Texas' R'Bonney Gabriel, winner of Miss Universe 2022
The winner has a Filipino background. She beat Miss Venezuela and Miss Dominican Republic, who came in second and third place, respectively.
R'Bonney Gabriel es la nueva Miss Universo 2022 (Archivo / Wikicommons).
Texas is in luck. Texas native R'Bonney Gabriel, was crowned Miss Universe 2022. The 71st competition, held at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, ended with Miss United States beating 83 other contestants. In second place was Miss Venezuela, Amanda Dudamel while third place went to Miss Dominican Republic, Andreína Martinez.
R'Bonney Gabriel, 28 and of Filipino origen, received the new Force for Good crown from her predecessor, India's Harnaaz Sandhu. The tiara, valued at $5.3 million, is made up of 993 precious stones and a 45.14-carat sapphire. This makes it the most expensive crown in the 71-year history of the competition.
The United States has won the competition a total of nine times, making it the country with the most wins. Venezuela is next, having won the contest seven times.
Miss Universe 2024, in El Salvador
All three contestants, US, Venezuela and Dominican Republican, will have to move to Thailand, where the pageant is held, and spend a year advertising the contest. In addition, the beauty queens will be the face of an organization that recently assured that it would focus on defending gender equality and women's rights.
The new owner of the Miss Universe Organization, Thai billionaire Anne Jakkaphong Jakrajutatip, identifies with the new mission. She claimed during the pageant finale that she was beginning "a new stage of Miss Universe, made by women for women" and recalled how she had "transformed the pain" of being rejected as a transgender woman into success.
The three queens will have to combine this work with their other duties as Misses, which includes helping in the 2023 pageant. According to the Miss Universe Organization, next year’s pageant will be held in El Salvador. This was announced in a video by the country’s president Nayb Bukele.
With a new owner at Miss Universe, changes are on the horizon. According to the new owner of the pageant, for the 72nd edition of Miss Universe, married candidates with children will be accepted, something that up until now hadn’t been allowed. Not only that, Gabriel stated during the usual question session that she will advocate for extending the age limit for female candidates, which until now, has been capped at 28 years old.
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