Leila Lopes made history for her country on Monday, after becoming the very first Miss Angola to be crowned Miss Universe. The 25-year-old laughed and smiled as she hugged runner-up Miss Ukraine, Olesia Stefanko, before having her crown firmly placed on her head at the pageant held in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The business student from Angola’s seaside city of Beguela, dazzled the panel of judges with both her beauty and brains. When she had been asked earlier what she might change about her physical characteristics, Leila replied that she was satisfied with who she was. “I consider myself a woman endowed with inner beauty,” she told the judges and the audience. “I have acquired many wonderful principles from my family, and I plan to follow those through the rest of my life.”

Her down-to-earth nature was complemented with immense outer beauty as well, which she showed off in a bright yellow bikini during the swimsuit parade. After displaying her bikini body to millions of fans watching the pageant on TV around the world, Lopes paraded around the stage with poise in a form-fitting gold and silver sequinned evening gown. Miss Angola beat 88 competitors in the 60th annual Miss Universe pageant. Finalists accompanying Lopes into the top five were Miss Ukraine Olesia Stefanko, Miss Philippines Shamcey Supsup, Miss China Luo Zilin and Miss Brazil Priscila Machado. The panelists, who ranged from race car driver Helio Castroneves to actress Vivica A Fox and journalist Connie Chung, scored the women on each contest, narrowing from a group of 16 down to a final five. Miss Angola started competing in the Miss Universe competitions in 1998, with the first ever contestant from the African nation being Emilia Guardado. Since 1997, two Miss Angolas have been semi-finalists in the top 15 and one made it into the top 10, but Leila Lopes is the first to be crowned with the title.

— Daily Mail