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Miss Universe 2012: Olivia Culpo won, but it still felt like a Christmas present for the Philippines

Posted by Norman on April 17, 2020
Posted in: 1 Pageant Pages, 2 Shout-out-Looks. Tagged: , , , , , , , .

LAS VEGAS, NV – DECEMBER 19: (L-R) Miss USA 2012, Olivia Culpo, is crowned the 2012 Miss Universe by Leila Lopes, Miss Universe 2011, as Logan West, Miss Teen USA 2012, looks on during the 2012 Miss Universe Pageant at PH Live at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino on December 19, 2012 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by David Becker/Getty Images)

LAS VEGAS, NV – DECEMBER 19: Miss USA 2012, Olivia Culpo, poses at a news conference after she was named the new Miss Universe during the 2012 Miss Universe Pageant at PH Live at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino on December 19, 2012 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by David Becker/Getty Images)

LAS VEGAS, NV – DECEMBER 19: Miss Philippines 2012, Janine Tugonon (L), and Miss USA 2012, Olivia Culpo, wait for the judges’ final decision during the 2012 Miss Universe Pageant at PH Live at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino on December 19, 2012 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Culpo went on to be crowned the new Miss Universe and Tugonon was the first runner-up. (Photo by David Becker/Getty Images)

Photo by Marcel Thomas/FilmMagic

Miss Universe 2012 felt like a big Christmas present back then. Well, almost. It was Olivia Culpo, the host delegate, who won. But Miss Philippines Janine Tugonon claimed our second of only two First Runner-Up finishes ever in the pageant’s history. The entire edition was also special in the sense that it was held exactly a week before Christmas, so the Yuletide spirit pervaded all throughout the finals proceedings. And just as the US celebrated its victory since 1997, the Filipinos watched in awe as our representative successfully added to the consecutive Top 5 rankings. Many of us said that Janine was robbed of the title, and she could have been our third Miss Universe. But patience has its rewards as we would finally get ours just a few years later.

Let’s now re-watch highlights of the Christmas (Holiday) edition of the pageant once more:

(Photo by David Becker/Getty Images)

Olivia is the type of Miss Universe winner Donald Trump must have really enjoyed having as a brand endorser. She embraced the limelight and the attention as if she just became a breakout showbiz discovery. She was also one of the most photographed titleholders. And she used the platform well beyond the HIV/AIDS Awareness and Best Buddies causes that the MUO supported. She became a social media personality, a fashion influencer, a reality TV attraction and even a film actress. She also appeared twice on the pages of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition.

Christian McCaffrey and Olivia Culpo (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for AT&T)

In terms of love life, Olivia wasn’t lacking. After a highly-publicized and gossiped-about relationship with singer/actor Nick Jonas, she also had dalliances with at least a few sportsmen like Tim Tebow, Danny Amendola and Christian McCaffrey (left photo).

Olivia will soon resurface on the small screen in the program “Paradise City” which is a TV spinoff of “American Satan”, as well as continue with all her public appearances.

MILAN, ITALY – FEBRUARY 22: Olivia Culpo is seen wearing belt and bag Bottega Veneta, red coat and overall Gabriela Hearst, heels during Milan Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2020-2021 on February 22, 2020 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Christian Vierig/Getty Images)

Riyo Mori and her conquest of the Miss Universe 2007 crown in Mexico

Posted by Norman on April 13, 2020
Posted in: 1 Pageant Pages, 2 Shout-out-Looks. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

Miss Japan, Riyo Mori crowned Miss Universe 2007 (Photo by Victor Chavez/WireImage)

Miss Japan, Riyo Mori crowned Miss Universe 2007 (Photo by Victor Chavez/WireImage)

The victory of Riyo Mori during Miss Universe 2007 easily sticks out in the mind of followers of modern pageant history because: 1) an Asian delegate prevailed over the Latinas in their own turf which presumably led to 2) Zuleyka Rivera looking disenchanted when she crowned her successor especially that 3) Riyo wore the most non-pageant competition evening gown on the road to the crown, and 4) another Asian – Honey Lee of Korea – making it all the way to Top 5 (which happened again in 2011 when the Philippines and China emerged as runners-up).

Donald Trump gave his two thumbs up to the win of Riyo Mori regardless of his personal preferences. After all, pageantry is and will always be a business. And the Japanese beauty really delivered when it mattered. Never mind the pressure from the Latin American audience and watchers. Truth be told, I was secretly hoping then that Natalia Guimaraes of Brazil would be named winner. But 1st Runner-Up ain’t bad.

Photo by Marc Stamas/Getty Images

The life of Riyo took a 180-degree turn from the time she was named Miss Universe 2007. From being a ballet dancer and model/actress in Japan, she embraced the bigger limelight and made herself available for all the commitments and public demands of the title. As a result, she was one of the most well-traveled titleholders after visiting Indonesia, Spain, the Bahamas, St. Kitts and Nevis, China, Mexico, Canada, Germany, Vietnam, France, Monaco, San Marino, Russia and Italy throughout her reign.

