Miss Universe 2015
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Miss Universe 2015 was the 64th
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 ...
pageant, held at
The AXIS The Zappos Theater, originally known as Aladdin Theatre for the Performing Arts, is a mid-sized auditorium located at Planet Hollywood Las Vegas on the Las Vegas Strip. The venue hosts a variety of events, including charity benefits, concerts an ...
at
Planet Hollywood Planet Hollywood International Inc. (stylized as planet Hollywood, planet Hollywood observatory and ph) is a themed restaurant chain inspired by the popular portrayal of Hollywood. The company is owned by Earl Enterprises corporation. Earl Ent ...
in
Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
,
Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...
, United States on December 20, 2015. This was the first edition of the pageant to be held under the ownership of WME/
IMG img or IMG is an abbreviation for image. img or IMG may also refer to: * IMG (company), global sports and media business headquartered in New York City but with its main offices in Cleveland, originally known as the "International Management Group ...
, which purchased the
Miss Universe Organization 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 Str ...
from
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
on September 14, 2015. Consequently, it is also the first Miss Universe event to be aired by
Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...
and Azteca as the pageant's respective English and Spanish broadcasters instead of
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
. At the end of the event,
Paulina Vega Paulina Vega Dieppa (; born 15 January 1993) is a Colombian television host, model and beauty queen crowned Miss Colombia 2013 and Miss Universe 2014. Vega is the second Miss Universe from Colombia. Early life Paulina Vega Dieppa was born in Ba ...
of Colombia crowned
Pia Wurtzbach Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach ( ; ; born September 24, 1989), formerly known professionally as Pia Romero, is a Filipino model, actress and beauty queen who is known for being crowned Miss Universe 2015. She joined Binibining Pilipinas pageant thre ...
of the Philippines as Miss Universe 2015. It is the Philippines' first victory in 42 years, and the third victory of the country in the pageant's history. Contestants from 80 countries and territories competed in this year's pageant. The competition featured
Steve Harvey Broderick Stephen Harvey Sr. Also aired August 16, 2015. (born January 17, 1957) is an American television host, producer, actor, and comedian. He hosts '' The Steve Harvey Morning Show'', '' Family Feud'', ''Celebrity Family Feud,'' the Miss ...
as host and
Roselyn Sánchez Roselyn Milagros Sánchez Rodríguez (born April 2, 1973) is a Puerto Rican singer-songwriter, dancer, model, actress, producer, and writer. On television, she is best known for her roles as Elena Delgado on the CBS police procedural ''Without ...
as backstage host.
Charlie Puth Charles Otto Puth Jr. (; born December 2, 1991) is an American singer and songwriter. His initial exposure came through the viral success of his song videos uploaded to YouTube. Puth initially signed with the record label eleveneleven after p ...
,
The Band Perry The Band Perry are an American band composed of siblings Kimberly Perry (lead vocals, guitar), Reid Perry (bass guitar, background vocals), and Neil Perry ( mandolin, bouzouki, background vocals). They signed to Republic Nashville in August ...
, and
Seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to imp ...
performed in this year's pageant.


Background


Location and date

Following the statements about Mexican immigrants made by
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
during a speech on June 16, 2015, Colombia withdrew its bid to host the competition after the country's condemnation of Trump. Aside from that,
NBCUniversal NBCUniversal Media, LLC is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate corporation owned by Comcast and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, United States. NBCUniversal is primari ...
and
UniMás UniMás (, stylized as ''UNIMÁS'', and originally known as TeleFutura from its launch on January 14, 2002, to January 6, 2013) is an American Spanish free-to-air television network owned by TelevisaUnivision. The network's programming, which is ...
(Spanish broadcaster of the pageant) refused to broadcast the
Miss USA 2015 Miss USA 2015 was the 64th Miss USA pageant, held at the Raising Cane's River Center Arena in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on July 12, 2015. All fifty states and the District of Columbia competed. Nia Sanchez of Nevada crowned her successor Olivia J ...
pageant and terminated their rights to the pageant. This prompted Trump to file lawsuits after both NBC and UniMás refused to air the pageant. On September 11, 2015,
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
purchased the stake of
NBCUniversal NBCUniversal Media, LLC is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate corporation owned by Comcast and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, United States. NBCUniversal is primari ...
in Miss Universe, making him the sole owner of the
Miss Universe Organization 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 Str ...
. After three days, on September 14, 2015, WME/IMG acquired the Miss Universe Organization which was previously owned by Trump. On October 28, 2015, more than a month after WME/IMG purchased the organization from Trump, Fox announced that it secured the rights to air the Miss Universe 2015 pageant, which will be held on December 20, 2015, and the Miss USA 2016 pageant which will air in 2016. The pageant will take place in The AXIS theatre of
Planet Hollywood Planet Hollywood International Inc. (stylized as planet Hollywood, planet Hollywood observatory and ph) is a themed restaurant chain inspired by the popular portrayal of Hollywood. The company is owned by Earl Enterprises corporation. Earl Ent ...
in
Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
,
Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...
, United States. In December,
Azteca América Azteca América (, sometimes shortened to Azteca) is an American Spanish-language free-to-air television network owned by INNOVATE Corp., which acquired the network from the Azteca International Corporation subsidiary of TV Azteca. Headquartere ...
acquired the Spanish-language rights to air the pageant.


