89 Things I Like About the 89 Miss Universe 2011 Contestants! PART I
Finally! I have time to settle down and check out all the contestants in Miss Universe 2011. I hear our girl Shamcey Supsup (Philippines) is leading in the online poll. Please vote for her because if she gets the most votes then she automatically enters the semi-finals! Click here to VOTE!
And now, my thoughts on this year’s collection of Miss Universe 2011 beauties. Names highlighted in RED are my favorites. Those in GREEN have caught my eye. Read on…
PS… ABQ is not perfect so IF YOU SPOT AN ERROR in the photos or information, please drop a note in the comments section. Thanks for being a part of Adventures of a Beauty Queen!!!
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ALBANIA – Xhesika Berberi – 20 years old – 5’9″
Albania - Xhesika Berberi... Nice tight body, angular lines but still feminine.
Her name, translated into English would be Jessica Barber. But I think Xhekika Berberi is far more exotic and more suited to her cat-like beauty, don’t you think? Xhesika Berberi is quite well-known in the Albanian district of fashion and beauty and has participated in the Ford Supermodel contest which she, unfortunately, did not win. But she did attract the attention of top fashion photographer Fadil Berisha who has used her several times in photo sessions.
Click her to see Xhesika Berberi’s online portfolio.
Photo found on All About Pageants.
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ANGOLA – Leila Lopes – 25 years old – 5’10″
Angola - Leila Lopes... is sultry in a swimsuit. Fire and Ice!
Leila Lopes, a Business Management student based in London is a major major music fan! Her favorite dance style is Kuduro, an Angolan dance that has been reinvented in Portugal. Kuduro has a second definition – hard ass or stiff bottom - LOLOL! Her favorite musician is Bruno M…. who is different from Bruno Mars okay? Click here to watch a Bruno M video.
Unfortunately, this dusky Barbie Doll from Buengela won her title in the UK under dubious circumstances. But since the Miss Universe organizers consider her the official candidate, I’m hoping that they don’t take any points away from her.
Click here to know more about Leila Lopes.
Photo from Beauty Contests Blog
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ARGENTINA – Natalia Rodriguez – 25 years old – 5’8½”
Argentina - Natalia Rodriguez... stunning beauty with electric eyes!
I really like it that Natalia Rodriguez never knew just how beautiful she was. Her entry into modelling came purely by accident: during a visit to meet her sister in Buenos Aires and do some shopping, a talent manager spotted the 16 year old lass and asked her on the spot if she wanted to be a model. Natalia Rodriguez was first afraid but after accepting the offer she has gone on to participate in shows, parades, events and photoshoots not just in Argentina but also in Mexico where she lived for a short while.
Click her for more photos of Natalia Rodriguez.
An article in Spanish about Natalia Rodriguez.
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ARUBA – Gillain Berry – 24 years old, 5’9″
Aruba - Gillain Berry... luscious just like her name!
Although this coffee-hued beauty was born in Jamaica, Gillain (pronounced jill-LANE) Berry was allowed to compete in Miss Aruba since she has lived there since age 6 and speaks the local language Papiamento like a native. Gillain Berry, who is based in Oranjestad, is also well-educated with an Associates’ Degree in Hospitality Management and intends to pursue a Bachelor’s Degree at the University of Aruba once her duties as a beauty queen are over.
Click here to see a collection of photos of Gillain Berry.
Here’s a news article on Gillain Berry.
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AUSTRALIA – Sherri-Lee Biggs – 20 years old – 5’9″
Australia - Sherri-Lee Biggs... another golden beauty from the Land Down Under!
I’m impressed at Sherri-Lee Biggs humility after making a booboo – the Communications student from Perth was quoted in a news story as saying that Miss Universe 2004 Jennifer Hawkins had gone a little bit too far with cosmetic procedures. But Sherri-Lee quickly tweeted a public apology to Jennifer claiming she never said it and that she was just taken out of context by the press.
A nice article on Sherri-Lee Biggs on growing up in South Africa.
Another cool article on Sherri-Lee Biggs.
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PS… ABQ is not perfect so IF YOU SPOT AN ERROR in the photos or information, please drop a note in the comments section. Thanks for being a part of Adventures of a Beauty Queen!!!
