Getty Who will be crowned Miss Universe? Tune in to the show tonight, December 8, starting at 7pm ET on Fox.
On Sunday, the Miss Universe 2019 pageant aired live from Atlanta, Georgia, and the competition was whittled down to just three final competitors.
Read on for the Top 3 rundown.
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- 1. Mexico – Sofía Aragón
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- Sofia represented Mexico at the Miss Universe 2019 competition. She is a women’s empowerment activist and has written two books: Diamante en Bruto (2017) and El color de lo Invisible (2019).
- Sofia has been open about her struggles with depression and has committed herself to helping others who struggle with similar mental health issues.
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- 2. Puerto Rico – Madison Anderson
Anderson hails from Phoenix, Arizona. Her mother is Puerto Rican and her father is American.
After graduating high school, Anderson studied fashion design at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. In a recent interview with Hola! USA, the 24-year-old opened up about prepping for the competition. She shared, “I’m only going to show off my personality, that I’m a confident, transparent woman, genuine and that’s what I’m going to do to surprise [the judges]”.
In her spare time, Madison advocates for survivors of domestic violence.
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- 3. South Africa – Zozibini Tunzi
- Tunzi earned her Bachelor of Technology graduate degree in public relations management from Cape Peninsula University of Technology. She was born in Tsolo, Eastern Cape, and later moved to Cape Town.
- Tunzi is a “passionate activist” and focuses her energy in the fight against gender-based violence.
The Miss Universe 2019 Competition
The preliminary competitions for Miss Universe took place on Friday night, which included interviews, evening wear, and the swimsuit competition. An all-female panel of judges then narrowed the competition down to 20 final competitors, which were announced at the top of Sunday night’s show.
This year’s competition has made headlines for welcoming the first openly gay contest, Swe Zin Htet, who came out just a couple of days ago. Sitting down with People recently, Htet, who is Miss Myanmar, discussed the fact that homosexuality is a crime in her home of Burma. “The difficult thing is that in Burma, LGBTQ people are not accepted,” Htet explained. “They are looked down on by other people and are being discriminated against… I have that platform that, if I say that I’m a lesbian, it will have a big impact on the LGBTQ community back in Burma.”
Htet has been given the nickname ‘Superman’ by her fans, according to People. She came out publicly on November 29, on the blog Missosology.
Htet, along with women from 90 countries and territories, took the stage on Friday night in the hopes of making it to the top 20. Friday night also included what is considered the most theatrical section of the competition– the national costume content, which does not determine the top 20. However, one contestant will ultimately take home the best contest award.
The panel of judges who decided on tonight’s semifinalists and finalists consisted of Gaby Espino, Bozoma “Boz” Saint John, Cara Mund, Sazan Hendrix, Crystle Stewart, Paulina Vega, and Riyo Mori.
Next week, the Miss World pageant will be held on December 14, 2019, at the ExCeL London, and Vanessa Ponce of Mexico is slated to crown her successor at the end of the event. The 69th edition of the event will be broadcast live on London Live from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. on December 14, 2019. The event will be hosted by Australian singer and entertainer Peter Andre.
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