion of outdated ideas about femininity, the competition has sought, after its takeover in 2022 by the Thai company JKN Global Group, to renew itself by opening its doors to women who were previously not allowed to participate . JKN Global Group, led by transgender businesswoman Anne Jakapong Jakrajutatip, has since announced in January the sale of 50% of its shares to Mexico-based Legacy Holding for $16 million.
The Thai media group bought the famous competition in October 2022 for $20 million. But the company filed for bankruptcy with the Thai courts in November 2023. In 2023 the competition was won by Nicaraguan Sheynnis Palacios, who has since unwillingly become the symbol of opposition to President Daniel Ortega, who saw hope in her global exposure.
Once she became the first Central American to win the beauty contest in November 2023 in San Salvador, the image of the 23-year-old young woman went viral on the social networks of thousands of Nicaraguan exiles and made the front page of the critical press. towards Ortega, described as a “dictator” by the opposition.
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