Seattle Post-Intelligencer: Miss Universe 2005

PRELIMINARY JUDGING GOWN PHOTOS -- MAY 26

Albania-
Cyprus

Czech Republic-
Italy

Jamaica-
Puerto Rico

Russia-
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MISS UNIVERSE WIRE

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DAILY PHOTO GALLERIES


May 23	May 22	May 21
Also: May 19 \| 16 \| 13 \| 11 \| 10 \| 9

THE 81 DELEGATES

		ALBANIA Agnese Vuthaj Age: 19 Height: 5-9 Hometown: Prishtina Occupation: Student (communications, political science) Noteworthy: Represented her country at Miss World in 2004; Albania was not in last year's Miss Universe

		ANGOLA Zenilde Josias Age: 22 Height: 5-9 Hometown: Lobito Occupation: Student Noteworthy: Won the crown in her country by telephone and Internet vote; received a Volkswagen Golf as a prize

		ANTIGUA & BARBUDA Shermain Jeremy Age: 23 Height: 5-9 Hometown: Paiham Town Occupation: Asst. to U.N. ambassador from her country Noteworthy: In top 15 at '04 Miss World; college educated in New York (John Jay College of Criminal Justice)

		ARUBA Luisana Cicilia Age: 21 Height: 6-0 Hometown: Dakota Occupation: Student, tourism industry, modeling Noteworthy: Replaced Maya Frigerio, stripped of her title for not fulfilling her duties

		AUSTRALIA Michelle Guy Age: 19 Height: 6-0 Hometown: Perth Occupation: Fashion store asst./student (public health) Noteworthy: Has big shoes to fill; the current Miss Universe, Jennifer Hawkins, is from Australia

		BAHAMAS Denia Nixon Age: 19 Height: 5-9 Hometown: Unknown Occupation: Student/clerk Noteworthy: Concurrently holds the titles of Miss Teen Model Bahamas and Miss Marathon Constituency

		BARBADOS Nada Yearwood Age: 20 Height: 5-8 Hometown: Bridgetown Occupation: Model Noteworthy: Aspires to write screenplays; lives in New York and models for IMG

		BELGIUM Debby De Waele Age: 20 Height: 5-6 Hometown: Lochristi Occupation: Student (veterinary medicine) Noteworthy: Was actually runner-up in national pageant; winner sent to Miss World instead

		BELIZE Andrea Elrington Age: 22 Height: 5-11 Hometown: Belize City Occupation: Student (communications/PR) Noteworthy: In final year at Fort Valley State University in Atlanta; editor of college paper

		BOLIVIA Andrea Abudinen Richter Age: 21 Height: 5-5 Hometown: Santa Cruz Occupation: Student (business) Noteworthy: Finished fifth in the Miss Mundo Latino International pageant in Toronto last August

		BRAZIL Carina Beduschi Age: 20 Height: 6-0 Hometown: Florian�polis Occupation: Student (architecture) Noteworthy: Speaks fluent English; won a car, jewelry and clothes in her national pageant

		BULGARIA Galina Gancheva Age: 19 Height: 5-8 Hometown: Varna Occupation: Student Noteworthy: Spent last summer bungee-jumping

		CANADA Natalie Glebova Age: 23 Height: 5-11 Hometown: Toronto Occupation: Model/motivational speaker Noteworthy: Born in Russia; classical pianist and gymnast; has bachelor's degree in commerce

		CHILE Renata Ruiz Age: 21 Height: 5-11 Hometown: Santiago Occupation: Model/student (sociology) Noteworthy: Ruiz is a top model in her country, formerly with the Elite agency; owns a lingerie store

		CHINA Tao Si Yuan Age: 21 Height: 5-6 Hometown: Si Chuan Occupation: ????? Noteworthy: Tao also won her country's Miss Energy and Miss Popularity awards, and was Miss Photogenic in last year's national pageant

		COLOMBIA Adriana Tarud Dur�n Age: 22 Height: 5-9 Hometown: Barranquilla Occupation: Engineer Noteworthy: Graduate of the University of Miami with a degree in industrial engineering

		COSTA RICA Johanna Fern�ndez Age: 23 Height: 5-9 Hometown: Santa Ana Occupation: Marketing asst./student (journalism) Noteworthy: Desires a career reporting/anchoring on TV

		CROATIA Jelena Glisic Age: 18 Height: 5-7 Hometown: Ogulin Occupation: Student/model Noteworthy: Career goal since childhood: To become a lawyer; graduated from high school recently