Below is a video of Riyo being interviewed by Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray during Miss USA 2019.

Photo by Jun Sato/WireImage

Riyo eventually starred in the MTV reality TV show “Pageant Place” that ran for one season, as well as the VH1 program “The Price of Beauty”. She was last seen in the Philippines as judge during the 65th Miss Universe. Below is one of her photos in Atlanta, Georgia where she also served as judge during Miss Universe 2019.

ATLANTA, GEORGIA – DECEMBER 08: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY) Miss Universe 2007 Riyo Mori attends the 2019 Miss Universe Pageant at Tyler Perry Studios on December 08, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images)

Amelia Vega: Like a hurricane during Miss Universe 2003

Posted by Norman on April 11, 2020
Posted in: 1 Pageant Pages, 2 Shout-out-Looks. Tagged: , , , , , , , , .

Photo by J. Countess/WireImage

Photo by Paul Andrew Hawthorne/WireImage

The minute (then 18 year-old Venezuela-trained) Amelia Vega landed in Panama last 2003, she started her mission of claiming the Miss Universe 2003 title much like the way our very own Catriona Gray did it in Bangkok last 2018 – own the win from Day 1. It was like she always had this bubble script on top of her head that said “All of you ladies vie to become my runners-up. Because I will win the crown, like it or not.”

And she did. Not even the likes of Venezuela’s Mariangel Ruiz or South Africa’s Cindy Nell could take it away from her. Or even Trump’s personal favorite Sanja Papić of Serbia and Montenegro who placed fourth in the end. Watch this video of her performance during that year’s edition.

Amelia last 2015 (Photo by Chelsea Lauren/Getty Images for Mercedes-Benz)

NBA Player Al Harford and Amelia Vega-Harford (Photo by Moses Robinson/Getty Images)

After her reign, Amelia went on to become an affiliate endorser of Cover Girl cosmetics for several years before launching careers as a singer, TV host and even a film actress. She also had two boutique businesses in Miami called “Essence by Amelia Vega”. She married (fellow Dominican) NBA player Al Horford last 2011, with whom she now has three children.

Below is a video featuring the happily-married couple before they had their third and youngest child.

Now for those interested to know her royal ancestry (I’m sure at least one of you, dear readers, would be keen about:)

(Photo by Alberto Tamargo/Getty Images)

”Amelia Vega’s grandfather was son of Miguel Ángel Vega Hernández, and grandson of José Nicolás Vega Pichardo, a Cuban immigrant from Santiago de Cuba who arrived to the Dominican Republic in the 1860s with his parents, José Rafael Vega Bravo and Margarita Crescencia Pichardo Contreras, and his brother José Rafael Vega Pichardo, whose ancestry can be traced back to the English King, William the Conqueror, and the Castilian King Alfonso X.

Miss Universe 2004 Jennifer Hawkins: The Quintessential Australian Beauty

Posted by Norman on April 10, 2020
Posted in: 1 Pageant Pages, 2 Shout-out-Looks. Tagged: , , , , , , , .

Photo by Michael Dodge/Getty Images

Photo by Don Arnold/WireImage

I have always had a personal liking for Aussie beauty queens with their cool beach-loving vibe, eye-candy looks and ease with whatever kind of swimsuit they wear. It’s like a peg or formula they have somehow mastered through the years. And the names of most! I just love it when the winner answers to a common one spelled differently – like Jesinta instead of Jacinta, Tegan instead of Megan, Voni instead of Bonnie, Renae instead of Renee and Caris instead of Carrie!

Last 2004, Jennifer Hawkins may have arrived in Quito, Ecuador with no clear sense yet that she will eventually zoom past all comers and become the best of the best that year. The presence alone of the combo of Miss USA Shandi Finnessey, Miss Paraguay Yanina González and Miss Norway Kathrine Sørland was enough to get any of the candidates intimidated. It was clearly her year, though, and the path to the crown was made more easy when then pageant owner Donald Trump took a shine on her, while developing a cool friendship with Shandi who eventually became her reign-long roommate in New York after winning the crown of Miss Universe 2004.

Jennifer Hawkins getting a kiss from Donald Trump (Photo by Adam Ward/Newspix/Getty Images)

(Photo by Mike Flokis/Getty Images)

So it was the closer than close attention Jennifer received from Trump that got her involved in a scandal of sorts with the man who is now US President. There was a time when the latter described her as “the most beautiful Miss Universe I have seen in many, many years”.

