Miss Universe 1994, the 43rd Miss Universe pageant, was held at the Plenary Hall of the Philippine International Convention Center, in Manila, Philippines on May 20, 1994. It was Manila's second time to host the pageant, having hosted Miss Universe 1974 twenty years earlier.

Eighteen year-old Sushmita Sen from India was crowned by outgoing titleholder Dayanara Torres of Puerto Rico, besting early favorites Carolina Gómez of Colombia and Minorka Mercado of Venezuela.

Sen became India's first Miss Universe titleholder and would go on to pursue a successful career as a film actress in her native country. Later that year, another Indian, Aishwarya Rai would win the Miss World title, securing the two leading international beauty pageants for India in 1994.

The pageant was hosted by Bob Goen of Entertainment Tonight and co-hosted by Arthel Neville of Entertainment News Television, both first-time hosts for the pageant. Miss Universe 1989, Angela Visser was in her fourth and final year as special commentator. Entertainment was provided by Peabo Bryson and the Bayanihan Philippine National Folk Dance Company.

Miss Universe is an annual international beauty contest that is run by the Miss Universe Organization. The contest was founded in 1952 by California clothing company Pacific Mills. The pageant became part of Kayser-Roth and then Gulf and Western Industries, before being acquired by Donald Trump in 1996.

In 1998, Miss Universe changed its name from Miss Universe, Inc. to Miss Universe Organization and the headquarters moved from Los Angeles, California, to New York City that year. Donald Trump brought in a new team of professionals to the contest headed by its new CEO, Molly Miles, and president Maureen Reidy. The contest would use the slogan "Redefined for Today" for promotion of the pageants.

The current Miss Universe is Leila Lopes, from Angola. She won the title on September 12, 2011.

The first use of the title "Miss Universe" was as part of International Pageant of Pulchritude which began in 1926. These events, the first international contests, lasted until 1935 when the Great Depression and other events preceding World War II led to their demise. This pageant had no direct relationship with the modern event.

Sushmita Sen (born 19 November, 1975) is an Indian actress who appears in mainly Bollywood films. A former model, Sen was crowned Miss Universe in 1994. She created history by being the first Indian woman to win the contest.

She started her career with Dastak, a movie rumored to have been made on her life. However, she attained commercial and critical recognition for her roles in Sirf Tum (1999) and the comedy Biwi No.1 (1999). The latter earned her the Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award.

She has acted in commercially successful films such as Aankhen (2002), Main Hoon Na (2004) - her biggest commercial success so far and Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya? (2005). She received high critical acclaim for her female-oriented roles in films such as Filhaal... (2002), Samay: When Time Strikes (2003), Chingaari (2005) and Zindaggi Rocks (2006).

In 2010, she ventured into partnership with Tantra Entertainment Private limited becoming the President of the 'I Am She' Miss Universe Contest and the sole representative of the Miss Universe pageant in India.