Evelyn Abena Akuaba Appiah (born June 2, 1993) is a

Ghanaian Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in Ghana–Ivory Coast border, the west, Burkina ...

–American singer, model and beauty queen who was crowned Queen Beauty Universe 2016 and

Miss Grand International 2020 Miss Grand International is a beauty pageant franchise based in Thailand. It consists of the annual national pageant Miss Grand Thailand, as well as the international competition Miss Grand International, to which participating rights are licen ...

. She was appointed as

Miss Grand USA Miss Grand USA, also referred to as Miss Grand United States or Miss Grand United States of America or Miss Grand America, is an annual female beauty pageant in the United States, founded by a Dominican-American businessperson ''Chantel Martínez ...

and became the first Black woman to win the

Miss Grand International Miss Grand International is a beauty pageant franchise based in Thailand. It consists of the annual national pageant Miss Grand Thailand, as well as the international competition Miss Grand International, to which participating rights are licen ...

crown. She previously represented

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

in two of the

Big Four international beauty pageants The Big Four or the Big League Pageants refers to the four major international beauty pageants for women – Miss World, Miss Universe, Miss International and Miss Earth. The group was first described by the ''China Daily'' newspaper in 2004 as ...

but lost in

Miss Universe 2014 Miss Universe 2014 was the 63rd Miss Universe pageant, held at the FIU Arena in Florida, United States on January 25, 2015. This was the first time in the history of the competition that the pageant was not during the year the title was awarded ...

and

Miss Earth 2019 Miss Earth 2019, the 19th edition of the Miss Earth pageant, was held on October 26, 2019, at Okada Manila in Parañaque, Metro Manila, Philippines where Nguyễn Phương Khánh of Vietnam was succeeded by Nellys Pimentel of Puerto Rico at th ...

Early career

Abena is also a singer who has released several

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

, including "Akomah" (2015), "Earth" (2019), "No Hit and Run" (2019) and "No More Hate" (2021). She has worked as a model, appearing in music videos for "

Wake Up in the Sky "Wake Up in the Sky" is a song by American rapper Gucci Mane, American singer-songwriter Bruno Mars, and American rapper Kodak Black. It was released by Guwop and Atlantic Records as the third single from Mane's twelfth studio album '' Evil Ge ...

" sung by

Bruno Mars Peter Gene Hernandez (born October 8, 1985), known professionally as Bruno Mars, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is known for his stage performances, retro showmanship, and for performing in a wide range of musical s ...

Gucci Mane Radric Delantic Davis (born February 12, 1980), known professionally as Gucci Mane, is an American rapper and record executive. He helped pioneer the hip hop subgenre of trap music alongside fellow Atlanta-based rappers T.I. and Young Jeezy, ...

and

Kodak Black Bill Kahan Kapri (born Dieuson Octave; June 11, 1997), better known by his stage name Kodak Black, is an American rapper. He gained initial recognition with his single "No Flockin", released in 2014. His debut album, ''Painting Pictures'' (20 ...

, as well as " El Anillo" by

Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lynn Affleck (' Lopez; born July 24, 1969), also known as J.Lo, is an American singer, actress and dancer. In 1991, she began appearing as a Fly Girl dancer on the sketch comedy television series ''In Living Color'', where she rema ...

Pageantry

Abena started joining pageants when she won

Top Model Ghana ''Top Model Ghana'' was a weekly one-hour reality television series produced by 702 Productions, Ltd., and was aired on GTV. Inspired by but not licensed by America's Next Top Model, the objective of this program was to raise the caliber of youn ...

in 2013 and represented her country in

Top Model of the World The Top Model of the World is an international search for the ultimate model. The event started in 1993 in Miami, organised by the Globana Group.Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

but she was unplaced. She joined

Miss World America 2017 Miss World America 2017, also referred to as America's Miss World 2017, was the 9th edition of the Miss World America pageant and it was held in the Linda Chapin Theater in the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida and was won by Cla ...

representing New York. After couple of years, she represented

again at

, where she placed in the Top 20 and won several awards. She trained under the

Kagandahang Flores Rodgil Flores is a Filipino beauty pageant mentor and events organizer. He is known as the founder of Kagandahang Flores, a boot camp for beauty pageant candidates. Background Flores, a son of a politician, grew up in Pateros. In an interview th ...

camp, a

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

-based pageant camp that trains aspiring beauty queens for local and international pageants.

Miss Grand International 2020

She joined

2020, where she was hailed as the winner and the first African-American to win the title. She eventually crowned as the winner of

by the outgoing titleholder Miss Grand International 2019,

Valentina Figuera Lourdes Valentina Figuera Morales (born 16 June 2000) is a Venezuelan model and beauty queen who represented Venezuela at Miss Grand International 2019 where she won the title. She is the first Venezuelan woman to win the Miss Grand Internatio ...

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

, on March 27, 2021, at Show DC Hall in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

making her the first woman from the United States to win the crown.

Placements

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Appiah, Abena Miss Grand International winners 1993 births Living people Ghanaian beauty pageant winners Ghanaian female models Miss Universe 2014 contestants People from Accra People from New York City