		CURACAO Rychacviana Coffie Age: 24 Height: 5-10 Hometown: Suffisant Occupation: Cashier/model/student (accounting) Noteworthy: Coffie won the title of Miss Intercontinental in 2002

		CYPRUS Elena Hadjidemetriou Age: 22 Height: 5-8 Hometown: Nicosia Occupation: Student (sociology) Noteworthy: One of many national winners to collect a car (in her case, a Peugeot) along with her crown

		CZECH REPUBLIC Katerina Smejkalova Age: 22 Height: 5-7 Hometown: Sternberk Occupation: Student (family education/Czech language) Noteworthy: Aiming for a career as a teacher, but wants to model on the side

		DENMARK Gitte Hanspal Age: 23 Height: 5-7 Hometown: Copenhagen Occupation: Graduate student (business)/IT assistant Noteworthy: One of a handful of European delegates who has Asian blood; father is from India

		DOMINICAN REPUBLIC Renata So�� Age: 22 Height: 6-0 Hometown: Dakota Occupation: Model/clinical psychologist Noteworthy: Mother died when she was six days old; raised by grandparents

		ECUADOR Ximena Zamora Age: 20 Height: 5-9 Hometown: Quito Occupation: Student (architecture) Noteworthy: Works for protection of abused women in her spare time

		EGYPT Meriam George Age: 18 Height: 5-9 Hometown: Cairo Occupation: Student (business) Noteworthy: Has five cats; country participated in preliminary voting via telephone

		EL SALVADOR Irma Dimas Age: 18 Height: 5-6 Hometown: San Salvador Occupation: Student/model Noteworthy: Aspires to be an attorney

		ETHIOPIA Atetegeb Tetfaye Worku Age: 23 Height: 5-9 Hometown: Nazareth Occupation: Model Noteworthy: Wants to be like Oprah Winfrey, who she considers her role model

		FINLAND Hanna Ek Age: 20 Height: 5-7 Hometown: Ilola Occupation: Student (psychology) Noteworthy: Can create (sew) her own pants

		FRANCE Cindy Fabre Age: 19 Height: 5-10 Hometown: Normandy Occupation: Student (marketing) Noteworthy: A native of the Caribbean island nation of Guadeloupe, qhere her mother also was born

		GEORGIA Ruska Bochoidze Age: 21 Height: 5-9 Hometown: Tbilisi Occupation: Student (psychotherapy) Noteworthy: Helped save the life of a hospital patient during a stint as a medical student

		GERMANY Asli Bayram Age: 24 Height: 5-6 Hometown: Darmstadt Occupation: Student (law) Noteworthy: Of Turkish descent; at age 12, witnessed her father being murdered by neo-Nazis

		GREECE Evangelia Aravani Age: 19 Height: 5-9 Hometown: Athens Occupation: Student (dance) Noteworthy: Races cars as a hobby

		GUATEMALA Aida Estrada Age: 19 Height: 6-0 Hometown: Guatemala City Occupation: Professional model Noteworthy: Has an uncle who is a priest

		GUYANA Candisie Franklin Age: 24 Height: 5-9 Hometown: Linden Occupation: Student (law) Noteworthy: Plans to finish her undergraduate work in Ecuador, then pursue a Master's degree in England

		HUNGARY Szandra Proksa Age: 23 Height: 5-8 Hometown: Tab Occupation: Student (economics) Noteworthy: Speaks German and English as well as Hungarian; also plays the piano

		INDIA Amrita Thapar Age: 23 Height: 5-8 Hometown: Pune Occupation: Model/fashion designer Noteworthy: Counts kickboxing and mountain climbing among her hobbies

		INDONESIA Artika Sari Devi Age: 25 Height: 5-6 Hometown: Bangka Belitung Occupation: Student (international law) Noteworthy: Indonesia has the world's largest Muslim population, which makes her participation in a beauty pageant controversial

		IRELAND Mary Gormley Age: 21 Height: 6-0 Hometown: Belfast Occupation: Model/shop asst./student (design) Noteworthy: Plays the accordian as a hobby; survived a car accident in February in which she had to be cut from the car

		ISRAEL Elena Ralph Age: 21 Height: 5-9 Hometown: Dontsk, Ukraine Occupation: Model/student (political science) Noteworthy: Aspires to join the Israeli ministry of foreign affairs