Selection of participants

Contestants from 80 countries and territories were selected to compete in the competition. Twelve of these delegates were appointees to their national titles and three were selected to replace the original dethroned winner.
Amina Dagi Amina Dagi (born Amina Mirzakhanova; russian: Амина Мирзаханова; 12 February 1995) is an Austrian model and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Austria 2012. She competed at the Miss World 2012 pageant and was appoint ...
, Miss Austria 2012, was appointed to represent Austria after Annika Grill, Miss Austria 2015, will only compete at
Miss World 2015 Miss World 2015, the 65th edition of the Miss World pageant, was held on 19 December 2015 at the outdoor arena of the Crown of Beauty Theatre in Sanya, China. 114 contestants from all over the world competed for the crown. Rolene Strauss of S ...
due to the conflicting schedules of the two pageants.
Camille Cerf Camille Cerf (; born 9 December 1994) is a French model and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss France 2015. She represented her country in Miss Universe 2014, where she placed in the top fifteen. Early life Camille Cerf grew up in ...
,
Miss France 2015 Miss France 2015, the 85th edition of the Miss France pageant, was held on December 6, 2014 at Zénith d'Orléans in Orléans. Miss France 2014, Flora Coquerel of Orléanais ( Centre-Val de Loire) crowned her successor Camille Cerf of Nord-Pas- ...
, was initially supposed to compete in Miss Universe 2015, while
Flora Coquerel Flora Coquerel (born 14 April 1994) is a French model and beauty pageant titleholder. She is the 85th Miss France titleholder. She represented France at Miss Universe 2015 where she placed in the Top 5, which represents the third highest French ...
,
Miss France 2014 Miss France 2014 was the 84th Miss France pageant, held in Dijon on 13 December 2013. Miss France 2013, Marine Lorphelin of Burgundy crowned her successor Flora Coquerel of Orléanais (now Centre-Val de Loire) at the end of the event. It was t ...
, was supposed to compete 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 awarde ...
. A switch happened between the two delegates due to a conflict of schedule between Miss Universe and
Miss France 2016 Miss France 2016 was the 86th Miss France pageant, held in Lille on 19 December 2015. Miss France 2015, Camille Cerf crowned her successor Iris Mittenaere at the end of the event. This was the third back-to-back in Miss France history after 1948-1 ...
, at which Cerf was contractually obligated to be present. Ornella Obone, third runner-up of Miss Gabon 2015, was appointed to represent Gabon after Reine Ngotala, Miss Gabon 2015, will only compete at
Miss World 2015 Miss World 2015, the 65th edition of the Miss World pageant, was held on 19 December 2015 at the outdoor arena of the Crown of Beauty Theatre in Sanya, China. 114 contestants from all over the world competed for the crown. Rolene Strauss of S ...
due to the conflicting schedules of the two pageants. Cynthia Samuel of Lebanon, Vladislava Evtushenko of Russia, and Refilwe Mthimunye of South Africa are also appointees to their titles after their original titleholders, Miss Lebanon 2015 Valerie Abou Chacra, Miss Russia 2015 Sofia Nikitchuk, and
Miss South Africa 2015 The Miss South Africa 2015 pageant took place on March 29, 2015 at the Sun City Superbowl. The pageant was broadcast on M-Net and Mzansi Magic. The final was contested by 12 girls who were selected after weeks of challenges at Sun City Internationa ...
Liesl Laurie Liesl Laurie (born 24 December 1990 in Johannesburg, South Africa) is a South African model and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss South Africa 2015. She has represented her country at the Miss World 2015, in Sanya, China on 19 Dece ...
are unable to compete because of commitments to
Miss World 2015 Miss World 2015, the 65th edition of the Miss World pageant, was held on 19 December 2015 at the outdoor arena of the Crown of Beauty Theatre in Sanya, China. 114 contestants from all over the world competed for the crown. Rolene Strauss of S ...
. Barbara Ljiljak originally was supposed to represent Croatia at Miss Universe. However, Ljiljak broke her arm hours before leaving for the competition, barring her from participating at Miss Universe. Due to the incident, Mirta Kuštan, the second runner-up of Miss Universe Croatia 2015, took the responsibility as the representative of Croatia in Miss Universe 2015.
