Miss Ukraine Universe (or Miss Universe Ukraine / uk, Міс Україна — Всесвіт) is one of the biggest

beauty pageants A beauty pageant is a competition that has traditionally focused on judging and ranking the physical attributes of the contestants. Pageants have now evolved to include inner beauty, with criteria covering judging of personality, intelligence, ...

in Ukraine. The winner represents

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

at the most prestigious international beauty contest "Miss Universe". The pageant exists since 2006, after the Miss Ukraine Organization lost the

Miss Universe Miss Universe is an annual international beauty pageant that is run by a United States and Thailand based Miss Universe Organization.Natalie Tadena (July 2, 2015"Donald Trump's Miss USA Pageant Lands on Reelz Cable Channel". ''The Wall Stre ...

franchise to

Oleksandra Nikolayenko Oleksandra Nikolayenko-Ruffin ( uk, Олександра Ніколаєнко; born 3 July 1981 in Budapest, Hungary) is a Ukrainian model and actress. Education She studied at the Odesa National Law Academy, and worked for Savrox Models Agenc ...

. The winner of the pageant represents

at the

contest. Previously, the representative of Ukraine was chosen by the

Miss Ukraine Miss Ukraine (Міс України or Панна України, ''Panna Ukrayiny'') is a national Beauty pageant in Ukraine. Today it is one of the top three national beauty contests in Ukraine, others being Miss Ukraine Universe and Queen of ...

Committee. The current holder of the Miss Ukraine Universe title is Viktoria Apanasenko from

Chernihiv Chernihiv ( uk, Черні́гів, , russian: Черни́гов, ; pl, Czernihów, ; la, Czernihovia), is a city and municipality in northern Ukraine, which serves as the administrative center of Chernihiv Oblast and Chernihiv Raion within ...

, who received the title on June 15, 2022.

History

The Miss Ukraine Universe pageant was founded in 2006 by Oleksandra Nikolayenko Ruffin.

Natalie Glebova Natalie Glebova (born Natalya Vladimirovna Glebova; 11 November 1981) is a Russian-Canadian television host, author, dancer, model and beauty queen who was crowned Miss Universe 2005. Glebova had previously been crowned Miss Universe Canada 2005 ...

Miss Universe 2005 Miss Universe 2005 was the 54th Miss Universe pageant, held at the Impact Arena in Nonthaburi Province, Bangkok Metropolitan Region, Thailand on May 31, 2005,. At the end of the event, Jennifer Hawkins of Australia crowned Natalie Glebova of ...

was invited by Oleksandra to visit Ukraine to promote the Miss Ukraine Universe contest in 2006. The first edition of the contest was won by

Inna Tsymbalyuk Inna Anatoliivna Tsymbalyuk ( ua, І́нна Анато́ліївна Цимбалю́к; born June 11, 1985) is a Ukrainian actress and model who was crowned Miss Ukraine Universe 2006. She placed in the top 20 at the Miss Universe 2006 Miss ...

. In April 2016 Oleksandra Nikolayenko Ruffin sold the pageant. A foreign-owned international company became the new owner of the Miss Ukraine Universe beauty contest. The current Miss Universe license holder in Ukraine and the National Director of the Miss Ukraine Universe pageant is Anna Filimonova.

Selection of the winner

Participants of the pageant should be citizens of Ukraine and have from 18 to 28 years of age. The jury members of the contest are well-known film and television stars, athletes, entrepreneurs, and philanthropists. The jury and the honored guests of the Miss Ukraine Universe pageant:

Naomi Campbell Naomi Elaine Campbell (born 22 May 1970) is an English model, actress, singer, and businesswoman. She began her career at the age of 15, and established herself amongst the most recognisable and in-demand models of the past four decades. Cam ...

Dolph Lundgren Hans Lundgren (, ; born 3 November 1957), better known as Dolph Lundgren, is a Swedish actor, filmmaker and martial artist. His breakthrough came in 1985, when he starred in ''Rocky IV'' as the imposing Soviet boxer Ivan Drago. Since then, Lu ...

Jean-Claude Van Damme Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg (, ; born 18 October 1960), known professionally as Jean-Claude Van Damme (, ), is a Belgian actor, martial artist, filmmaker, and fight choreographer. Born and raised in Brussels, Belgium, at the a ...

Sylvester Stallone Sylvester Enzio Stallone (; born Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone, ) is an American actor and filmmaker. After his beginnings as a struggling actor for a number of years upon arriving to New York City in 1969 and later Hollywood in 1974, h ...

Jason Statham Jason Statham (; born 26 July 1967) is an English actor. He is known for portraying characters in various action-thriller films who are typically tough, hardboiled, gritty, or violent. Statham began practising Chinese martial arts, kickboxing ...

Joan Collins Dame Joan Henrietta Collins (born 23 May 1933) is an English actress, author and columnist. Collins is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award, a People's Choice Award, two Soap Opera Digest Awards and a Primetime ...

Thomas Anders Bernd Weidung (born 1 March 1963), known by his stage name Thomas Anders, is a German singer, songwriter and record producer. He is best known as the lead vocalist of the pop duo Modern Talking. Starting his singing career while still in schoo ...

Eric Trump Eric Frederick Trump (born January 6, 1984) is an American businessman, activist, and former reality television presenter. He is the third child and second son of Donald Trump, 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021, and his fir ...

, Andrii Shevchenko, Snizhana Onopko, Oleksandr Dolgopolov,

Caroline Wozniacki Caroline Wozniacki (; born 11 July 1990) is a Danish former professional tennis player. She was ranked world No. 1 in singles for a total of 71 weeks, including at the end of 2010 and 2011. She achieved the top ranking for the first time on 11 ...

, Paula Shugart, Miss Universe-2008

Dayana Mendoza Dayana Sabrina Mendoza Moncada (born 1 June 1986) is a Venezuelan actress, model, film producer and director. She is also a former beauty queen, winner of the titles of Miss Venezuela 2007 and Miss Universe 2008. Dayana Mendoza, in 2012, parti ...

, Miss Universe-2005

Fadil Berisha Fadil Berisha is an Albanian-American fashion photographer living in New York City. He was once the official photographer for Miss Universe, Miss USA, and Rolex Rolex SA () is a British-founded Swiss watch designer and manufacturer based in ...

Sherri Hill Sherri Hill (born 1949 in Minco, Oklahoma) is an American fashion designer and businesswoman whose specialty is formal evening wear. Early years Sherri Hill was born Sherri Branum, one of five siblings of James and Roberta Branum and was b ...

and others.

Titleholders

::''The winner of Miss Ukraine Universe represents her country at the

. On occasion, when the winner does not qualify (due to age) for either contest, a runner-up is sent. Before 2006 Miss Ukraine pageant sent delegates to Miss Universe pageant under Lilia Kuznetsova directorship.''

Oblast Rankings

References

External links

Official Miss Ukraine Universe website
{{Miss Universe countries and territories Beauty pageants in Ukraine