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BAHAMAS – Anastagia Pierre – 20 years old – 5’7″
Bahamas - Anastagia Pierre... more beautiful than the Island she comes from...
Girls with guts never fail to amaze me… and I’m not talking about fat bellies here. Anastagia Pierre (who has tight abs, btw) is a girl with major major guts – while studying in Spain for a semester, Anastagia Pierre took part in the annual run with the bulls in Pamplona! The world-famous Pamplona Bull Run is so dangerous that every year 200 to 300 participants get injured. And every now and then, someone dies.
Another sign of guts – Anastagia Pierre has joined numerous pageants. According to her Wikipedia entry she won Miss Florida Teen USA in 2004, Miss Florida USA in 2009 and 2nd Runner-Up in Miss Intercontinental 2010 representing the Bahamas.
Learn more about Anastagia Pierre here.
Click here to see more photos of Anastagia Pierre.
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BELGIUM – Justine De Jonckheere -19 years old – 5’9″
Belgium - Justine De Jonckheere... smouldering like a live coal...
Wow, Justine De Jonckheere (pronounced dyong-KEE-reh) was featured in the video of the song “Easier Said than Done” by Dean (who I think is a famous singer in Belgium). During a long car ride, he told his manager Brigitte that he was such a big fan of Miss Belgium Justine De Jonckheere and that he’d love to have her in the MTV of his song. After a few phone calls, Brigitte got Dean’s wish. Click here to watch the video!
More pictures of Justine De Jonckheere here.
A short article with more photos of Justine De Jonckheere.
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BOLIVIA – Olivia Pinheiro -27 years old – 5’8½”
Bolivia - Olivia Pinheiro... curves to drive you crazy!
There’s a common belief among pageant fans that the older the contestant, the less chances she gets of winning. But in the case of Olivia Pinheiro, I think we can make an exception. This 27 year old babe looks nothing like 2 decades and 7 years donchathink? Last February, Bolivian media tried to take her down by making an issue of her age. She was so disturbed by the hullaballo that arose afterwards that she actually resigned. But you can’t put a good girl down – in June, it was announced that Olivia Pinheiro qualified and that she was going to wear the Bolivian sash in the Miss Universe 2011! Click here to read more.
Click here for more amazing photos of Olivia Pinheiro.
And here is Olivia Pinheiro’s Wikipedia entry listing all of her beauty titles.
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BOTSWANA – Larona Kgabo – 25 years old – 5’8″
Botswana - Larona Kgabo... guitar-shaped gorgeousness...
What do I like about Larona Kgabo? Well… she’s a Christian who is serious about her faith. She even invited her Pastor to attend her send-off and during the interview Larona Kgabo thanked her parents for teaching her about God. She quoted Proverbs 22:6 which says, “Train up a child in the way they should go; and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”
I have two kids that I tried to raise according to that Proverb and I tell you, IT WORKS!
Click here to see why Larona Kgabo, an Architect, won Miss Botswana.
More photos of Larona Kgabo here!
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BRAZIL – Priscila Machado – 25 years old – 5’11″
Brazil - Priscila Machado... one of the most striking faces in this Miss U batch!
There are many things not to like about Priscila Machado – she has posed topless (the photo is all over the internet) and has had plastic surgery because she didn’t like what she described as her ‘skinny body’. She also exhibited skewed logic when she defended herself in an interview by saying, “a photo is considered ‘published’ only if authorized. I’ve never authorized it to be published, so it does not exist.” Okaaaaay…. this is so ‘tree in the forest’. To make things worse, she’s not loved by Brazilian pageant fans – many of them in the audience booed when she won.
She also has tattoos but that doesn’t bother me too much since they don’t get in the way of her beauty.
Anyway, since I always find something to like about people, there is one thing I do appreciate about Priscila Machado – she doesn’t give up. She joined Miss Brazil two times and lost in both beauty pageants. The third time she joined, she returned with a vengeance, plus plastic surgery, and won. Hats off to you Priscila Machado for not giving up on your dream!
Click here to see photos (but no nude ones) of Priscila Machado.
An article on Portuguese about the controversies surrounding Priscila Machado.
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PS… ABQ is not perfect so IF YOU SPOT AN ERROR in the photos or information, please drop a note in the comments section. Thanks for being a part of Adventures of a Beauty Queen!!!