Kushboo Ramnawaj Kushboo Ramnawaj (born March 23, 1990) is a Mauritian beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Mauritius 2014, and had to represent her country at the Miss Universe 2015 pageant but due to personal reasons, she withdrew her participation ...
, Miss Mauritius 2014, originally was supposed to represent Mauritius at Miss Universe. However, due to her inability to perform her obligations as Miss Mauritius, Ramnawaj was replaced by Sheetal Khadun, first runner-up of Miss Mauritius 2014. Myriam Arévalos, Miss Earth Paraguay 2015, assumed the Miss Universe Paraguay 2015 title after Laura Garcete, Miss Universe Paraguay 2015, became pregnant during her reign and thus was dethroned. The 2015 edition saw the returns of Cayman Islands, Denmark, Montenegro, and Vietnam. Cayman Islands and Montenegro last competed in 2012, while Denmark and Vietnam last competed in
2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...
. Egypt, Ethiopia, Guam, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Lithuania, Saint Lucia, Slovenia, Sri Lanka, Trinidad and Tobago, and Turks and Caicos Islands withdrew. Aigerim Smagulova was appointed as the representative of Kazakhstan at Miss Universe after
Regina Valter Regina Valter (russian: Регина Валтер, born 1995) is a Kazakhstani model and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Almaty 2015 and later placed 3rd runner-up to Alia Mergenbaeva at the Miss Kazakhstan 2015 pageant. Persona ...
, Miss Universe Kazakhstan 2015, decided to compete in
Miss Universe 2016 Miss Universe 2016 was the 65th Miss Universe pageant, held at the Mall of Asia Arena, in Pasay, Metro Manila, Philippines on January 30, 2017. This is the second time in the history of the competition that the pageant skipped an entire year, ...
. However, Smagulova withdrew due to personal reasons. Miss Universe Slovenia Ana Haložan suffered an accident when she arrived in Las Vegas, which resulted in hospitalization, preventing her from participating in registration activities, interviews and pictorials. She was not present at the first official events but stayed in Las Vegas until the pageant was over. She suffered a seizure and had her face partially paralyzed. Despite her withdrawal, she was given an opportunity to walk on the stage during the live telecast. Egypt, Ethiopia, Guam, Kenya, Lithuania, Saint Lucia, Sri Lanka, Trinidad and Tobago, and Turks and Caicos withdrew after their respective organizations failed to hold a national competition or appoint a delegate. Initially, Costa Rica, Mexico, and Panama will not participate in this edition due to the statements about Mexican immigrants made by
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
. However, after the acquisition of the
Miss Universe Organization 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 Str ...
by WME/IMG, the three countries decided to return to Miss Universe and compete.


Incidents during the pageant

The broadcast received worldwide media attention due to an error made regarding the winner. Host
Steve Harvey Broderick Stephen Harvey Sr. Also aired August 16, 2015. (born January 17, 1957) is an American television host, producer, actor, and comedian. He hosts '' The Steve Harvey Morning Show'', '' Family Feud'', ''Celebrity Family Feud,'' the Miss ...
initially announced
Ariadna Gutiérrez Ariadna María Gutiérrez Arévalo (born 25 December 1993) is a Colombian model, actress, and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Colombia 2014. She represented Colombia in the Miss Universe 2015 competition on December 20, 2015, an ...
of Colombia as the new Miss Universe. Minutes after her coronation, Harvey returned to the stage and apologized, stating that Gutiérrez was the 1st runner-up while
Pia Wurtzbach Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach ( ; ; born September 24, 1989), formerly known professionally as Pia Romero, is a Filipino model, actress and beauty queen who is known for being crowned Miss Universe 2015. She joined Binibining Pilipinas pageant thre ...
of the Philippines was the winner. He later stated that he had been confused when reading the winner's name because both names were on the card and he only noticed the "1st" by Colombia's name. Due to this, Paulina Vega had to remove the crown and sash from Gutiérrez and crown Wurtzbach as her actual successor. After the coronation, Gutiérrez burst into tears due to the incident while being surrounded by her co-candidates. Wurtzbach tried to join in and talk to Gutiérrez, but was told by one of her co-candidate to "step back", while the others snubbed her entirely.