But in this article on Grazia by Erin Van Den Meer, it detailed how the professional relationship went downhill and mentioned that:

”… But the model and entrepreneur found herself backed into a corner on Saturday when footage of Trump degrading her on stage at a conference in Sydney back in 2011 resurfaced and was published by every major news website in Australia and America – all while she was on duty for Myer at Derby Day in Melbourne.

In the video, Trump calls Hawkins up on stage to deliberately humiliate her after she initially refused to introduce him at the event (she claims there was a miscommunication with her management). He not only denigrates her in front of the stadium of thousands but even makes an uncomfortable sexual comment about her…”

Photo by David Yellen/Corbis via Getty Images

From being apple of the eye, Jennifer was gradually sidelined to near anonymity so to speak. Which was a blessing in disguise for the beauty queen who found his actions a little too close for comfort before everything happened. In an exclusive interview on 60 Minutes Australia last year, she finally opened up about everything that happened between her and Donald Trump. Watch now.

Dear readers, care to share your thoughts about Jennifer, her reign and the role of Trump in her sudden rise to popularity that went south in trickles?

Stay home, save lives and make lent more purposeful this year.

Miss Universe 2002: When one of the most beautiful winners ever was crowned – and then got terminated months after

Posted by Norman on April 8, 2020
Posted in: 1 Pageant Pages, 2 Shout-out-Looks. Tagged: , , , , , , , .

Oxana Fedorova the day after she was crowned Miss Universe 2002


Justine Pasek of Panama replaced Oxana

Oxana Fedorova inarguably ranks high as one of the most beautiful faces – if not the most beautiful – to be ever crowned Miss Universe. And as the first Russian winner of the title, it must have really been a big honor to her countrymen. But it was a fairy tale that did not have a happy ending. Barely four months after her victory, she had to be terminated for not being able to fulfill her duties. Her first runner-up – Justine Pasek of Panama – took over.

Let’s watch the 2002 Finals to reminisce her dominance during this edition.

UNITED STATES – SEPTEMBER 24: Donald Trump places the crown on the head of Justine Pasek as she takes on the title of Miss Universe at Trump Tower. Pasek, the former Miss Panama, who finished second in the Miss Universe contest, assumed the title when Oxana Fedorova, a Russian, was deposed from the throne. Trump, who co-owns the pageant with NBC, said the Russian glamour girl fell down on the job since being crowned in May. “She just wasn’t able to fulfill her duties,” Trump said. (Photo by Keith Torrie/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images)

According to MUO President Paula Shugart in this news article by CBS News:

“She needed to spend a lot of time in Russia,” Shugart said in a broadcast interview. “I believe her mother was ill at one point.”

When asked about reports that Fedorova was fired because she was married or pregnant, Shugart said, “No, I honestly have no idea where any of that came from.” Miss Universe cannot be married or have children, according to pageant rules.

Fedorova, a police lieutenant pursuing a graduate law degree at St. Petersburg’s Police Academy, denied she had been fired and said she gave up the title herself.

“The duties of a world beauty are wonderful. However, my prime goal is my studies and career in Russia,” Fedorova told RTR state television. “I know I will remain Miss Universe for Russian citizens and for myself.”

She, too, denied she was married or pregnant.

As far as the other highlights of her professional life are concerned, Oxana is the founder of her own fashion line, Oksana Fedorova Design Studio, which debuted its fall collection during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Russia last 2016. She also pursued a film, music and television career that included being a voice actress in animated US movies – such as Toy Story 3 and Tinker Bell – that were dubbed for the Russian audience.

Miss Universe 2002, Russian Oxana Fedorova (Photo by Denise Truscello/WireImage)

Bb. Pilipinas 1999: The Year when Miriam Quiambao claimed her Miss Universe fate and became the Philippines’ first 1st Runner-Up in the pageant

Posted by Norman on March 24, 2020
Posted in: 1 Pageant Pages, 2 Shout-out-Looks. Tagged: , , , , , , , .

Photo credit: Tony Paat

1999 was bittersweet for all its worth for Bb. Pilipinas. Bitter because for the second consecutive year (<em>and third overall if I’m not mistaken</em>), the crowned winner of the Bb. Pilipinas Universe title – Janelle Bautista – was dethroned because of citizenship problems. Sweet because – in her place – the original Bb. Pilipinas World Miriam Quiambao took over and went on to place 1st Runner-Up to Mpule Kwelagobe of Botswana in Trinidad and Tobago. Up to now, I really feel that Donald Trump gave the thumbs-up for Miss Philippines to win that year. The Final 3 Q&A, though, really got into the nerves of Miriam and had to be happy with her placement – the first ever second-place finish for the Philippines in Miss Universe. As for Lalaine Edson getting promoted to Bb. Pilipinas World, I really had my reservations because she was just this fair-skinned halfie who must have been greatly helped by the influence of the late German Moreno in getting a crown in the first place. 2nd Runner-Up Joelle Pelaez or 1st Runner-Up Michelle Arcangel were more deserving in my opinion. And we all know now what happened to Lalaine in London for Miss World – during especially after the competition when she went “missing” and was reported to have been “kidnapped” by a foreigner-lover and forced into marriage. I bet our regulars here know more about those mysterious circumstances.

