Miss Universe 2015: Miss Colombia Beats Out Miss USA, the Barranquilla Native Praised Colombia for Its Perseverance
Miss Colombia Paulina Vega has been crowned Miss Universe during the 63rd annual Miss Universe pageant Sunday in Miami, beating out contestants from 88 other countries.
Miss USA Nia Sanchez of Las Vegas, Nevada, who is half-Hispanic, and Miss Ukraine Diana Harkusha were the runners-up during the pageant on Sunday night.
The 22-year-old Colombian beauty and Barranquilla native is the daughter of cardiologist Rodolfo Vega Llamas and Laura Dieppa, and granddaughter of the legendary tenor Gastón Vega. She is also the granddaughter of Elvira Castillo, Miss Atlántico 1953 (Colombia).
"It will be a dream come true to represent the woman of today. A woman that not only care about being beautiful and being glamorous, but also cares about being a professional, intelligent, hard-working person," she said in an earlier interview this week.
Vega is studying business administration at the Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá. She has been a model since she was 8 years old. Paulina belongs to a big family, four sisters and three brothers. She graduated from a German school in Colombia, and speaks English and a bit of French, according to the Miss Universe official website.
In the Miss Universe Colombia pageant she earned the highest score possible in every presentation, 9.9. When she's not prepping for beauty pageants, Vega enjoys spending time with her family and friends and going to the park with her dog, Mateo.
The 88 contestants of the 63rd annual Miss Universe pageant were narrowed down to the Top 5, which included Vega, Miss USA Nia Sanchez, Miss Netherlands Yasmin Yerheijen, Miss Jamaica Kaci Fennell and Miss Ukraine Diana Harkusha.
Miss Universe 2015 brought the beauty, the glamor and the international appeal to Doral-Miami with beautifully decorated costumes, sexy swimsuits and stunning evening gowns. The highly anticipated event was hosted by Natalie Morales, Thomas Roberts and Jenni Mai.
The A-list line-up of judges included: William Levy, Emilio Estefan, Nina Garcia (who is also Colombian), Manny Pacquiao, Louise Roe, Lisa Vanderpump, Rob Dyrdek, Kristin Cavallari, Giancarlo Cruz-Michael Stanton and DeSean Jackson.
Nick Jonas, Dominican super-star Prince Royce and Gavin DeGraw performed as the beautiful contestants strutted across the stage.
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