Miss Colombia Paulina Vega was crowned Miss Universe during the 63rd annual pageant held in Miami, reports Yahoo! News.
She bested 87 contestants from other countries, including Miss USA Nia Sanchez of Las Vegas, Nevada, and Miss Ukraine Diana Harkusha, who were named runners-up during competition. Miss Jamaica Kaci Fennell and Miss Netherlands Yasmin Verheijen were also among the top five.
"It will be a dream come true to represent the woman of today. A woman that not only cares about being beautiful and being glamorous, but also cares about being a professional, intelligent, hard-working person," she said when asked about what the role of the winner will be.
Vega, who stands 5'9, is new to beauty contests as she admitted that the competitions leading to Miss Universe were the first she had participated in. She said that it would also be her last so that she could focus on her studies in business administration.
Born Barranquilla, Colombia, the 22-year-old is the daughter of cardiologist Rodolfo Vega Llamas and Laura Dieppa.
Aside from the top five, those who entered the top ten were: Miss Argentina Valentina Ferrer, Miss Spain Desire Cordero, Miss Venezuela Migbelis Lynette Castellanos, Miss Australia Tegan Martin, and Miss Philippines Mary Jean Lastimosa.
Earlier in the event, Miss Indonesia Elvira Devinamira was awarded with best national costume recognition. Miss Nigeria Queen Celestin was named Miss Congeniality, while Miss Puerto Rico Gabriela Berrios was named Miss Photogenic.
We listed down some of the facts about 2015 Miss Universe Paulina Vega based on the official website of Miss Universe.
1. She is the granddaughter of a legendary tenor, Gastón Vega, and Elvira Castillo, Miss Atlántico 1953 (Colombia).
2. She studies business administration at the Universidad Javeriana in Bogota.
3. She has been a model since she was 8 years old.
4. She graduated from a German school in Colombia, and speaks English and a bit of French.
5. In the Miss Universe Colombia pageant she earned the highest score possible in every presentation.
6. She sleeps with her eyes open, which makes it hard to tell if she is sleeping or awake.
Miss Universe did not come without an issue this year. Weeks before the competition, controversy marred the contest after a seemingly innocuous selfie sparked criticism in Lebanon because it featured Miss Lebanon Saly Greige alongside Miss Israel Doron Matalon, reports The New York Times. The scandal broke amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Lebanon.