Janelle Bradford (nee Bautista) with her husband and children

Donald Trump and a portrait full of P******

Posted by Norman on November 14, 2015
Posted in: 2 Shout-out-Looks. Tagged: , , , , , , .

  

I don’t usually recommend articles from the Gaily Grind, but this one is just too good to pass up on. I initially thought that I may be towing the line of a subject matter that is just a touch inappropriate for the general patronage of this blog. But after awhile, I realized that the image above is wide enough not to show any indecent images.

In an article posted on the popular site, an anonymous artist paid homage to the former Miss Universe owner – and now a US Presidential aspirant – Donald Trump by coming up with a mosaic portrait where hundreds of penis images were used. Pretty unique, right? And definitely attention-grabbing.

So since we’re talking about an individual who wants to become the next President of the US of A, why don’t we segue to the Philippine political landscape and turn our heads to the different personalities who have already signed their bid to run for the country’s top post in the May, 2016 national elections.

Is there an equally creative person out there who can make something like the Donald Trump image above but using a more novel approach? That’s the challenge!

image

Three of the more popular Philippine Presidential hopefuls for 2016 (left-to-right): Jojo Binay, Grace Poe and Mar Roxas (Photo credit: investvine.com)

But you know what the bigger challenge is? Choosing the right aspirant to vote as Philippine President next year. There are more than twenty (20) vying for the position, but allow me to zero in on just 4-5 of them. Are you for Mar Roxas? Or do you fancy the relatively inexperienced Grace Poe? Perhaps, you want to stick it out with the “experienced” and controversial Jejomar Binay? Or for the more feisty-loving voters, Miriam Defensor Santiago could be the better choice. And why don’t we complete the magic circle by including Rodrigo Duterte who hasn’t signified any intentions of running, but might just pull a surprise somewhere along the way.

Let me hear your voice on this one, dear readers. 🙂

WME/IMG for Miss Universe

Posted by Norman on September 15, 2015
Posted in: 1 Pageant Pages, 2 Shout-out-Looks. Tagged: , , .

The new owners of Miss Universe

The new owners of Miss Universe

wpid-donald-trump.jpg And so it has come to officially pass. WME (William Morris Endeavor) and IMG Models are the new owners of Miss Universe. While the news is no longer new (after it has already been leaked by other individuals prior to the official statements in this post), it still bears a tinge of bittersweet feelings now that everything has been signed, sealed and delivered.

The changes to be implemented in our favorite beauty pageant, including Miss USA and Miss Teen USA, are worth anticipating. Will the innovations sit well with fans and followers worldwide? Or will it be – as many individuals think – downhill from this point? I would like to cut the new owners some slack. Who knows? It could be a blessing in disguise that Donald Trump (left photo) is no longer part of it all.

Screenshot_2015-09-15-08-40-13~2 WME/IMG is now looking at negotiating with new domestic TV partners. I just hope that there will be renewed enthusiasm all around.

Here’s wishing WME/IMG all the best. 🙂

Trump’s 100% in Miss Universe

Posted by Norman on September 12, 2015
Posted in: 1 Pageant Pages, 2 Shout-out-Looks. Tagged: , , .

Screenshot_2015-09-12-01-14-34~2 wpid-donald-trump.jpg Donald Trump now owns the (Miss) Universe. All 100% of it. Done deal. And the price tag offered to NBC? Secret.

In this article by CNN Money, Mr. Trump has bought the 50% share of NBC and can proudly say that he is fully in-charge as owner of our favorite beauty pageant. What does this mean? Simple. He can willfully sell Miss Universe to the highest bidder if he so wants. And I think he does.

It’s hard to tell how the next edition will look like. Heck, I don’t even want to know the full details yet.

But one thing is for sure.

Miss Universe will never be the same again.

I just hope that the next owner will love it more than we all do. That’s the only way everyone can be happy. Hopefully. 😉

A Prospective Buyer for Miss Universe?

Posted by Norman on August 27, 2015
Posted in: 1 Pageant Pages, 2 Shout-out-Looks. Tagged: , , .

MUO1

Looks like Miss Universe will have a new owner if all negotiations fall into place. And in this article by Emily Smith, Ari Emanuel is said to be one of the potential serious bidders. If everything is successful, then it only means that we can expect a more top priority status for our favorite pageant – no more second or third fiddle treatment. You all like that to happen, right?

Donald Trump can focus on his Presidential bid. But he needs to leave Miss Universe in good hands first. 🙂