Ranking the Top 10 Miss Universe Winners in History – Is Catriona Gray the Best Ever?

Miss Universe is the most iconic beauty pageant to exist. Being crowned Miss Universe is a life-changing event for each contestant, forever etching their names into the history books.

Over the years, we’ve seen some incredible women win the crown. These women have played significant roles in our society and are role models for many.

It’s only fitting to highlight some of the best Miss Universe winners in its history.

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Let’s get right into the top ten winners in the most iconic beauty pageant.

Starting off my list of Miss Universe winners ranked is Dayanara Torres, who won in 1993. She represented Puerto Rico and earned every right to be in the top ten.

Torres grew up in Toa Alta, where she was discovered and was invited to represent her hometown at the Miss Puerto Rico pageant.

After winning the Miss Puerto Rico pageant, she was honored to represent Puerto Rico at Miss Universe.

She then created the Dayanara Torres Foundation, which provides scholarships to poor students in the Philippines and Puerto Rico.

Dayanara was also quite the actor, starring in box office films Hataw Na (1995) and Basta’t Kasama Kita (1995). She performed and hosted TV shows in the 90s as well.

Her relentlessness also helped her defeat skin cancer, becoming a vocal ally after her victory.

R’Bonney Gabriel is next on the list of the top Miss Universe winners in history.

Just because she’s the most recent winner of Miss Universe doesn’t mean she can’t be in the top 10. In fact, you’ll notice that many of the recent winners are some of the best ever.

One main reason for this is that Miss Universe has progressed and values women beyond their looks.

Gabriel was crowned Miss Universe 2022 after an incredible performance. She is the first Miss USA to win Miss Universe in the last ten years (Olivia Culpo, 2012). What better way to honor this than to include her in the top ten? The 28-year-old is most deserving too.

The new Miss Universe is USA!!! #MISSUNIVERSE pic.twitter.com/7vryvLV92Y

— Miss Universe (@MissUniverse) January 15, 2023

R’Bonney is a sewing instructor, model, and fashion designer from Texas. She put all her skills to the test this year, and it paid off.

She answered a lot of questions well, but one of her best responses was about investing in others.

“It is so important to invest in others, invest in our community and use your unique talent to make a difference. We all have something special, and when we plant those seeds to other people in our life, we transform them, and we use that as a vehicle for change.”

Ultimately, R’Bonney Gabriel should be recognized as one of the top Miss Universe pageant winners, even if she’s the most recent one.

If you’re wondering which country has the most Miss Universe winners, you might be surprised that the United States has the most winners with eight.

They are closely followed by Venezuela, which has seven Miss Universe winners.

One of those seven is one of the best Miss Universe winners in history. Gabriela Isler took home the crown in 2013, the latest win from her country.

Her modeling career began at home, which was an attempt to cheer her grandmother and mother up after her aunt passed away.

She’s been able to cheer up more than just her grandmother and mother, though, as she went on to do big things.

Isler founded the Universe of Blessings Fund, an organization devoted to female empowerment and counseling. Her organization also aims to decrease the rates of adolescent pregnancy and maternal mortality.

You’ll be able to find one of the top Miss Universe pageant winners ever from 2015, which was Pia Wurtzbach.

She’s one of four winners that represent the Philippines. Pia first joined the Binibining Pilipinas, eventually winning on her third attempt.

That same year, she won Miss Universe, breaking a drought dating back to 1973 (Margarita Moran). She was an amazing contestant and had one of the most shocking moments in Miss Universe history.

Steve Harvey accidentally crowned Miss Colombia the winner when it was supposed to be Miss Philippines.

It was quite a shock to everyone, creating a hilariously awkward situation for everyone involved.

Pia will also be remembered for saying, “To be Miss Universe is both an honor and responsibility. If I were to be Miss Universe, I will use my voice to influence the youth, and I would raise awareness to certain causes, like HIV awareness, that is timely and relevant to my country, which is the Philippines. I want to show the world, the universe rather, that I am confidently beautiful with a heart. Thank you.”

That response makes her one of the top Miss Universe winners in history.

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We have another South African winner in the top ten of the best Miss Universe winners.

Zozibini Tunzi is one of the most memorable winners in the pageant’s history. She’s the third and latest South African woman to win the award.

What makes Tunzi one of the top winners is that she gave one of the most thoughtful and inspiring quotes in Miss Universe history.

She had to answer the question,” What’s the most important thing you should be teaching young girls today?”

Tunzi responded with an in-depth speech about the importance of leadership.

“It’s something that has been lacking in young girls and women for a long time, not because we don’t want to but because of what society has labeled women to be. I think we are the most powerful being in the world and that we should be given every opportunity. That is what we should be teaching these young girls to take, to take up space. Nothing is more important than taking up space in society and cementing yourself.”

