Valeria Morales Delgado (born 2 January 1998) is a Colombian model and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Universe Colombia 2018 on 30 September 2018. She represented

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

at the

Miss Universe 2018 Miss Universe 2018 was the 67th Miss Universe pageant, held at the IMPACT Arena, Muang Thong Thani, Nonthaburi Province, Thailand on December 17, 2018. At the end of the event, Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters of South Africa crowned Catriona Gray of t ...

pageant 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 ...

but failed to place in the Top 20.

Early life

On January 2, 1998, Morales was born and grew up in

Cali Santiago de Cali (), or Cali, is the capital of the Valle del Cauca department, and the most populous city in southwest Colombia, with 2,227,642 residents according to the 2018 census. The city spans with of urban area, making Cali the second ...

. She is a Social Communication student from

Broward College Broward College is a public college in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It is part of the Florida College System. It was established in 1959 as part of a move to broaden Florida's two-year colleges. In 2008 it adopted its current name, reflecting that ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. She is the owner of Professional Models Fashion Academy.

Pageantry

Miss Universe Colombia 2018

Morales was crowned as Miss Universe Colombia 2018 held on September 30, 2018, at the Club El Rodeo in

Medellín Medellín ( or ), officially the Municipality of Medellín ( es, Municipio de Medellín), is the second-largest city in Colombia, after Bogotá, and the capital of the department of Antioquia. It is located in the Aburrá Valley, a central re ...

. She succeeded outgoing Miss Universe Colombia 2017 and

Miss Universe 2017 Miss Universe 2017 was the 66th Miss Universe pageant, held at The AXIS at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States on November 26, 2017. At the end of the event, Iris Mittenaere of France crowned Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters of South Af ...

's 1st Runner-up Laura González.

Miss Universe 2018

As Miss Universe Colombia 2018, Morales represented

at the

pageant in

. Although considered a favorite and front runner, Morales failed to place in the Top 20, ending Colombia's four year streak of consecutive placements, from

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

through

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

. At the time of being crowned

Miss Universe Colombia Miss Universe Colombia is a beauty pageant and an organization conceived in Colombia to select the country's representative to the Miss Universe pageant. The current titleholder is María Fernanda Aristizábal of Quindío Department, Quindío. ...

, Valeria Morales caused a storm with a statement that didn't show much goodwill when talking about the Spanish transgender beauty

Ángela Ponce Ángela Maria Ponce Camacho (born 18 January 1991) is a Spanish model and beauty pageant titleholder who won Miss Universe Spain 2018. Ponce made history on 29 June 2018 as the first openly transgender woman to be crowned Miss Spain. She represe ...

. "

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 ...

is a beauty pageant for women who are born a woman. That is detrimental to her. We respect but do not agree to share this playground with her." .

References

External links

Official Miss Colombia website
* Living people 1998 births Miss Universe 2018 contestants Miss Colombia winners Colombian female models Colombian beauty pageant winners People from Cali Broward College alumni {{Pageant-bio-stub