Jackie Castillo, CNN Helen Regan , CNN Written by

Catriona Gray from the Philippines claimed the Miss Universe crown for 2018 on Monday, beating contestants from 93 other countries.

The 24-year-old Filipina-Australian has become the fourth Filipina to bring home the coveted title.

Thailand's own Sophida Kanchanarin made it to the final 10, to huge cheers from the home crowd, but did not progress further.

History and controversy

Ahead of Monday's final, much attention was on Miss Spain, Angela Ponce, the first transgender contestant in the competition's history.

"I'm competing because it's what I've wanted to do since I was a little girl," Ponce told Time ahead of the competition. "I'm showing that trans women can be whatever they want to be: a teacher, a mother, a doctor, a politician and even Miss Universe."

Unfortunately for Ponce, however, she failed to make the top 20.

Miss USA, Sarah Rose Summers, did make it to the finals -- but only just, and was eliminated before voting got down to the last 10.

Angela Ponce of Spain competes in the swimsuit competition during the 2018 Miss Universe pageant in Bangkok on December 13, 2018. Credit: LILLIAN SUWANRUMPHA/AFP/AFP/Getty Images

Last week, Summers sparked an online backlash when she posted a video commenting on the English-language abilities of two contestants.

In a live Instagram video -- denounced as "condescending" and "xenophobic" -- the 24-year-old said Miss Vietnam H'Hen Nie is "so cute and she pretends to know so much English and then you ask her a question after having a whole conversation with her and she (nods and smiles)."

Later in the video Summers appeared to express sympathy for Miss Cambodia, Rern Sinat, who she said, "doesn't speak any English and not a single other person speaks her language."

"Can you imagine? Francesca (Miss Australia) said that would be so isolating and I said yes and just confusing all the time," Summers said. "Poor Cambodia."

Responding to the backlash in an Instagram post, Summers said Miss Universe was "an opportunity for women from around the world to learn about each other's cultures, life experiences, and views."

"In a moment where I intended to admire the courage of a few of my sisters, I said something that I now realize can be perceived as not respectful, and I apologize," Summers said, alongside a photo of her embracing her fellow contestants.</s>Miss Philippines, Catriona Gray has been crowned the winner of Miss Universe for the year 2018.

Gray from Philippines won the title of Miss World by beating contestants from over 93 countries.

The 24-year-old Filipina-Australian became the fourth woman from her country to bring home the coveted title at the 67th annual Miss Universe pageant held in Bangkok, Thailand, on December 16.

Miss South Africa Demi, Leigh Nel-Peters and Miss Venezuela, Sthefany Gutiérrez rounded out the top three at the contest.</s>LILLIAN SUWANRUMPHA/AFP/Getty Images(BANGKOK) — Miss Philippines, Catriona Gray, has been crowned the new Miss Universe. The 24-year-old Australia native beat out 93 contestants on Sunday night to take the title. She took the crown held by the outgoing Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters.

The event took place at the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand aired on Fox and was hosted once again by Steve Harvey and model Ashley Graham. It was the 67th time the pageant has been staged.

Catriona, who works as a teacher’s assistant and is an HIV/AIDS advocate at Love Yourself PH, according to her Miss Universe biography, studied at the Berklee College of Music in Boston and holds a masters certificate in music theory.

Miss South Africa Tamaryn Green came in second, while Miss Venezuela Sthefany Gutiérrez placed third.</s>There's a new Miss Universe in town!

Miss Philippines Catriona Gray was crowned the winner of the 2018 Miss Universe pageant, which was held Sunday in Bangkok, Thailand. Miss South Africa Tamaryn Green was the first runner-up and Miss Venezuela Sthefany Gutiérrez was the second runner-up.

Steve Harvey and Ashley Graham hosted the evening and were joined onstage by a special performance by Ne-Yo. Harvey returned as the emcee of the evening once again, despite his famous flub a few years ago after accidentally announcing the wrong winner at the 2015 Miss Universe pageant. Graham co-hosted the show last year as well.

The women from around the world vying for the coveted tiara participated in a number of events, including a swimsuit and evening gown presentation.</s>She bests 93 other ladies in the Miss Universe 2018 pageant

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – Catriona Gray from the Philippines was crowned Miss Universe 2018 on Monday, December 17 (Manila time), in Bangkok, Thailand.

Catriona has long been a crowd favorite, touted by both casual and long-time pageant followers as a shoo-in for the crown. She previously competed in Miss World 2016 but failed to clinch the crown – she settled for a Top 5 placement instead.