Results


Placements


Special awards


Best National Costume


Pageant


Format

Same with 2014, fifteen semifinalists were chosen through the preliminary competition— composed of the swimsuit and evening gown competitions and closed-door interviews. The Top 15 participated in the swimsuit competition, with 10 advancing in the competition for the evening gown competition. Five contestants will advance into the Top 5, and will participate in the question and answer portion. From five, three will advance into the Final 3 and will participate in the final question and the final walk. For the first time in this edition, a real-time voting system was implemented in the pageant. Viewers can score the contestants during the swimsuit, evening gown, question and answer, and final question rounds as they happen live. The global vote and the 77 other contestants that are not part of the Final 3 will help determine who will be the next Miss Universe.


Selection committee


Preliminary competition

* Erika Albies – Vice President of Global Fashion Communications at IMG *
Erin Brady Erin Joyce Brady (born November 5, 1987) is an American television host, model and beauty pageant titleholder who won Miss USA 2013. She then represented the US at Miss Universe 2013 in Moscow, Russia, on November 9, where she placed in the Top 1 ...
Miss USA 2013 Miss USA 2013 was the 62nd Miss USA pageant, held on June 16, 2013 at The AXIS in Las Vegas, Nevada. The 50 states and the District of Columbia competed for the title and the pageant was televised live on NBC. Outgoing titleholder Nana Meriwe ...
from
Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...
* Julio Caro – Independent film and television producer and talent manager * Keiko Uraguchi – Director of Digital Partnerships for WME/IMG *
Nischelle Turner Nischelle Renee Turner is the co-host of ''Entertainment Tonight'' (2014–present) and '' Secret Celebrity Renovation'' (2021–present). Previously she was former entertainment correspondent for HLN's ''Showbiz Tonight'' and CNN and an enterta ...
– Correspondent for Emmy Award-winning ''
Entertainment Tonight ''Entertainment Tonight'' (or simply ''ET'') is an American Broadcast syndication, first-run syndicated news broadcasting news magazine, newsmagazine program that is distributed by CBS Media Ventures throughout the United States and owned by Para ...
'' * Rocky Motwani – Entrepreneur who recently co-founded his first fintech company, Jiko Services * Zak Soreff – Entertainment marketing expert


Final telecast

* Emmitt Smith – Former college and professional football player *
Niecy Nash Carol Denise Betts (née Ensley; born February 23, 1970), known professionally as Niecy Nash-Betts (), is an American actress, comedian and television host, best known for her performances on television. Nash hosted the Style Network show '' C ...
– Emmy Award-nominated actress *
Olivia Culpo Olivia Frances Culpo (born May 8, 1992) is an American model, fashion influencer, social media personality, and actress. After winning the Miss Rhode Island USA competition, she went on to be crowned Miss USA, and then Miss Universe in 2012. ...
Miss Universe 2012 Miss Universe 2012 was the 61st Miss Universe pageant, held at the PH Live at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States on December 19, 2012. At the end of the event, Leila Lopes of Angola crowned Olivia Culpo of t ...
from
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 ...
*
Perez Hilton Mario Armando Lavandeira Jr. (born March 23, 1978), known professionally as Perez Hilton, is an American blogger, columnist, and media personality. His blog is known for posts covering gossip items about celebrities, and for posting tabloid ph ...
– Blogger, columnist and television personality


Contestants

80 contestants competed for the title.


Notes


References

{{Miss Universe 2015 delegates
Universe The universe is all of space and time and their contents, including planets, stars, galaxies, and all other forms of matter and energy. The Big Bang theory is the prevailing cosmological description of the development of the universe. Acc ...
2015 Beauty pageants in the United States 2015 in Nevada December 2015 events in the United States Zappos Theater