		ITALY Maria Teresa Francville Age: 18 Height: 5-10 Hometown: Dominican Republic Occupation: Model/student (communications) Noteworthy: Won her national pageant twice; her original win last June was rendered worthless when the organizers lost their license

		JAMAICA Raquel Wright Age: 23 Height: 5-6 Hometown: Kingston Occupation: Reservations manager for tour operator Noteworthy: Holds a degree in sociology and politics from Ithaca (N.Y.) University

		JAPAN Yukari Kuzuya Age: 21 Height: 6-1 Hometown: Ichinomiya Occupation: Professional model Noteworthy: In addition to being a top model in her country, is considered an expert user of an abacus

		KENYA Rachel Marete Age: 19 Height: 5-8 Hometown: Mwingi District Occupation: Student (business IT) Noteworthy: Raised completely by a single mother

		KOREA So-Young Kim Age: 24 Height: 5-6 Hometown: Seoul Occupation: Student (computer graphics) Noteworthy: Aspires to be a typography designer

		LATVIA Ieva Kokorevica Age: 19 Height: 5-9 Hometown: Riga Occupation: Student (PR/advertising) Noteworthy: This is the first-ever delegate to Miss Universe from Latvia

		LEBANON Nadine Njeim Age: 21 Height: 5-9 Hometown: Beirut Occupation: Model/student (business) Noteworthy: Njeim was selected from 16 competitors via a "Big Brother"-style reality show that was televised over seven weeks

		MALAYSIA Angela Gan Age: 23 Height: 5-7 Hometown: Tawau Occupation: Graduate student (early childhood studies) Noteworthy: Earned undergraduate degree from the University of Leeds (England)

		MAURITIUS Magalie Antoo Age: 23 Height: 5-8 Hometown: Rose Hill Occupation: Hotel specialist for tour operator Noteworthy: A stranger once told her she had a disturbed mind and needed meditation; she tried it and found it helpful

		MEXICO Laura Elizondo Age: 21 Height: 5-7 Hometown: Tampico Occupation: Student (finance) Noteworthy: Lost mother at age 5; is youngest of five siblings

		NAMIBIA Adele Basson Age: 24 Height: 5-7 Hometown: Windhoek Occupation: Miss Namibia Noteworthy: Has law degree and practical legal training; put career on hold for this

		NETHERLANDS Sharita Sopacua Age: 22 Height: 5-11 Hometown: 's-Hertogenbosch Occupation: Model/student (human resources) Noteworthy: Sopacua was born in Indonesia; she has New York modeling experience

		NICARAGUA Daniela Clerk Age: 23 Height: 5-7 Hometown: Managua Occupation: Student (business) Noteworthy: Daniela's sister, Linda, was Miss Nicaragua in 1995

		NIGERIA Rosaline Amusu Age: 21 Height: 5-11 Hometown: Lagos Occupation: Student (foreign languages) Noteworthy: Her career ambition is to become an ambassador from her country

		NORWAY Helene Traasavik Age: 19 Height: 5-8 Hometown: Egersund Occupation: Model/student Noteworthy: She is half Thai, and has visited the country every year of her life

		PANAMA Rosa Maria Hernandez Age: 22 Height: 5-7 Hometown: Panama City Occupation: Student (tourism) Noteworthy: Will keep her fellow delegates amused by performing impersonations

		PARAGUAY Karina Buttner Age: 23 Height: 5-11 Hometown: San Bernandino Occupation: Model/actress Noteworthy: Holds an undergraduate degree in international commerce; interested in fashion design

		PERU Debora Sulca Age: 19 Height: 5-11 Hometown: Cajamarca Occupation: Model/student (foreign languages) Noteworthy: Has modeled professionally in New York and other foreign locales since the age of 16

		PHILIPPINES Gionna Cabrera Age: 22 Height: 5-9 Hometown: Manila Occupation: Student (marketing/communications)/model Noteworthy: Won best in swimsuit, best in gown and Miss Photogenic at national pageant

		POLAND Marta Kossakowska Age: 20 Height: 6-0 Hometown: Byddgoszcz Occupation: Model/student Noteworthy: Has worked as a translator of German

		PUERTO RICO Cynthia Olavarr�a Age: 23 Height: 5-10 Hometown: Santurce Occupation: Journalist Noteworthy: Puerto Rico is tied with Venezuela for second-most Miss Universes, behind the U.S., with four each

