A beauty pageant or beauty contest is a competition that has traditionally focused on judging and ranking the physical attributes of the contestants, although most contests have evolved to also incorporate personality traits, intelligence, talent, and a contestant's ability to answer judges' questions on various subjects as judged criteria. The term refers largely to contests for women such as the Big Four international beauty pageants. Hundreds of thousands of beauty contests are held annually, but the Big Four are considered the most prestigious, widely covered and broadcast by media. The Wall Street Journal, BBC News, CNN, Xinhua News Agency, and global news agencies such as Reuters, Associated Press and Agence France-Presse collectively refer to the four major pageants as "Big Four" namely: Miss Universe, Miss World, Miss International, and Miss Earth.
Miss Universe is an annual international beauty pageant that is run by the United States–based Miss Universe Organization. It is one of the most watched pageants in the world with an estimated audience of over 500 million viewers in over 190 territories. 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-running 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, this pageant is one of the Big Four international beauty pageants.
Miss Earth is an annual international environmental-themed beauty pageant competition promoting environmental awareness, conservation and social responsibility. The contest is the third largest beauty pageant in the world in terms of the number of national-level competitions to participate in the world finals. Along with Miss World, Miss Universe, and Miss International, the competition is one of the Big Four international beauty pageants — the most coveted beauty titles among all the international pageant competitions.
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 organizes Miss Diva separately which sends representatives to Miss Universe.
Sushmita Sen is an Indian actress and model who was crowned Femina Miss India in 1994 and won Miss Universe 1994 at the age of 18. Sen is the first Indian to win the competition and has since primarily worked in Hindi films.
Lara Dutta is an Indian actress, entrepreneur and the winner of the Miss Universe 2000 pageant. She was previously crowned as Miss Intercontinental 1997. In her career, she has primarily worked in Hindi films. She is the recipient of several accolades including a Filmfare Award.
Diana Hayden is an Indian actress, television host, model and the winner of Miss World 1997 pageant. She is the third Indian woman to win the title of Miss World. She also won three subtitles during the pageant and is the only Miss World titleholder to do so. In 2008, she was a celebrity contestant in the reality show Bigg Boss.
Sindhura Gadde is an Indian actress and former Femina Miss India World who also made to the semi-finals of Miss World Pageant in 2005.
The Miss Colorado Teen USA competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Colorado in the Miss Teen USA pageant. From 1993 to 2006, the Miss Colorado Teen USA state pageant was directed by Carol Hirata and the Carlton Group, based in Bellvue, Colorado. In 2007, it was taken over by Future Productions, based in Savage, Minnesota, which also directs pageants in Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin and Wyoming. The pageant have been held in Loveland, Greeley and other cities.
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is an Indian actress and the winner of the Miss World 1994 pageant. Through her successful acting career, she has established herself as one of the most popular and influential celebrities in India. Rai has received numerous accolades, including two Filmfare Awards, and was honoured with the Padma Shri by the Government of India in 2009 and the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the Government of France in 2012. She has often been cited in the media as "the most beautiful woman in the world".
Sonia Ahmed, is a Kuwaiti born Pakistani and founder of Miss Canada Pakistan Inc., also known as Miss Pakistan World, Mr. Pakistan World and Mrs. Pakistan World. that were first held in 2002 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Miss Earth USA is an annual beauty pageant which selects the United States representative to Miss Earth which is an annual international beauty pageant promoting environmental awareness.
Vasuki Sunkavalli is an Indian lawyer and I Am She – Miss Universe India 2011 Title Holder. She has represented India at the Miss Universe 2011 pageant held in São Paulo, Brazil on 12 September 2011, but could not make the cut due to non-participation in competition rounds. Sunkavalli was crowned I Am She – Miss Universe India on 15 July 2011 in Mumbai, India.
Aditi Arya is an Indian actress, model, research analyst and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Femina Miss India World in 2015. She represented India at Miss World 2015 pageant.
Miss Earth India or Miss India Earth is a title given to the Indian woman who represents India at Miss Earth, an annual, international beauty pageant promoting environmental awareness. The current national pageant which chooses the Indian representative for Miss Earth is Miss Divine Beauty of India.
Asha Bhat is an Indian model, actress, engineer and beauty pageant titleholder from Karnataka. She was the first Indian to win the Miss Supranational pageant in 2014. She made her acting debut with 2019 Hindi film Junglee alongside Vidyut Jammwal and then appeared in 2021 Kannada action thriller film Roberrt.
Jasmine D'Souza is an Indian Model, Bollywood actress and a film director. She is the winner of the Gladrags Mrs. India 2001 beauty pageant. She is known for her role in 88 Antop Hill.
Srinidhi Ramesh Shetty is an Indian model, actress and beauty pageant titleholder. She was crowned as Miss Diva Supranational 2016 at the Miss Diva - 2016 pageant and later represented India at Miss Supranational 2016, which she won. She is the second Indian representative to have won this title. She has worked mainly in Kannada, Tamil, and Telugu films.
Courage Productions runs the Miss BC pageant, including the Mrs. BC, Miss Teen BC, and Miss Charity BC titles. It was founded in Langley in 2002 by Darren Storsley. The final pageant night is televised by Shaw TV.
