Miss Universe 2009 : Asian Beauties

Miss Universe China 2009 - Jiang Yao Wang

Miss Universe China 2009 is Jing Yao Wang, 19 years old, 1.78 m-tall. She won the title earlier this Saturday, in Beijing, and will now get ready to represent her country in the Miss Universe pageant, which will take place in the Bahamas.

Miss Universe India 2009 - Ekta Choudhary

Miss India Universe Ekta Choudhary is nearly set to take part in the Miss Universe pageant. Fashion diva Ritu Kumar, who is designing Choudhary’s outfits, says she is a perfect combination of Indian beauty and international style.

“Every contestant is different and so is Ekta. She is tall, beautiful and confident enough to bring the (Miss Universe) crown back and make us proud,” Kumar told IANS.

Standing at 5 feet 9 inches, Choudhary sports short hair and has got five tattoos but Kumar says that it goes very well with her look.

“In Indian attire, she looks like a royal princess of the (nineteen) sixties. She has a perfect mix of Indian beauty and international style and I don’t have any problem with her short hair,” Kumar maintained. Most earlier Indian contestants had long hair and a more conventional look.

Kumar has been looking after the wardrobe of the contestants representing India in international beauty pageants like Miss Universe and Miss World since 1994. The first time she dressed Sushmita Sen and Aishwarya Rai for the pageants, they came back winning the Miss Universe and Miss World crowns respectively.

India has not won this title since 2000 when model-turned-actress Lara Dutta won the crown.

The renowned designer says that almost every dress, including western wear, will have an Indian touch.

“Just by looking at the outfits, people should feel that it is from India. I can assure you that it would be exotic but not at all gypsy,” she said.

“At the pageant the national costume has always been appreciated and has managed to remain in top position because of our rich traditional culture and fine craftsmanship.”

Before filling the bags with Indian and western wear, Kumar ensures that she knows the contestant well so that she can design according to her personality, likes and comfort.

Choudhary will carry approximately 40 dresses for the month-long pageant at the Bahamas where the finale is scheduled for Aug 23. She will be one of 75 contestants from different parts of the globe.

“Western clothes would be minimal and the colour palette has all hues from India starting from burgundy, bottle green and pastel shades. When people think about India, they think about colours. So, there would be a riot of colours,” Kumar pointed out.

Kumar has advised all the Miss Indias to stick to sari in rehearsals or whenever possible because it would make them stand out from the crowd.

“I give this tip to everyone but only a few follow it because not everyone is comfortable in a sari. I remember Aishwarya wearing saris during rehearsals and she stood out from other contestants because they were all wearing western outfits,” she said.

Miss Universe Indonesia 2009 - Zivanna Letsha Siregar

Zivanna Letisha Siregar was the winner of Puteri Indonesia (Miss Indonesia Universe) 2008 from Jakarta. Zivanna Siregar will represent Indonesia at the Miss Universe 2009.

Born : Jakarta, 16 February 1989

Education : Faculty of Economic Sciences Department of Economics, University of Indonesia (UI)

Hobbies : Reading, gym, singing, Browsing the Internet, Watch movies, Playing Piano, Traveling

Achievements : Representative of Indonesia to host the visit of Egyptian university students, 2007

Champion Elite Model Look 2006

Participants Elite Model Look the Asia Pacific in Shanghai in 2006

Duta SMA se-Indonesia in international discussions on Singpura, 2005

Puteri Indonesia 2007, Putri Raemawasti (L), New Crowning Puteri Indonesia 2008, Zivana Letisha Sregar (C) and Miss Universe 2008, Dayana Mendoza (R)

Miss Universe Japan 2009 - Emiri Miyasaka

Emiri Miyasaka (宮坂 絵美里 Miyasaka Emiri), a Japanese model, born on June 16, 1984, is a native of Tokyo, Japan. She will compete in the upcoming Miss Universe 2009 pagaent on August 23, 2009 held in Nassau, Bahamas. Miyasaka is fluent in English having spent ten months in California attending school. She placed 2nd runner-up at Miss International Japan 2008.

Miyasaka beat more than 3,000 applicants for this year’s title of Miss Japan. The judging panel included Miss Universe Japan national director Ines Ligron, singer Shizuka Kudo, Lotte Marines baseball manager Bobby Valentine, Miss Universe 2006 runner-up Kurara Chibana, TV personality Girolama Panzetta, and DJ & TV host Chris Peppler. Miyasaka received a lot of attention after her win especially after being invited to the Prime Minister's office which is an honor reserved to very important people only.

Miss Universe Korea 2009 - Seon Na-Ri

Seon Na-ri (Hangul: 선나리, born 1985), also known as Ree Na in the Western media, is the winner of Miss Korea 2008. Na Re stands 5′6″ and weighs 51kg. She is studying at Yonsei University, prestigious and highly selective major research university in Seoul, Major in statistics. In terms of music, she is an expert in playing violin. Aside from music, Na also dreams of becoming a well known writer someday. She will representKorea in the 2009 Miss Universe pageant, which will be held in Nassau, Bahamas on 23 August 2009, where the reigning Miss Universe, Dayana Mendoza from Venezuela, will crown her successor.

Miss Malaysia Universe 2009 - JoannaBelle Ng Li Vun

JoannaBelle Ng, 21, from Kota Kinabalu, Sabah is a full-time model.

After winning Sabah’s Top Model Search, JoannaBelle has since appeared in numerous fashion shows, print advertisements and television commercials. She was one of Seventeen magazine’s Cover Girl Search finalists in September 2005, and named as one of FHM magazine’s Girl Next Door Top 10.

