In a glittering event held on Saturday night in the capital city of San Salvador, Nicaragua’s Shennnis Palacios was crowned Miss Universe 2023. Thailand’s Antonia Porsild secured the first runner-up position. The competition saw the participation of winners from 84 countries in this year’s Miss Universe, judged by a panel that included model Halima Aden, “Queer Eye” star Carson Kressley, TikTok influencer Avani Gregg, and two former Miss Universe winners, Janelle Commissiong of Trinidad and Tobago (Miss Universe 1977) and Iris Mittenaere of France (Miss Universe 2016).
After the announcement of the results of the preliminary competition (and a global fan vote) on Saturday night, the evening kicked off with the announcement of the twenty semifinalists. Following the swimsuit round, the field was narrowed down to 10, making Miss Nepal the first “Sudol” contestant to secure a spot in the semifinals. Additionally, she created history by opting to wear a burkini for her bikini photo shoot.. The evening gown round then further narrowed down the contestants.
In the intense question and answer rounds with hot-topic questions, only three women remained in the competition: Palacios, Porsild, and the second runner-up, Australia’s Maria Wilson. When asked whom she would like to spend a day with in her life, Palacios chose the 18th-century British philosopher and feminist Mary Wollstonecraft, stating that she broke boundaries and “gave many women a chance.” Through an interpreter, she added, “Today, there are no boundaries for women.”
Miss Colombia, Camila Arevalo, and Miss Puerto Rico, Carla Guelfi, remained in the top five, while Spain’s Athenia Perez was crowned Miss Congeniality of the competition.
This competition was an amazing display of beauty, intelligence, and cultural diversity. Eighty-four contestants from around the globe vied for the coveted title, each gracefully and poisedly representing their nation while fervently wanting to change the world. Shweta Sharda, who is representing India in Miss Universe 2023, qualified for the Top 20. Three Indian women have won the title of Miss Universe thus far: Sushmita Sen (1994), Lara Dutta (2000), and Harnaaz Kaur Sandhu (2021).
Sheynnis Alondra Palacios:
Cornejo is a Nicaraguan model and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Universe 2023. Having previously been crowned Miss Nicaragua 2023, she was the first Nicaraguan to win Miss Universe and the first to win one of the Big Four international beauty pageants.
Early life and education:
Palacios was born on May 31, 2000 in Managua, Nicaragua. She completed her studies at Universidad CentroAmericana and graduated with a mass communications degree. She was a varsity volleyball player at the institution as well.
Palacios’ pageant debut was in 2016 when she won the Miss Teen Nicaragua 2016 pageant. As Miss Teen Nicaragua 2016, Palacios represented her country at Teen Universe 2017 in Managua, Nicaragua, where she placed in the top 10.
Miss Universe 2023 Winner
The winner of Miss Universe 2023 is Sheynnis Palacios from Nicaragua. The 23-year-old is the first Nicaragua woman to win Miss Universe.