Recently, Zozibini earned the role of Efe in the 2022 film, “The Woman King.”

Columbia has had two winners in Miss Universe history, one of them being Paulina Vega in 2014.

Paulina was born in Barranquilla, Colombia, with seven siblings. She’s also related to 2014 Miss Columbia, Ariadna Gutiérrez, who came close to winning Miss Universe in 2015.

She also had one of the toughest competitions with 87 other contestants. Vega emerged as the winner, thanks to having one of the most memorable answers in the question and answer section.

Later, Paulina said that the “perseverance of the Colombian people amid problems is the offering of her country to the world.”

Vega also took advantage of her platform as Miss Universe. She worked to raise awareness for HIV/AIDS, solidifying herself in the Miss Universe rankings.

Iris Mittenaere won Miss Universe in 2016, becoming the second winner to represent France since 1953 (Christiane Martel).

One of her responses ended up being one of the more encouraging quotes in Miss Universe history. She was asked about something she had failed at in her life and what she learned from it.

“I think that when you fail, you must be elevated, and you must try again and keep going. If tonight, I am not the winner, I will still have the great honor of being one of the three finalists. So, I think I may have failed before, but for me, this is a great first opportunity.”

Her response is both courageous and inspiring. Mickey Boardman was a judge then and said that Iris’ responses put her over the top, earning her the win.

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Dayanara Torres had the honor of passing her crown to Sushmita Sen, the first winner to represent India. India has had two more winners since Sen, but she should be recognized as one of the best.

She was asked a tough question in the Q&A section but came up with a great answer, leading her way to be crowned Miss Universe.

Sushmita was asked about her thoughts on the essence of being a woman.

Her response was, “I think being a woman by itself, the very fact that you’re a woman, is a gift of God that we all must appreciate. The origin of a child is a mother and is a woman. And a woman is one who shares the love and shows the man what love, caring, and sharing is all about. That is the essence of a woman. Thank you!”

This is one of the best responses in Miss Universe history, earning her the right to be one of the top winners ever. Sen was also an actress and model who adopted two girls and helped countless others.

The second Indian Miss Universe is another one of the best in history.

Lara Dutta won the competition in 2000 and is also an actress and entrepreneur. Some of the films she appeared in include Andaaz, Masti, No Entry, Bhagam Bhag, and more.

Each of the three remaining contestants were asked about the protests outside of the Miss Universe contest in 2000. They were asked to prove the protestors wrong that pageants are not an affront to women.

Dutta responded, “Pageants like Miss Universe gives us young women a platform to foray into the fields that we want to and forge ahead, be it entrepreneurship, be it the armed forces, be it politics. It gives us a platform to voice our choices and opinions and makes us strong and independent that we are today.”

She proved that Miss Universe is not tearing down women but rather giving them a platform to have their voices heard.

She earned 9.99 points from the interview portion, which was the maximum available. That gives her one of the top spots in Miss America winner history.

The best Miss Universe winner ever is none other than Catriona Gray.

She had the most memorable performance in the contest’s history and should be recognized as the best winner we’ve ever seen.

To start things off, Gray had to overcome the most Miss Universe contestants the pageant has ever had – a whopping 93.

Standing out in the largest contestant pool the Miss Universe contest has had should naturally give you a top spot in the best Miss America winner list.

Her answer that sealed her victory was about the most important lesson she’s learned in her life. She went on to say that she’s worked in many poor areas in Tondo, Malina. Instead of feeling down about her experience, she taught herself to find beauty in it.

Her response was moving and inspiring, making it the most memorable Miss Universe quote of all time. She is one of the most iconic contestants in the show and wore one of the most influential dresses.

Her lava red dress is another contributing factor to her title of the best Miss Universe winner ever.

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You might have been wondering which country has the most Miss Universe winners, but it’s also important to know the best winners of all time.

The United States has the most champions, but they didn’t grab a spot in the top ten. Will 2023 be the year they finally break through?

We’ve seen some incredible women over the years, each of whom deserves to be in the top ten best Miss Universe winners. Unfortunately, we can only fit so many in the top ten.

As I mentioned, betting on Miss Universe will be available for the next competition. If you want to make a betting pick, remember what made these women some of the best winners ever.

Once you know what it takes to be a winner of Miss Universe, you should be ready to make a betting prediction.

We could have another contestant worthy of being in the top ten before we know it. If you’re looking for more beauty pageant content, check out the best Miss America talents below.

Footnotes:

• People provided details of R’Bonney Gabriel winning Miss Universe 2022.
• Steve Harvey incident details are courtesy of ABC News.
• IMDb provided The Woman King cast.