Iris Mittenaere, a 23-year-old dental student from France has won the Miss Universe 2017 crown in the annual pageant at Phillipines.
Mittenaere comes from Lille in northern France and was announced the winner among 86 contestants.
Miss Haiti, Raquel Pelissier, a 25-year-old survivor of the devastating 2010 earthquake that destroyed her hometown, was named first runner up.
Miss Colombia, 23-year-old, Andrea Tovar, was second runner up.
Mittenaere’s victory was the first by a French contestant in more than 60 years.
Mittenaere said her victory would also help cheer French people following terrorist attacks in recent years.
Mittenaere said she would focus during her reign on helping all children, especially girls, attend school.
Pellissier said surviving Haiti’s quake, which officials in her country estimated killed more than 300,000 people and displaced more than 1.5 million others, and her pageant success underscored her rise from adversity.
She had to raise funds to compete in the pageant after her sponsors pulled out to help victims of Hurricane Matthew, which devastated parts of Haiti in October.
Eighty-six candidates vied in this year’s pageant, which was formerly owned by Donald Trump.
The national costume competition won by 24-year-old Myanmar model Htet Htet Htun, who carried a backdrop depicting her country’s traditional puppet theatre.
Judges initially selected a dozen candidates. A 13th picked through online balloting which drew 100 million votes worldwide.
Miss Universe Pageant: Know More- Motto: "Confidently Beautiful"
- Formation: June 28, 1952
- Headquarters: New York City
- Location: United States
- Official language: English
- President: Paula Shugart
- Parent organization: WME/IMG, 21st Century Fox
- Affiliations: William Morris Endeavor, Fox (21st Century Fox)
- Website: www.missuniverse.com
