Miss France Iris Mittenaere has won the coveted Miss Universe 2016 title beating 86 other contestants at a glittering ceremony held at the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila, Philippines.
According to the Miss Universe website, Iris, 23, was born in Lille, France and has been pursuing a degree in dentistry for the last 5 years.
The three-hour programme ended with the coronation ceremony in which Iris Mittenaere was crowned Miss Universe 2016 by last year’s title holder, Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach.
The second and third runners-up are Miss Haiti Raquel Pelissier and Miss Colombia Andrea Tovar. The top six finalists at this year’s Miss Universe beauty pageant included Miss Kenya Mary EstherWere, Miss Thailand Chalita Suansane and Miss Philippines Maxine Medina.
Steve Harvey announced top 13 contestants of the event: Miss Kenya Mary Esther Were, Miss Indonesia Kezia Warouw, Miss USA Deshauna Barber, Miss Mexico Kristal Silva, Miss Peru Valeria Piazza, Miss Panama Keity Drennan, Miss Colombia Andrea Tovar, Miss Philippines Maxine Medina, Miss Canada Siera Bearchell, Miss Brazil Raissa Santana, Miss France Iris Mittenaere, Miss Haiti Raquel Pelissier and Miss Thailand Chalita Suansane. Twelve of these finalists were selected by the Miss Universe Organization and one was chosen by voters.
The judges for the Miss Universe pageant included Dayanara Torres, the former Miss Universe from Puerto Rico; Sushmita Sen, the first ever Miss Universe from India; Leila Lopes, the first Miss Universe from Angola; Mickey Boardman, the editorial director of PAPER magazine; Cynthia Bailey, the founder of The Bailey Agency School of Fashion; and Francine LeFrak, Tony award-winning producer, social entrepreneur and women’s empowerment activist.