A familiar face in the Philippine modelling world, Catriona is also a martial artist, singer, and advocate.

She was crowned Miss Universe Philippines 2018 during the Binibining Pilipinas pageant in March 2018. She was born in Cairns, Australia to a Scottish-born Australian father and Filipina mother.

Miss Universe 2017 Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters of South Africa passed the title on to Catriona. South Africa's Tamaryn Green was first runner-up while Venezuela's Sthefany Gutiérrez was 2nd runner-up. – Rappler.com</s>The Philippines' Catriona Gray was named Miss Universe 2018 in a competition concluding Monday in Bangkok, besting contestants from 93 other countries and delighting her home country.

The 24-year-old Gray wore a sparkling red dress she said is inspired by a volcano in the Philippines as she was handed the crown to the delight of a roaring crowd that generally favored Southeast Asian contestants.

She said she wore red because "when I was 13 my mom said she had a dream that I would win Miss Universe in a red dress.'' She said her mom cried when they saw each other after she won the competition.

Gray edged out first runner-up Tamaryn Green of South Africa and third-place Sthefany Gutierrez of Venezuela. She succeeds Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters of South Africa.

In the Philippines, pageants are a popular attraction, and Gray's countrymen cheered wildly and jumped for joy when she was declared the winner. Celebrations were especially buoyant in Oas town in the northeastern province of Albay, from which Gray's Filipina mother hails.

The office of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was quick to congratulate the winner. Gray is the fourth Filipina to be named Miss Universe.

​"Ms. Gray truly made the entire Philippines proud when she sashayed on the global stage and showcased the genuine qualities defining a Filipina beauty: confidence, grace, intelligence and strength in the face of tough challenges,'' he said in a statement from the presidential palace. "In her success, Miss Philippines has shown to the world that women in our country have the ability to turn dreams into reality through passion, diligence, determination and hard work.''

An early round of questioning touched on the issue of drugs, where Duterte's aggressive 'war on drugs' has taken thousands of lives, many in what critics charge were extrajudicial executions. Duterte raised even more controversy when he recently joked that he smoked marijuana to deal with the busy schedule of meetings with other Asian leaders at a regional summit.

Asked what she thought about legalizing marijuana, Gray said: "I'm for it being used for medical use, but not so for recreational use. Because I think if people will argue, then what about alcohol and cigarettes? Everything is good but in moderation.''

This year's Miss Universe competition included the first-ever transgender contestant, Miss Spain Angela Ponce. She said in a video presentation that it was not important for her to win but was more important for her "to be here.''

One of the few controversies of this year's contest involved Miss United States Sarah Rose Summers seeming to mock contestants from Cambodia and Vietnam over their English language skills. Summers apologized.

The finale was again hosted by Steve Harvey who infamously announced the wrong winner in the 2015 contest. Harvey joked briefly about the incident in exchanges with contestants and said "You all can't let that go'' and "I'm still here.''

The theme of the 67th Miss Universe pageant was "Empowered Women'' and was judged by seven women including former pageant winners, businesswomen, and a fashion designer.

The contestants spent nearly a month in Thailand to compete in preliminary rounds wearing elaborate national costumes, visit famous tourist sites and even met the country's prime minister.</s>The Philippines’ Catriona Gray has been named Miss Universe 2018 in Bangkok, beating contestants from 93 other countries and delighting her home nation.

Ms Gray wore a sparkling red dress she said was inspired by a volcano in the Philippines as she was handed the crown to the delight of a roaring crowd that generally favoured south-east Asian contestants.

The 24-year-old singer and model said she wore red because “when I was 13 my mom said she had a dream that I would win Miss Universe in a red dress”.

She said her mother cried when they saw each other after she won the competition, the 67th Miss Universe pageant.

Ms Gray edged out first runner-up Tamaryn Green of South Africa and third-placed Sthefany Gutierrez of Venezuela.

In the Philippines, pageants are a popular attraction, and Ms Gray’s victory sparked celebrations across the country.

Celebrations were especially buoyant in Oas town in the north-eastern province of Albay, from which Ms Gray’s Filipina mother hails.

According to Ms Gray, her gown’s design, with its lava colour and appearance, was influenced by Albay’s Mayon Volcano.

Ms Gray’s father is Australian, and she was born and grew up in Cairns, Australia. She studied at the Berklee College of Music in Boston in the United States.

The office of Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte was quick to congratulate Ms Gray, the fourth Filipina to be named Miss Universe.

