Miss Venezuela wins Miss Universe (+pics)
'Kidnapping taught me to keep cool,' winner admits
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Miss Venezuela Dayana Mendoza, a former kidnapping victim, has beaten 79 of the world's most beautiful women to be crowned Miss Universe 2008.
Mendoza, 22, was once kidnapped in her homeland and she told reporters that experience taught her to keep cool under pressure, news agency Associated Press reported.
She told the Miss Universe website: "I was once kidnapped in what in my country is known as an express kidnapping. It was a very hard experience.
"I learned to remain calm in a very stressful situation and to try to reach to the human part of our abductors."
The pageant was held in the seaside town of Nha Trang, Vietnam, and was hosted by Spice Girl Mel B and talk show host Jerry Springer.
It was marked by a bad fall by Miss USA Crystle Stewart, who tripped and fell during the evening gown section of the competition.
Miss New Zealand Samantha Powell failed to make the semi-finals.
The annual Miss Universe pageant – which tries to present itself as something more meaningful than a swimwear parade – was first held in Long Beach, California, in 1952.
The event was taken over in 1996 by US real estate mogul Donald Trump.
Communist-led Vietnam spent nearly US$20 million (NZ$26.60 million) on the event, including US$7 million on a new resort and convention centre to host the pageant, in a bid to promote tourism to the Southeast Asian nation.
The 15 semi-finalists named at the beginning of the show were from Venezuela, Kosovo, Mexico, Vietnam, South Africa, Australia, Japan, the Dominican Republic, Italy, Colombia, Russia, Hungary, the Czech Republic, the United States and Spain.
*Did the right person win? Post your comments below.
- © Fairfax NZ News
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She is one of the best,i wish her the best and a lot of luck.I know she will make venezuela proud and all the latin people.we love you miss universe.
MISS KOREA!!! OH YEAH!!!
She is smart and beutiful!! Totally deserves to win!!
She is soooo beautiful, and she also looks like a nice girl.. Good for her!
I honestly think a beautiful/hot person should LOOK so, regardless of what photo is chosen in these polls. And alas, I voted no. I thought there were more hot/beautiful women at the event who could have won.
TOO SKINNY!
I soooo agree with Anne-Maree!! I have often seen that happen on stuff.co.nz and totally agree there!
Yup, I think she is the best and the hottest one..goo Miss Venezuela!!!
Without a doubt...the most beautiful and deserving of the candidates...I picked her at the beginning of the program
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i thinkk aishwaria rai,miss world is so much better than her