Pageant News Bureau - Miss Universe 2005

Acclaim Canada!

Natalie Glebova of Canada was crowned Miss Universe on May 31, 2005, in Bangkok, Thailand. The native of Ukraine bears a striking resemblance to Oxana Fedorova of Russia, who was stripped of the Miss Universe crown in 2002 for reasons that remain murky. What is it about raven hair and Slavic roots? Whatever it is, we approve. Let's hope this beauty is allowed to finish her reign.

The first runner-up was Cynthia Olavarría of Puerto Rico. The second runner-up was Renata Soñé of the Dominican Republic, and the third runner-up was Laura Elizondo of Mexico. The fourth runner-up was Monica Spear of Venezuela.

Others among the 10 finalists were Elena Ralph of Israel, Debora Sulca Cravero of Peru, Ieva Kokorevica of Latvia, Chelsea Cooley of the USA and Fiona Hefti of Switzerland. Other semifinalists were Magdalene Walcott of Trinidad and Tobago, Evangelia Aravani of Greece, Helene Traasavik of Norway, Claudia Henkel of South Africa and Artika Sari Devi of Indonesia.

Gionna Cabrera of the Philippines was chosen Miss Photogenic, and Tricia Homer of the U.S. Virgin Islands was voted Miss Congeniality by her fellow contestants. Chanaporn Rosjan of Thailand won the Best National Costume award.

The Miss Universe festivities seemed very much at home in Bangkok, where beauty and beauty contests inspire almost patriotic fervor. The pageant had a few serious touches, in tribute to the thousands killed in the region's December 2004 tsunami, but it was also the most uninhibited Miss Universe show ever. The flirtatious banter between straight emcee Billy Bush and flamboyantly gay judge Carson Kressley showed how far we have come from the days of Bob Barker. (Every word was scripted, to be sure, which makes it all the more significant.)

Canada, unbeknownst to the general public, is a hotbed of pageants. (It is also one of the great centers of pageant scholarship, thanks to the youthful legend Jimmy Steele.) Though Canada shares the same latitudes as Russia, its pageant GPS seems to be set more on Latin America. It's no surprise that Ms. Glebova wound up competing against four Latin American beauties.

May 31, 2005, Bangkok, Thailand