Her distinct Chinese-Indian looks also saw her emerging as 1st runner up in the 2008 Miss Cheong Sam Malaysia competition.

Miss Universe Philippines 2009 - Pamela Bianca Manalo

Philippine Airlines Domestic Flight Attendant Pamela Bianca Manalo recalls a comment from a passenger during one of her flights: "What are you doing here? You should be in a beauty contest."

The statesque 5'10" Mass Communications grafuate from Assumption College took the passenger quip as compliment while doing her chores 25, 000 feet in the air.

For 22 year old Bianca, getting accepted and finishing third from the top of her class as a PAL flight attendant was one prayer answered, although she still nurtured a childhood dream of becoming a beauty queen like her eldest sister, Katherine Manalo-Hernandez, who reight as Bb. Pilipinas World in 2002.

Bianca said, "I owe to my sister my response to that crucial question during the pageant. I remember her telling me how men should treat women just after she broke up with her ex-boyfriend."

(At the pageant's Q&A segment, judge Richard Gomez asked:"In the future, if you get to have a son, what would you teach him about women?" Bianca answered:"In the future, if I would have a son, what I would tell him about women is that he should respect them like he respects his mother, because every woman can be a mother and if you show that respect to every woman, they you know how to respect yourself as well.")

The third of four all-girl siblings, Bianca eagerly followed her dream even if it mean t ging against the wishes of her mother, Mrs. Norman Manalo, who at the start did not approve her joining this year's Bb. Pilipinas search.

"I dreaded the thought of re-living the pressure of the pageant when my eldest Katherine, was chosen Bb. Pilipinas World seven year ago." said Norma."So I got angry when Bianca said over the phone that she joined the pageant."

Anger turned into pleasant surprise when Norma learned her daughter did not abandon her job as a PAL flight attendant and that she had been picked as one of the final 24 candidates.

Bianca said,"After graduating from Assumption in 2007, I really aimed to be flight attendant which is what my mother wanted for me. Before I got accepted into PAL in April 2008, I had a brief stint as a TV newscaster."

The four-month training at the PAL Learning Center proved very useful for Bianca when she decided to join the contest, and had filed the necessary leave of absence.

"Many lessons I learned during our cabin crew training - like how to exude grace under pressure, how to be confident, how to develop good interpersonal relationships and how to maximize my talents - were very useful at the pageant," said Bianca.

When Bianca leaves for the Bahamas in August to represent the country in the Miss Universe pageant, she will be bringing her rosary, although she will certainly have to leave behind Tiaram her four-year-old pet miniature poodle.

Besides being crowned BB. PIlipinas-Universe, Bianca was also named Miss Philippne Airlines, Best in Swimsuit, Ms. Natasha, and Ms. Manila Bulletin

Pamela Bianca Manalo in her PAL's Flight Attendant Uniform

Miss Universe Singapore 2009 - Rachel Kum

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Twenty-four-year old manager Rachel Kum is Singapore’s representative to the Miss Universe contest according to the Straits Times:

SHE was mired in some controversy at this year’s Miss Singapore Universe. But Rachel Kum, 24, managed to skirt the heat to become the latest winner of the local beauty pageant held at Shangri-La Hotel’s Island Ballroom on Saturday night. She was recently accused by certain sources of allegedly skipping the preliminary audition rounds and compulsory activities, The New Paper on Sunday reported. Besides enviable good looks, the 1.7m manager in the medical industry also bagged two subsidiary awards – The Most Body Beautiful and Miss Personality. Rachel, who was a former New Face finalist won $5,000 in cash, a trophy and products and services from the sponsors. She will represent Singapore at Miss Universe 2009, which will be held at the Atlantis Paradise Island in Nassau, Bahamas on Aug 23.

Miss Universe Thailand 2009 - Chutima Durongdej

Chutima Chantelle Durongdej (nicknamed Kai Mook (Thai: ไข่มุก) (born 6 December 1985 in Bangkok, Thailand) is Miss Thailand Universe 2009.

Durongdej primarily educated from King’s College, Taunton GCSE and Millfield School in the United Kingdom. After that she received Bachelor of Food Science and Nutrition from Nottingham University in 2007. In year later, She received a master degree in Business Management from University of London(City University).

During her studies in the United Kingdom, Chutima participated in Miss London and Miss Wimbledonpageants, where she received the 2nd runner-up and 1st runner-up respectively. She was also chosen into the top 20 of Britain’s Next Top Model, in 2006.

On March 28, 2009, Durongdej competed in the 10thMiss Thailand Universe pageant held in Bangkok where she won and was crowned by reigning Miss Thailand Universe 2008 Gavintra Photijak.

In this August, Chutima will represent Thailand at the Miss Universe 2009 pageant at Nassau,Bahamas.

Miss Universe Vietnam 2009 - Vo Hoang Yen

Standing 179 centimeters tall and measuring 90-62-92 (cm), the 21-year-old model Vo Hoang Yen with a milky complexion and Western features will have two months to get fine-tuned before showing up at Paradise Island on August 1.

Hoang Yen said she has been preparing for the pageant since the day she received an invitation to attend Miss Universe 2009 from Hoan Vu Joint Stock Company, the unit directly in charge of selecting the Vietnamese contestants

Yen added she is now taking courses on English to improve international communication skills, knowledge of culture and tourism as well as doing a training program at John Robert Powers modeling agency.

When asked if Yen intends to “retouch” herself as many former contestants won the pageant thanks to cosmetic surgery, this young Vietnamese lady said she would like to retain what she has and bring to the world the true Vietnamese beauty. Oh well, it is as normal as 90% Hollywood celebrity do, just hope the world will enjoy the Vietnamese beauty.