A bikini is a two-piece swimsuit primarily worn by girls and women that features one piece on top that covers the breasts, and a second piece on the bottom: the front covering the pelvis but usually exposing the navel, and the back generally covering the intergluteal cleft and a little, some, or all of the buttocks. The size of the top and bottom can vary, from bikinis that offer full coverage of the breasts, pelvis, and buttocks, to more revealing designs with a thong or G-string bottom that covers only the mons pubis, but exposes the buttocks, and a top that covers only the areolae. Bikini bottoms covering about half the buttocks may be described as "Brazilian-cut".
A beauty pageant is a competition that has traditionally focused on judging and ranking the physical attributes of the contestants. Pageants have now moved towards including inner beauty, with criteria covering judging of personality, intelligence, talent, character, and charitable involvement, through private interviews with judges and answers to public on-stage questions. Pageant titles are subdivided into Miss, Mrs. or Ms., and Teen – to clearly identify the difference between pageant divisions.
Miss World is the oldest existing international beauty pageant. It was created in the United Kingdom by Eric Morley in 1951. Since his death in 2000, Morley's widow, Julia Morley, has co-chaired the pageant. Along with Miss Universe, Miss International, and Miss Earth, it is one of the Big Four beauty pageants.
A swimsuit is an item of clothing designed to be worn by people engaging in a water-based activity or water sports, such as swimming, diving and surfing, or sun-orientated activities, such as sun bathing. Different types may be worn by men, women, and children. A swimsuit can be described by various names, some of which are used only in particular locations or for particular types of suit, including swimwear, bathing suit, bathing attire, swimming costume, bathing costume, swimming suit, swimmers, swimming togs, bathers, cossie, or swimming trunks, besides others.
Miss Earth is an annual international major beauty pageant based in the Philippines that advocates for environmental awareness, conservation and social responsibility. Along with Miss World, Miss Universe, and Miss International, it is one of the Big Four beauty pageants.
Wendy Marcelle Fitzwilliam is a Trinidadian lawyer, actress, model, singer, tv host and beauty queen who won Miss Trinidad and Tobago Universe 1998 and became the second Miss Universe in history from Trinidad and Tobago. Miss Universe 1998 is also the third woman of African heritage to win the beauty pageant.
Vida Samadzai is an Afghan-American actress, model and beauty pageant titleholder who was Miss Afghanistan 2003. As the first Afghan woman to participate in an international beauty pageant since 1974, her appearance in a red bikini in the 2003 edition of Miss Earth pageant created controversy in her native country. She was a contestant on the popular reality show Bigg Boss in 2011.
A swimsuit competition, more commonly now called a bikini contest, is a beauty contest which is judged and ranked while contestants wear a swimsuit, typically a bikini. One of the judging criteria is the physical attractiveness of the contestants. The Big Four international beauty pageants have included examples of such a competition.
Hawaiian Tropic is an American brand of suntan lotion that was founded by Ron Rice in 1969. Hawaiian Tropic became the largest private manufacturer of sun care products in the United States. The company was acquired by Playtex Products, Inc. in May 2007. With Hawaiian Tropic and Playtex's Banana Boat brand, Playtex became the largest manufacturer of sun care products in the Western Hemisphere. Shortly after purchasing Hawaiian Tropic, Playtex Products was purchased by Energizer Holdings Inc. in a deal valued at $1.9 billion.
Tara Elizabeth Conner is an American model, television personality, and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss USA 2006 and has also competed in the Miss Teen USA and Miss Universe pageants. Apart from her role as Miss USA, Conner has been employed as a model. She was a featured model on the HDNet series Bikini Destinations in 2004, posing in Lake Tahoe. She has also held the titles Miss Kentucky Teen USA 2002, Miss Kentucky County Fair 2004, and Miss Kentucky USA 2006.
The Miss Universe Ireland is a national beauty pageant that has selected Ireland's representative to the Miss Universe pageant since 2002.
The modern bikini first appeared in 1946, and since then it has become a part of popular culture. It is one of the most widely worn women's swimsuits, used for swimming and in a variety of other contexts. Today, bikinis appear in competitions, films, magazines, music, literature, and video games. Despite the availability of more revealing glamour wear, bikini modeling remains popular and can still create controversy. Portrayals of the bikini in popular culture led, to a large extent, to its acceptance by Western society at large. In 1960, Brian Hyland's pop song "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini" inspired a bikini-buying spree. The white bikini worn by Ursula Andress as Honey Ryder in the 1962 James Bond film Dr. No has been cited as one of the most famous bikinis of all time. By 1963, the movie Beach Party, starring Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon, led a wave of films that made the bikini a pop-culture symbol. Playboy first featured a bikini on its cover in 1962. The Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue debuted two years later. This increasing popularity was reinforced by its appearance in such contemporary films as How to Stuff a Wild Bikini featuring Annette Funicello and One Million Years B.C. (1966) featuring Raquel Welch. Raquel Welch's fur bikini in One Million Years B.C. became a famous moment in cinema history. Hollywood stars such as Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield, Gina Lollobrigida and Jane Russell further helped the growing popularity of bikinis. Pin up posters of Monroe and Mansfield, as well as Hayworth, Bardot and Raquel Welch distributed around the world contributed significantly to the popularity of the bikini.
Miss Pakistan World is a beauty pageant for women of Pakistani descent from around the world. The event used to be held in Toronto, Canada but has moved to Pakistan and is held annually in Lahore, Pakistan.
Evidence of bikini-style women's clothing has been found as early as 5600 BC, and the history of the bikini can be traced back to that era. Illustrations of women wearing bikini-like garments during competitive athletic events in the Roman era have been found in several locations, the most famous of which is at Villa Romana del Casale.
Stephany Dianne Damondamon Stefanowitz is a Filipino-German model, fashion designer, tv host, singer and beauty pageant titleholder. She competed in the 12th edition of the national Miss Philippines Earth beauty pageant where she emerged as the winner and was crowned Miss Philippines Earth 2012 and competed internationally in the Miss Earth 2012 and won Miss Earth Air 2012. She is corporate, TV, and pageant host in the Philippines.
Olivia Frances Culpo is an American beauty pageant titleholder. After winning the Miss Rhode Island USA competition, she went on to win Miss USA 2012, and then Miss Universe 2012.
Šárka Klemensová is a Czech model and beauty pageant titleholder who won Czech Miss Earth 2011.
Candice Marie Bennatt is an American lawyer and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss New Mexico 2012 and represented New Mexico at Miss America 2013 but did not place. She was crowned Miss Louisiana USA 2015 and then represented Louisiana at Miss USA 2015 where she placed Top 11.
Halima Aden is an American fashion model. She is noted for being the first woman to wear a hijab in the Miss Minnesota USA 2016 pageant, where she was a semi-finalist. Following her participation in the pageant, Halima received national attention and was signed to IMG Models. She was also the first model to wear a hijab and burkini in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.
Diamond Langi is a Tongan-New Zealand model, actress, singer, and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Universe New Zealand 2019. She represented New Zealand at the Miss Universe 2019 competition, but failed to make the Top 20.
