Mrs. Universe is an annual international event for "the most honorable married woman". The event is open to married, divorced, and widowed women from nations on all continents around the world, who are between the ages of 18 and 55, have a family and career, and are involved in a "significant cause".[1][2][3][4] It is based in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Mrs. Universe
Formation2007; 17 years ago (2007)
TypeBeauty pageant
HeadquartersSofia, Bulgaria
Location
  • Bulgaria
Official language
English
Websitemrsuniverseltd.com

Titleholders edit

Year Country Mrs. Universe Location Entrants
2024
2023   United States Meranie Gadiana Rahman Pasay City, Philippines 97
2022   Russia Elena Maksimova[5] Sofia, Bulgaria 112
2021   Georgia Ana Siradze[6] Seoul, South Korea 110
2020   Kazakhstan Zhuldyz Abdukarimova Virtual pageant 92
2019   Myanmar Honey Cho Guangzhou, China 90
2018   Monaco Julia Gershun Cebu, Philippines 85
2017   Vietnam Tram Hoang Luu Durban, South Africa[7] 78
2016   Austria Olga Torner Guangzhou, China 60
2015   Canada Ashley Callingbull-Burnham[8][9] Minsk, Belarus[10] 56
2014   United States Sabrina Pinion[11] Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 39
2013   Malaysia Carol Lee[12] Oranjestad, Aruba 24
2012   Colombia Layla Martínez[13] Rostov, Russia Unknown
2011   Venezuela Mayra Farias Pleven, Bulgaria Unknown
2010   Finland Jennika Hanusaari[14] Riga, Latvia Unknown
2009   Lithuania Vaida Ragénaite[15] Vilnius, Lithuania Unknown
2008   Latvia Marika Gederte[14] Riga, Latvia Unknown
2007   Bulgaria Eleonora Mancheva Sofia, Bulgaria Unknown

Controversies edit

The Mrs. Universe organization was sued in 2010 by the Miss Universe organization for an alleged breach of trademark. The Mrs. pageant countered that "Universe" is a generic word, and pointed out that the Mrs. pageant is exclusively for married women while the Miss pageant is for unmarried women. The Mrs. organization opined that the lawsuit was part of a conspiracy by human traffickers to stop the pageant, because Mrs. Universe held an awareness campaign about human trafficking.[16] Five years after, the Miss Universe organization again threatened legal action against Mrs. Universe for breach of trademark. This came on the tails of comments made by the first Indigenous woman to ever win a Universe title, Ashley Callingbull-Burnham, when she criticized the Canadian government's lack of support of First Nations people.[17]

The Mrs. Universe pageant has continued to run despite this controversy, arguing that it is a pageant for married, divorced, and widowed women while the Miss Universe pageant was restricted to women who have never been married.[18] Beginning in 2023, however, the Miss Universe Organization will allow married or pregnant women to compete in the pageant.[19]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Mrs Universe Ltd". Retrieved 20 December 2015.
  2. ^ "Malaysia to host Mrs Universe".
  3. ^ "iafrica.com Scott wins first place at Mrs Universe".
  4. ^ "Contenders for Mrs Universe 2015 title to be shown BelAZ". Belarus News.
  5. ^ "Россиянка Елена Максимова выиграла конкурс «Миссис Вселенная – 2022»" (in Russian). Известия. 5 February 2023. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
  6. ^ "Russian Anna Kudryavtseva-Siradze Wins "Mrs. Universe 2021"". 2022-07-02. Retrieved 2022-08-12.
  7. ^ "MRS Universe pageant in Durban".
  8. ^ "Ashley Callingbull, First Nations woman, crowned Mrs. Universe". CBC News. August 30, 2015. Retrieved August 31, 2015.
  9. ^ "Winning Big on the International Stage! - Alberta Sweetgrass | HighBeam Research". 2016-03-10. Archived from the original on 2016-03-10. Retrieved 2022-08-12.
  10. ^ "Mrs Universe 2015 kicks off in Minsk". eng.belta.by. 2015-08-25. Retrieved 2022-08-12.
  11. ^ "Pinion crowned Mrs. USA". The Cherokee Ledger-News. July 16, 2014. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  12. ^ "Mrs Universe 2013 Carol Lee - a Queen of smiles - Nation - The Star Online". Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  13. ^ "My husband is no narco, and if he is, he is not my husband: Mrs Universe". 15 August 2012. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  14. ^ a b "Canadian from Enoch Cree Nation wins Mrs. Universe crown in Belarus". Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  15. ^ "Vaida Ragenaite Wins Riga Mrs Universe Crown". Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  16. ^ Analyst-Realistsays. "Mrs. Universe sued by Miss Universe | balticreports.com". Retrieved 2022-08-12.
  17. ^ Fox, Chris (2015-09-09). "Miss Universe threatens legal action against contest with similar name won by Canadian". CP24. Retrieved 2022-08-12.
  18. ^ Pearson, Emma (2022-01-11). "Mrs World to Miss Universe: what's the difference between big beauty pageants?". The National. Retrieved 2022-08-12.
  19. ^ Konstantinides, Anneta. "Miss Universe will allow married women and mothers to compete for the first time in its history. A former winner said it's 'about time.'". Insider. Retrieved 2022-08-12.

External links edit