I hope sometimes in the future there will be a miss universe from my country Indonesia!
Yes, I agree… I love Indonesia and I have many good Indonesian friends
I would be very happy to see a lady from your country win one of the big international pageants!
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I am sorry, Joyce.
Roger you are sweet to apologize, but its not necessary! It really happens, we sometimes read articles a little too fast… God bless and thanks for visiting my blog
You’re really betting on Miss Botswana? Argh.
Hi Roger, the names that are highlighted in Red are my favorites. Those in Green, I find interesting. I don’t think I highlighted the name of Miss Botswana. Look again. Just so you know, this is not my list of favorites. This is just the first 10 contestants in Miss U 2011 and what I like about them. I will be writing about all the contestants in Miss U.
Joyce — Thank you for these informative bios! Looks like you did a LOT of research on these candidates and I can’t wait to read about the next batch. Like you, I am quite taken with Miss Angola who I predict will be THE African candidate who’ll break into the top 15. It was interesting to read the info on Miss Brazil — I heard about the tatoos but I didn’t know about her not being popular in her own country. Brazil is at the epicenter of cosmetic surgery and Brazilians are very open about admitting what enhancements they’ve had — like they were describing something they just bought in the mall! Oh well, c’est la vie… I do hope that Shamcey does well in Sao Paolo — although I love that first photo of her in the blue dress in Miss Universe’s official web site — the new photo of her in a neon pink evening gown is disappointing and just doesn’t do Shamcey justice. Other photos of her in evening gowns are definitely superior to that!
I kind of suspect Fadil Berisha (a Balkan-Albanian-American) who is MU’s official photographer and who selects the candidates’ official photos is playing favorites again. His affinity to the his fellow Balkanites (Albania, Kosovo, Serbia) especially shows in their “official” photographs. Take a look at Miss Kosovo’s close-up photo in MU’s website and see that her portrait layout is such that the annoying MU watermark isn’t over the candidate’s face. Fadil does this every year with one or two of his fellow Balkans.
Interestingly, Ray Kwong (a Chinese-American) wrote 4-page spread of Miss China in the August online issue of Forbes Magazine with photos by Fadil:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/raykwong/2011/08/08/china-battle-ready-for-miss-universe/
His article states that Miss China is “the odds-on favorite to win Miss Universe.” MU President Paula Shugart is herself quoted as saying “we hope the world will see the first Miss China Universe of which all of China can be proud.” I can only hope that the MU organizers haven’t made up their minds yet as to who the winner will eventually be, but admittedly the weight of the 1.3 billion television audience in China is quite a tempting one for TV mogul Donald Trump.
THANKS for the info, I LOOOOVE it! Yes it would be nice to see a Chinese Miss Universe!
Regarding plastic surgery, I’m not against it really but sometimes having plastic surgery done, specially done constantly, could be a symptom of a deeper issue in the heart of a woman.
Angola is GORGEOUS! Although I haven;t seen the other contestants beyond SHamcey and the 10 girls in my part I. Been so so so busy with a million things and just got down to blogging yesterday. So I better cut this short so that I can look at the rest of the Miss U 2011 contestants!
Joyce — Thank you so much for your continuing updates on the MU 2011 candidates! Your blog has more online info on the candidates in one place that I could find anywhere.
ugh, but there is so much out there – each girl is so interesting! I can only do so much… research is quite therapeutic for me… but thanks for the good feedback, I appreciate it!
Joyce — I predicted Miss Angola as THE African candidate to break into the top 15 but as I watched the pageant tonight, I realized she was going to break into the top 5. When she gave her answer to her final question, I knew she would win the crown. She was also the crowd favorite (and she spoke Brazil’s language, Portuguese). Miss Philippines did way better than I expected, so congratulations to her!
Yes, I was watching the Brazilian telecast without understanding a stitch of Portuguese but after the coronation was done, they came back on TV with an interview with Miss Brazil AND also Miss Angola and she just kept babbling in Portuguese, it was amazing. I discovered after visiting Wikipedia that Portuguese is the main language used in Angola… well, I am just thrilled that many of us pageant fans picked Miss Angola as the best shot for the Africans.
we have sharp eyes, DON’t WE???!!!!!
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