He said: “Ms Gray truly made the entire Philippines proud when she sashayed on the global stage and showcased the genuine qualities defining a Filipina beauty: confidence, grace, intelligence and strength in the face of tough challenges.

“In her success, Miss Philippines has shown to the world that women in our country have the ability to turn dreams into reality through passion, diligence, determination and hard work.”

An early round of questioning touched on the issue of drugs, a controversial issue in the Philippines where Mr Duterte’s aggressive war on drugs has taken thousands of lives, many in what critics charge were extrajudicial executions.

Mr Duterte raised even more controversy when he recently joked that he smoked marijuana to deal with his busy schedule of meetings with other Asian leaders at a regional summit.

Asked what she thought about legalising marijuana, Ms Gray said: “I’m for it being used for medical use, but not so for recreational use. Because I think if people will argue, then what about alcohol and cigarettes? Everything is good but in moderation.”

This year’s Miss Universe competition included the first-ever transgender contestant, Angela Ponce of Spain. She said in a video presentation that it was not important for her to win but was more important for her “to be here”.

One of the few controversies of this year’s contest involved Miss United States, Sarah Rose Summers, seeming to mock contestants from Cambodia and Vietnam over their English language skills. Summers apologised.

The finale was again hosted by Steve Harvey, who infamously announced the wrong winner in the 2015 contest.

He joked briefly about the incident in exchanges with contestants and said: “You all can’t let that go”, and: “I’m still here.”

The theme of this year’s pageant was “Empowered Women” and was judged by seven women, including former pageant winners, businesswomen and a fashion designer.</s>Congratulations are in order for the new Miss Universe, Miss Philippines Catriona Gray.

Miss South Africa Tamaryn Green was the first runner-up and Miss Venezuela Sthefany Gutiérrez was the second runner-up.

The 2018 Miss Universe pageant was held in Bangkok, Thailand where nearly a hundred women from around the world vied for the coveted crown. Steve Harvey returned as the host and Ashley Graham co-hosted alongside Carson Kressley and Lu Sierra.

The competition whittled down to the final 5 women, which included Gray, Miss Vietnam H'Hen Nie, Miss Canada Marta Magdalena Stepien, Miss South Africa Tamaryn Green and Miss Venezuela Sthefany Gutiérrez.

In honor of Miss Philippines winning Miss Universe 2018, here are five things to know about Catriona Gray.</s>24-year-old Catriona Gray is a model and television personality in her native Philippines.

The 24-year-old model, actress, TV host and seasoned beauty queen, who was born to an Australian father and a Filipina mother, took the top spot at the Miss Universe pageant held on Monday (Dec 17) in Bangkok.

Miss South Africa Tamaryn Green was the first runner-up, while Miss Venezuela Sthefany Gutierrez was the second runner-up.

Southeast Asian countries were also well-represented, with contestants from Indonesia and Thailand making it into the Top 20, while Miss Vietnam H'Hen Nie rounded out the Top 5.



Gray wore a sparkling red dress, and said, "When I was 13, my mum said she had a dream that I would win Miss Universe in a red dress." According to the Associated Press, she said her mom cried when they saw each other after she won the competition.

The office of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte congratulated the winner, saying in a statement: "Ms. Gray truly made the entire Philippines proud when she sashayed on the global stage and showcased the genuine qualities defining a Filipina beauty: confidence, grace, intelligence and strength in the face of tough challenges."

"In her success, Miss Philippines has shown to the world that women in our country have the ability to turn dreams into reality through passion, diligence, determination and hard work."

Gray is the fourth Filipina to be named Miss Universe.



The show was hosted once again by comedian Steve Harvey together with model Ashley Graham, and featured a performance by R&B artist Ne-Yo.

This year’s Miss Universe competition was the 67th annual event and represented 94 different countries and territories.

READ: 18 Miss Universe national costumes other than Singapore’s that deserve attention</s>Bangkok: Australian-born model Catriona Gray of the Philippines has been named winner of the Miss Universe 2018 competition in Bangkok.

She bested contestants from 93 other countries to claim the prize.

The 24-year-old Gray wore a sparkling red dress she said is inspired by a volcano in the Philippines as she was handed the crown to the delight of a roaring crowd that generally favoured Southeast Asian contestants.

She said she wore red because "when I was 13 my mom said she had a dream that I would win Miss Universe in a red dress." She said her mom cried when they saw each other after she won the competition, the 67th Miss Universe pageant.
Filipina-Australian model Catriona Gray is crowned Miss Universe at the IMPACT Arena in Thailand.