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 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 to 2022, Femina also organised Miss Diva as a separate competition, with representatives competing at Miss Universe.
Chelsi Mariam Pearl Smith was an American actress, singer, television host and beauty queen who was crowned Miss USA 1995 and Miss Universe 1995. Smith was the third Miss USA of African-American origin, after Carole Gist (1990) and Kenya Moore (1993), in addition to being the sixth American woman to win Miss Universe and the first since Shawn Weatherly was crowned Miss Universe 1980.
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.
Carol Ann Laverne Morris is an American actress, model and beauty queen who was the second Miss USA to win the Miss Universe title in the pageant's fifth edition in 1956. She was crowned by Hillevi Rombin, Miss Universe 1955, of Sweden.
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 Alaska competition is a scholarship pageant that selects the representative for the state of Alaska in the Miss America pageant. Unlike most state-level pageants in the Miss America system, Alaska allows any eligible woman to enter the Miss Alaska pageant without first having to win a local qualifying pageant.
The Miss South Carolina competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of South Carolina in the Miss America pageant. The pageant was first held in Myrtle Beach and moved to Greenville starting in 1958 and remained in that city until the 1990s. Spartanburg hosted the pageant in a few different venues until new leadership took over the organization and moved the pageant to Columbia, SC in 2011. The pageant was televised since the 1960s until the 1998 pageant. Televising was resumed with the 2000 pageant through 2006. The pageant returned to television in 2014.
The Miss Missouri competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the U.S. state of Missouri in the Miss America pageant.
The Miss New York scholarship competition selects the representative for the state of New York in the Miss America scholarship competition.
Miss Nigeria is an annual pageant showcasing positive attributes of Nigerian women and awarding university scholarships. The winner portrays exemplary qualities and serves as a role model for young women in the country. The pageant is currently organised by Daily Times.
Miss Pakistan World is a beauty pageant for women of Pakistani descent from around the world. The event is held annually in Canada.
The International Pageant of Pulchritude, also known as Miss Universe or the International Beauty Contest, was a beauty contest that began in 1920, featuring contestants from multiple nations. This pageant originated the title "Miss Universe" and was the first international contest. The last pageant event in the United States was held in 1931 and additional Miss Universe events were held until 1935. The contest served as a model for modern contests that began after World War II.
The Second International Pageant of Pulchritude and Eighth Annual Bathing Girl Revue was held from May 21 to 23, 1927, in Galveston, Texas. More contestants from outside the United States entered the pageant compared to the previous year, with women from Cuba, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Portugal, and Spain joining. Canada and Mexico also sent delegates, as they had in 1926. There were also 29 contestants from the United States. An estimated 250,000 people attended the events during that weekend, and over $5000 in prizes were given to the winners. The pageant was becoming known as an opportunity for potential movie and stage actresses to be discovered.
Miss America 1922, the second annual Miss America pageant, was held at the Million Dollar Pier in Atlantic City, New Jersey from September 7–9, 1922.
Miss America 1923, the third Miss America pageant, was held at the Million Dollar Pier in Atlantic City, New Jersey on Friday, September 7, 1923. The incumbent, 17-year-old Mary Katherine Campbell, retained her title due primarily to her victory in the bathing suit competition exhibiting "an almost perfect figure."
This is a list of the Philippines' representatives and their placements at the Big Four international beauty pageants. The Philippines, widely considered a beauty pageant powerhouse, has won in all four pageants, with a total of 100 placements and 15 victories:
Jenna Talackova is a Canadian model and television personality, who gained media attention in 2012 when she successfully waged a legal battle to be allowed to compete in the Miss Universe Canada after being initially disqualified for being transgender.
Catherine May Moylan was an American film and television actress, model, and beauty queen who won the 1926 International Pageant of Pulchritude. She subsequently appeared in two Broadway productions before having a short film career, including roles in Our Blushing Brides and Love in the Rough.
Lisl Goldarbeiter was an Austrian model and actress, who in 1929, became the first and only Austrian to win the Miss Universe title. She also participated in the Miss Europe competition in 1929.
