A beauty pageant is a competition that has traditionally focused on judging and ranking the physical attributes of the contestants. Pageants have now evolved to include 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. The term beauty pageant refers originally to the Big Four international beauty pageants.
Miss Universe is an annual international major beauty pageant that is run by a United States and Thailand-based Miss Universe Organization. Along with Miss World, Miss International, and Miss Earth, Miss Universe is one of the Big Four international beauty pageants.
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 international beauty pageants.
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 international beauty pageants.
Miss India or Femina Miss India is a national beauty pageant in India that annually selects representatives to compete in Miss World, one of the Big Four major international beauty pageants. It is organised by Femina, a women's magazine published by The Times Group. Since 2013, Femina also organises Miss Diva as a separate competition, with representatives competing at Miss Universe.
Miss USA is an American beauty pageant that has been held annually since 1952 to select the entrant from United States in the Miss Universe pageant. The Miss Universe Organization operated both pageants, as well as Miss Teen USA, until 2020, when the organization announced it was licensing operation of the Miss USA and Miss Teen USA pageants to Crystle Stewart, Miss USA for 2008 prior to her suspension in October 2022, thus returning the said pageants to the Miss Universe Organization.
Miss International is a Japan-based international major beauty pageant organized by the International Culture Association. First held in 1960, it is the fourth largest pageant in the world in terms of the number of national winners participating in the international contest.
Georgina Rizk is a Lebanese model, socialite and beauty queen. She represented Lebanon at the Miss Universe 1971 and won making her the first Lebanese and Middle Eastern/West Asian woman to win that title. Prior to this, she was crowned Miss Lebanon 1970 and represented Lebanon at the Miss World competition but failed to place.
The Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria – often abbreviated as MBGN – is a pageant organised by Silverbird Group with the main purpose of sending representatives to international competitions. Originally known as Miss Universe Nigeria, it was renamed Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria after news publishers Daily Times lost their license to send delegates from rival contest Miss Nigeria to Miss World. Since 2005, the pageant has produced multiple representatives, but the MBGN World recipient is considered the overall winner. Miss Universe Nigeria was reestablished in 2023, breaking away from MBGN and operating as an entirely different pageant.
The Miss Nicaragua or (Miss Universe Nicaragua) is an American beauty pageant that has been held annually since 1955 to select the entrant from Nicaragua in the Miss Universe and since 2023 to select the entrant to Miss Charm pageant. Until 2001 when the model agency Siluetas announces that the most important beauty pageant in the country will be operated until 2023 by Karen Celebertti.
Miss Universe 1957 was the sixth Miss Universe pageant, held at the Long Beach Municipal Auditorium in Long Beach, California, United States on 19 July 1957.
Rachael "Richa" Maria Adhia is a Tanzanian model and beauty pageant titleholder won Miss Earth Tanzania 2006, Miss Tanzania 2007 and Miss India Tanzania 2010. She is of Indian descent with family origins from Calangute, Goa who was born and brought up in Tanzania.
Patricia Yurena Rodríguez Alonso is a Spanish model, actress, and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Spain 2008 and then Miss Universe Spain 2013. She represented Spain at Miss World 2008, where she placed in the top fifteen, and at Miss Universe 2013, where she was the first runner-up, becoming the highest-placing Spanish delegate since Teresa Sánchez López was first runner-up at Miss Universe 1985, and after Amparo Muñoz won the title in 1974.
The Miss South Africa is a national beauty pageant in South Africa that selects South African representatives to compete in one of the Big Four international beauty pageants Miss Universe, and also selects another representative to participate in Sub-major international pageant Miss Supranational. The Miss South Africa organisation resorted to a contemporary format in selecting representatives which was inaugurated in 2018. Following their newer method, both a Miss World South Africa and a Miss Universe South Africa were selected as representatives. From 2021 onwards, the winner of Miss South Africa will be competing in Miss Universe, and Miss Supranational. The current Miss South Africa 2023 is Natasha Joubert. On May 11, 2023, the Miss South Africa Organisation has lost its license as a Miss World licensee holder to Carol Bouwer Productions, which has taken over the license of Miss World South Africa pageant.
Janina Miller San Miguel is a Filipino beauty queen who was crowned Binibining Pilipinas World at the Binibining Pilipinas 2008 beauty pageant.
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.
Miss Earth Nigeria is an annual national beauty pageant in Nigeria to select its representative to the international Miss Earth pageant. The pageant, with the theme "Beauties for a Cause" is organized by AMC Productions, and began sending representatives to Miss Earth a year after the international pageant was established in 2001. Nigeria has achieved six placements in Miss Earth.
Scherri-Lee Biggs is a South African-Australian TV host, dancer, model and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Universe Australia 2011 and represented Australia at Miss Universe 2011.
Miss International Queen is the world's biggest beauty pageant for transgender women. The pageant was conceived in 2004 and named the largest and most prestigious by CNN original American documentary television series This Is Life with Lisa Ling aired on 26 November 2017.