		RUSSIA Natalia Nikolaeva Age: 18 Height: 5-10 Hometown: Rostov-on-Don Occupation: Student (journalism) Noteworthy: The finale of her national pageant was completely interactive; the finalists never met each other. The winner was announced on TV at the end of a popular variety show

		SERBIA & MONTENEGRO Jelena Mandic Age: 26 Height: 6-1 Hometown: Osjek Occupation: Final-year law student Noteworthy: Grew up in the former Yugoslavia; family forced to relocate because of war when she was 12

		SINGAPORE Cheryl Tay Age: 24 Height: 5-8 Hometown: Singapore Occupation: Veterinarian Noteworthy: Can twitch her ears ... independent of each other

		SLOVAK REPUBLIC Michaela Drenckova Age: 19 Height: 5-9 Hometown: Bratislava Occupation: Model/student Noteworthy: Also won Miss Media, Miss Puma and Miss Photogenic at her national pageant

		SLOVENIA Dalila Dragojevic Age: 20 Height: 5-8 Hometown: Vrhnika Occupation: Model Noteworthy: Aspires to study law or journalism

		SOUTH AFRICA Claudia Henkel Age: 22 Height: 6-0 Hometown: Pretoria Occupation: Model/student (law) Noteworthy: Cites fellow countrywoman Charlize Theron, the Academy Award-winning actress, as her leading inspiration

		SPAIN Veronica Hidalgo Age: 23 Height: 5-11 Hometown: Gerona Occupation: Model Noteworthy: Aspires to work in television

		SRI LANKA Rozanne Diasz Age: 27 Height: 5-7 Hometown: Colombo Occupation: Flight attendant/model Noteworthy: This is Sri Lanka's first representative to Miss Universe in nine years

		SWITZERLAND Fiona Hefti Age: 25 Height: 5-10 Hometown: Zurich Occupation: Student/model Noteworthy: Wants to be an elementary school teacher

		THAILAND Chananporn Rosjan Age: 23 Height: 5-8 Hometown: Bangkok Occupation: Airline pilot trainee Noteworthy: Has a degree in engineering; her country has won this pageant twice previously

		TRINIDAD & TOBAGO Magdalene Walcott Age: 22 Height: 6-0 Hometown: Unknown Occupation: Student (accounting)/account clerk Noteworthy: Singer in a "parang" band (a type of Hispanic folk music) that has won several national championships

		TURKEY Dilek Aksoy Age: 21 Height: 5-11 Hometown: Istanbul Occupation: Model Noteworthy: Born in Bulgaria, she is one of three Muslim delegates this year; the others are from Indonesia and Germany

		TURKS & CAICOS Wenika Ewing Age: 18 Height: 5-3 Hometown: Island of Providenciales Occupation: Student (law) Noteworthy: Aspires to become the first maritime lawyer in the Turks & Caicos Islands

		UKRAINE Juliya Chernyshova Age: 18 Height: 5-7 Hometown: Kiev Occupation: Student Noteworthy: She plays guitar, paints and writes poetry

		UNITED KINGDOM Brooke Johnston Age: 26 Height: 5-8 Hometown: Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada Occupation: Film production Noteworthy: Hold dual citizenship in Canada and the UK; has competed twice for Miss Canada Universe

		URUGUAY Viviana Arena Age: 22 Height: 5-9 Hometown: Salto Occupation: Model/student (business) Noteworthy: Did volunteer work accompanying busloads of senior-citizen tour groups

		USA Chelsea Cooley Age: 21 Height: 5-7 Hometown: Charlotte, N.C. Occupation: Miss USA Noteworthy: Has been entering pageants since the age of 14, primarily for the scholarship money

		U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS Tricia Homer Age: 23 Height: 5-5 Hometown: St. Thomas Occupation: Student Noteworthy: Has organized and directed the "Vagina Monologues," a benefit production for female victims of domestic and sexual violence

		VENEZUELA Monica Spear Age: 20 Height: 5-9 Hometown: Maracaibo Occupation: Actress Noteworthy: Has lived in the U.S. for the last four years and graduated from the University of Central Florida

		VIETNAM Hang Thu Pham Age: 20 Height: 5-10 Hometown: Hanoi Occupation: Student (business) Noteworthy: Aspires to be a successful businesswoman travelling to many countries

		ZAMBIA Cynthia Kanema Age: 24 Height: 5-10 Hometown: Kabwe Occupation: Owns PR/promotions firm Noteworthy: Founder and program coodinator of an HIV/AIDS community awareness initiative