Miss Universe

Miss Universe is an annual international beauty pageant that is run by the Miss Universe Organization. Along with its rival contests, Miss World and Miss Earth, this pageant is one of the most publicized beauty contests in the world. The pageant was founded in 1952 by the California clothing company Pacific Mills, and is owned, along with Miss USA, by WME/IMG.

In 1998, Miss Universe, Inc. changed its name to Miss Universe Organization, and moved its headquarters from Los Angeles to New York City.

In 1998, the logo of Miss Universe – "the woman with stars" – was created, representing the beauty and responsibility of women around the world. The same logo is used in present-day pageants.

In 2015, after Donald Trump made statements about immigrants from Mexico in his presidential campaign kickoff speech, NBC decided to end their business relationship and stated that they will no longer air the pageant, or the Miss USA pageant, on their networks. In September 2015, Trump bought the entire stock of the Miss Universe Organization from NBC, becoming its sole owner for three days until selling the entire stock to WME/IMG.

Miss Universe 1996

Miss Universe 1996, the 45th Miss Universe pageant, was held on 17 May 1996 at Aladdin Theatre for the Performing Arts in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. Alicia Machado of Venezuela crowned by Chelsi Smith from the USA. Seventy-nine contestants competed in this year.

The pageant originally was scheduled to be held in Johannesburg, South Africa. However, for financial reasons, South Africa couldn't host the pageant and Miss Universe was moved to Las Vegas.

Results

Placements

Special awards

Semi-final scores

Preliminary scores

Order of announcements

Judges

Alicia Machado

Yoseph Alicia Machado Fajardo (Spanish pronunciation: [aˈlisja maˈtʃaðo]; born December 6, 1976 in Maracay) is a Venezuelan actress, TV host, singer and beauty queen who won Miss Universe 1996. She was the fourth woman from Venezuela to be named Miss Universe.

Career

Machado won the 1995 Miss Venezuela pageant entering Yaracuy and then the Miss Universe 1996 crown in Las Vegas. The runner-up, Jacqueline Aguilera, also won the Miss World 1995 crown, marking the second time that two Venezuelans from the same pageant won two world titles. Machado's reign came as Donald Trump took ownership of the Miss Universe pageant.

During her reign as Miss Universe, Machado made headlines when it was reported that she gained too much weight and the Miss Universe Organization was considering replacing her with her runner-up, Taryn Mansell of Aruba. Machado retained her title. Donald Trump made fat-shaming comments calling her "an eating machine" and generated additional controversy. In 1998, she made her debut on the popular Venezuelan soap opera Samantha in the titular role. She won the Midia Award in Spain and the Ace award in New York City, as the new Actress of the year. Following the success of Samantha she was called to star in Infierno en el Paraiso, another successful soap opera. In 1999 she released her debut album “Alicia En El Pais De Las Maravillas”. A second album was released in November 2007.

Donald Trump

Donald John Trump, Sr. (born June 14, 1946) is an American businessperson and media personality. He is the chairman and president of The Trump Organization and the founder of Trump Entertainment Resorts. Trump's career, branding efforts, personal life, wealth, and outspoken manner have made him famous throughout the country. Since 2015, he is also a candidate for the Republican nomination for President of the United States in the 2016 election.

Trump is a native of New York City and a son of Fred Trump, who inspired him to enter real estate development. After two years at Fordham University and while studying at Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, Trump worked for his father's firm, Elizabeth Trump & Son. Upon graduating in 1968 he joined the company, and in 1971 was given control, renaming the company "The Trump Organization". Since then he has built hotels, golf courses, and other properties, many of which bear his name. He is a major figure in the American business scene and has received prominent media exposure. The NBC reality show The Apprentice bolstered his fame, and his three marriages were extensively reported in tabloids.

Universe

The Universe is all of time and space and its contents. The Universe includes planets, stars, galaxies, the contents of intergalactic space, the smallest subatomic particles, and all matter and energy. The observable universe is about 28 billion parsecs (91 billion light-years) in diameter at the present time. The size of the whole Universe is not known and may be either finite or infinite. Observations and the development of physical theories have led to inferences about the composition and evolution of the Universe.