A beauty pageant is a competition in which the contestants are judged and ranked based on various physical and mental attributes. Per its name, beauty pageants traditionally focus on judging the contestants' physical attractiveness, sometimes solely so, but most modern beauty pageants have since expanded to also judge contestants based on "inner beauty"—their individual traits and characteristics, including personality, intelligence, aptitude, moral character, and charity. Though typically perceived as a female-oriented competition, male beauty pageants also exist, as do child beauty pageants for youth.
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.
Kerstin Margareta "Kiki" Håkansson is a Swedish model and beauty queen who was the first winner of the Miss World beauty pageant after being crowned Miss Sweden World in 1951.
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.
Miss Perú is the national beauty pageant of the republic of Peru. The contest gathers participants from all over the nation, including Peruvian women representing their community overseas. Having been broadcast by all the major television networks in the country during its history, the pageant is currently broadcast by América Televisión. It is preceded by two or three months of preliminary events, with the awarding of corporate prizes by sponsors.
Dania Patricia Prince Méndez is a Honduran model and beauty queen who has held the title of Miss Earth 2003.
Miss Earth 2003 was the 3rd Edition of the Miss Earth pageant, held at the University of the Philippines Theater in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines, on November 9, 2003.
Shwetha Menon is an Indian actress, model, television anchor and beauty pageant titleholder. She has won Femina Miss India Asia Pacific 1994. She has predominantly acted in Malayalam and Hindi language films, besides appearing in a number of Telugu and Tamil Language Films. She won two Kerala State Film Awards for Best Actress and two Filmfare Award South. She participated in Bigg Boss Malayalam Season 1.
Beauty for a Cause is the slogan of the Miss Earth beauty pageant which highlights the work of the pageant and the slogan was adopted since the pageant's inception in 2001. The slogan empowers the contestants to work with an environmental advocacy that is personally significant to them. The phrase is also the name of an award also given by the pageant. The first Beauty for a Cause prize was awarded in 2003.
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.
Gauahar Khan is an Indian actress, model and beauty pageant titleholder. She appears in Hindi films and television. She started her career as a model and participated in the Femina Miss India contest in 2002.
Susan Jeske is the current CEO of Ms. America Pageant. In 1997 she was the first winner of Ms. America, a lesser known beauty peagant, which she purchased afterwards, holding a remodeled version of it since 2002. She has been involved in pageantry since 1983 as a competitor, judge, and pageant director at over 200 local, state, national and international pageant competitions. In 2007, Jeske was honored with the Lifetime Presidential Award from the President of the United States, George W. Bush for her lifetime contributions to charity and volunteerism. Other titles of her Ms. America Pageant company include Ms. International, Teen Ms. America, Ms. America Beauty Teen and Ms. America Fitness Pageants.
Miss Terra Brasil is an annual national beauty pageant realized in Brazil to select its entrant in the Miss Earth pageant.
Bigg Boss 5 is the fifth season of the Indian reality TV show Bigg Boss, which aired on Colors TV from 2 October 2011 to 7 January 2012 with Sanjay Dutt and Salman Khan as the hosts.
There are a number of Iraqi beauty pageants. Miss Iraq is one of the national beauty pageants in Iraq. Others include Miss World Iraq and Miss Earth Iraq.
Lopamudra Raut is an Indian actress, engineer and beauty pageant titleholder who represented India at Miss United continents and won this international pageant in Ecuador amongst 45 other countries. Lopamudra Raut also made it to the top in India's most desirable women's list.
Ms. International is part of the Ms. America Pageant Inc. system and is for women 26 years of age and up who are single, divorced, widowed or married. The beauty pageant has been developed to promote and honor women, celebrate their accomplishments and use their "Crown for a Purpose" to support and encourage involvement in volunteer service.
Meera Mitun is an Indian former model and actress, who has appeared in Tamil language movies. Meera is known for her extensive controversies and allegations. She has also been in jail multiple times due to various allegations recorded against her.
Archana Gautam is an Indian actress, politician, and model. She was crowned as Miss Uttar Pradesh 2014, Miss Bikini India 2018 and represented India at Miss Cosmos World 2018, and won sub title of Most Talent 2018. She is known for participating in reality shows Bigg Boss 16 and where she emerged as third runner-up, and Fear Factor: Khatron Ke Khiladi 13.
