Miss Philippines, 24-year-old model Catriona Gray was crowned Miss Universe 2018 on December 17 at the IMPACT Arena in Bangkok, Thailand. She succeeded South Africa’s Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters after beating 93 other contestants to win the 67th edition of the pageant.
Tamaryn Green of South Africa and Sthefany Gutiérrez of Venezuela were first and second runners-up, respectively. Miss Puerto Rico, Kiara Ortega, and Miss Vietnam, H’Hen Nie completed the Top 5 finalists.
The show was hosted by comedian Steve Harvey and supermodel Ashley Graham, while television personality Carson Kressley and runway coach Lu Sierra provided commentary and analysis throughout the event. American singer-songwriter Ne-Yo performed during the competition.
Contestants from 94 countries and territories participated in this year’s pageant, surpassing the previous record of 92 contestants in 2017. Angela Ponce of Spain became the first openly transgender contestant to compete for the Miss Universe title.
Catriona Gray won the 4th Miss Universe title for the Philippines and only 3 years after the country last won the prestigious pageant.
In 2016, Catriona competed at the Miss World pageant where she ended up as one of the Top 5 finalists. She’s the only Filipina to have won both Miss Universe Philippines and Miss World Philippines titles.
FINAL RESULTS
Miss Universe 2018: Philippines – Catriona Gray
1st Runner-Up: South Africa – Tamaryn Green
2nd Runner-Up: Venezuela – Sthefany Gutiérrez
Top 5
Puerto Rico – Kiara Ortega
Vietnam – H’Hen Nie
Top 10
Canada – Marta Stępień
Costa Rica – Natalia Carvajal
Curaçao – Akisha Albert
Nepal – Manita Devkota
Thailand – Sophida Kanchanarin
Top 20
Australia – Francesca Hung
Belgium – Zoé Brunet
Brazil – Mayra Dias
Great Britain – Dee-Ann Kentish-Rogers
Hungary – Enikő Kecskès
Indonesia – Sonia Fergina Citra
Ireland – Grainne Gallanagh
Jamaica – Emily Maddison
Poland – Magdalena Swat
United States – Sarah Rose Summers
WOW