Women from around the world have gathered in Thailand to compete for the most prestigious pageant title: Miss Universe.
The 74-year-old competition is considered to be a powerful stepping stone, helping many past contestants find fame — even if they didn’t win the crown.
From reality TV to the big screen, here are some of the celebrities who have competed for Miss Universe.
Kenya Moore represented the United States at the 1993 Miss Universe pageant.
Moore won Miss USA while representing Michigan, becoming the second Black woman to ever win the pageant.
She placed in the top six at Miss Universe, while Dayanara Torres from Puerto Rico took home the crown.
After her Miss USA reign came to an end, Moore appeared on television shows like “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” and “Living Single,” but today, she’s best known for her extensive career in reality television.
Moore was a longtime cast member on “The Real Housewives of Atlanta,” and she’s appeared on other reality shows, including “The Apprentice” and “Dancing With the Stars.”
Ali Landry competed at Miss Universe in 1996.
Landry won the Miss Louisiana and Miss USA pageants in 1996, earning her a spot at that year’s Miss Universe competition.
Like Moore, she placed in the top six at the pageant but did not win. Alicia Machado of Venezuela was crowned Miss Universe that year.
Landry also pursued acting after her pageant career, gaining fame from appearing in a Doritos ad that aired during the 1999 Super Bowl and starring as Rita Lefleur on “EVE” from 2003 to 2006. She was also in the divisive 2023 film “Sound of Freedom.”
Gal Gadot represented Israel when she competed in the Miss Universe pageant.
Gadot was crowned Miss Israel in 2004. She went on to compete for her home country at Miss Universe the same year, but she didn’t place among the top 10 during the pageant. The Miss Universe crown went to Jennifer Hawkins of Australia.
After her Miss Israel win, Gadot enlisted in the Israel Defense Forces from 2004 to 2006 before she pursued a career in acting. As her IMDb page notes, Gadot’s role as Gisele in 2009’s “Fast and Furious” propelled her to fame. She’s gone on to appear in American and Israeli films, most notably starring as the titular character in 2017’s “Wonder Woman” and other films in the DC universe. She most recently appeared in Disney’s live-action version of “Snow White.”
Gadot also stirred up controversy in Hollywood in 2020 when she spearheaded a now-notorious video of celebrities singing “Imagine” at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Former Miss USA president Crystle Stewart competed at Miss Universe in 2008.
Stewart first gained fame when she won Miss USA in 2008 while representing Texas.
When she competed at Miss Universe that year, Stewart made it to the top 10 but fell during the evening gown round of the competition. Dayana Mendoza of Venezuela won the crown.
After her Miss USA win, Stewart went into acting, as her IMDb page notes. Her most notable role was Leslie Morris in the TBS and OWN series “For Better or Worse,” which aired from 2011 to 2017.
Stewart returned to the pageant world in 2020, becoming president of Miss USA and Miss Teen USA. She was suspended from her position in November 2022 after multiple contestants said the pageant was rigged in favor of R’Bonney Gabriel, who went on to win Miss Universe in January 2023.
An investigation found no evidence that the Miss USA pageant was fixed, but Miss Universe announced that Stewart was parting ways with the organization permanently in August 2023.
She is currently starring in Tyler Perry’s Netflix series “Beauty in Black.”
Olivia Culpo won the 2012 Miss Universe pageant.
Culpo became the first Miss USA to win Miss Universe in 15 years when she took the crown in 2012. She competed in her very first pageant, Miss Rhode Island USA, and then went on to win Miss USA and Miss Universe that same year.
She turned to Hollywood after her reign, appearing in films including “The Other Woman” with Cameron Diaz in 2014 and “I Feel Pretty” with Amy Schumer in 2018, according to her IMDb page.
In 2022, Culpo starred in the TLC reality show “The Culpo Sisters” with her family.
Culpo is now a successful Instagram influencer with more than 5 million followers. She is also married to the San Francisco 49ers player Christian McCaffrey. The couple welcomed their first child in July.
Catriona Gray represented the Philippines when she won Miss Universe in 2018.
Gray was already a decorated pageant queen before she won Miss Universe in 2018. She competed at Miss World 2016 for the Philippines, placing in the top five, and is the first Filipino to represent the country at both Miss World and Miss Universe.
Gray went viral during the Miss Universe 2018 pageant thanks to her “lava walk,” which won praise from supermodels Tyra Banks and Ashley Graham.
After her reign, Gray went on to host and perform on the Philippines musical variety show “Sunday Noontime Live!”
She has also been a backstage correspondent for the Miss Universe competition.
Miss USA 2019 Cheslie Kryst ranked in the top 10 at Miss Universe.
Kryst won Miss USA in 2019 while representing North Carolina and placed in the top 10 at Miss Universe. Zozibini Tunzi of South Africa took home the crown and became Kryst’s roommate in New York City that year.
Kryst and Tunzi helped make history, as 2019 was the first time Miss USA, Miss Teen USA, Miss Universe, and Miss America had all been won by women of color.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Kryst became the longest-reigning Miss USA titleholder in the pageant’s history at 557 days.
Kryst was a complex-litigation attorney before her Miss USA reign and once helped free a client who had been sentenced to life in prison. She became a correspondent for “Extra” and received two Daytime Emmy nominations.
Kryst died on January 30, 2022, at the age of 30.
Noelia Voigt was crowned Miss USA 2023 and placed in the top 20 at Miss Universe.
Voigt won Miss USA in September 2023, where she competed as Miss Utah. She placed in the top 20 at Miss Universe, while R’Bonney Gabriel crowned Sheynnis Palacios of Nicaragua as the new queen.
Voigt was set to finish her tenure as Miss USA following the pageant, but in May 2024, she announced her resignation. Miss Teen USA 2023 UmaSofia Srivastava followed suit just two days later.
Voigt’s and Srivastava’s mothers told Business Insider at the time that their daughters were bullied by Laylah Rose, who was president and CEO of Miss USA from August 2023 to September 2025.
Representatives for Rose and Miss USA did not respond to a previous request for comment on the mothers’ statements. However, Miss USA told ABC News at the time that it was “committed to fostering a healthy, communicative, and supportive environment for all contestants, state titleholders, national titleholders, and staff.”
Voigt’s resignation and the controversy surrounding the pageant were covered by news outlets worldwide, making her a household name. Voigt said Bella Hadid told her she was “inspired” by the pageant queen’s decision to step down when they met at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival.
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