Meet the 2023 Miss Universe contestants

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Albania: Endi Demneri

Endi Demneri, 24, is a model who recently appeared on the cover of Harper's Bazaar Bulgaria and Greece. Demneri also walked for Dolce & Gabbana during the 2022 Milan Fashion Week.

According to her Miss Universe bio, Demneri is using her platform to advocate for endometriosis and change "women's lives based on my life experience." During her Voice for Change video, Demneri said she was able to treat her own endometriosis after seeking help and now hopes to help women identify it and find the right treatment for themselves.

Angola: Ana Bárbara Da Silva Coimbra

Ana Bárbara Da Silva Coimbra, 23, has a degree in economics. Her platform is dedicated to improving rural families' access to nutritional food in Angola.

"We are facing the most challenging period since the end of the civil war, caused by high inflation," she said in her Voice for Change video. "Unfortunately malnutrition is the biggest cause of the high infant mortality rate in our country."

The pageant queen currently helps ecological schools teach agriculture classes that will help empower people to grow their own food.

Argentina: Yamile Dajud

Yamile Dajud, 27, has a degree in social communications with a specialty in public opinion and political marketing, according to her Miss Universe bio.

In her Voice for Change video, Dajud said she's using her platform to reduce social pressures among teens. She launched "This is Me," a social project aimed at preventing mental illness by inspiring self-discovery, boosting self-esteem, and encouraging a "sense of happiness and self-worth among these young individuals."

Aruba: Karol Croes

Karol Croes, 27, works as an international model, social-media marketer, and entrepreneur and speaks four different languages, according to her Miss Universe bio.

Croes launched the "Pan pan mi ruman" initiative to help promote self-expression, self-love, and self-empowerment among adolescents. In her Voice for Change video, Croes explained that her platform was inspired by her own experiences growing up with divorced parents.

"I like to give talks to teenage groups so they know they can also overcome this personal trauma," she said in the clip. "I want to continue being a voice for the children and youth who seek to be understood and heard."

Australia: Moraya Wilson

Moraya Wilson, 22, will graduate from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology this year with a degree in business marketing. She currently works as a model and a coach for skiing and track, according to her Miss Universe bio.

Wilson competed internationally as an alpine ski racer and has continued to make sports her platform. In her Voice for Change video, Wilson said she believes it's a powerful tool with the "ability to harness the potential of any individual." She hopes to specifically use her platform to promote sports to young girls.

The Bahamas: Melissa Ingraham

Melissa Ingraham, 26, is an environmental scientist who recently earned her master's degree in climate change.

In her Voice for Change video, Ingraham advocated for building resilience amid the climate crisis through infrastructure improvements, investing in agriculture and water initiatives, and disaster preparedness plans.

Bahrain: Lujane Yacoub

Lujane Yacoub, 19, is an actor, dancer, and model who plans to study creative arts in London. According to her Miss Universe bio, Yacoub is the first Smile Train ambassador from Bahrain.

Yacoub started the initiative "Project Hero," in which she dresses up in costume and visits children with special needs. She wants to use her platform to "empower children through arts and expression" and also serve as a symbol of "Bahraini women empowerment," according to a post on the Miss Bahrain Universe Instagram page.

Belgium: Emilie Vansteenkiste

Emilie Vansteenkiste, 22, has a degree in occupational therapy. She currently works as a professional Latin dancer and hopes to pursue a career as a TV host, according to her Miss Universe bio.

Vansteenkiste's platform is advocating for psychological counseling access for everyone and dismantling the stigma around therapy. In her Voice for Change video, Vansteenkiste said her platform was inspired by the counseling she received after her mother was diagnosed with cancer.

Bolivia: Estefany Rivero

Estefany Rivero, 26, is an architect. She hopes to one day become an interior designer, according to her Miss Universe bio.

In her Voice for Change video, Rivero explained that she is from the country's Amazon region and belongs to the group of indigenous people known as the Mojeños. Rivero is an active member of the Loro Parque Foundation, which has been working for over 20 years to save the blue-throated macaw bird.

Brazil: Maria Brechane

Maria Brechane, 19, is a model and journalism student, according to her Miss Universe bio. She is fluent in Portuguese, English, Spanish, and Brazilian Sign Language.

In her Voice for Change video, Brechane said she is helping open a school in Brazil that will offer courses to both the deaf community and people who want to learn Brazilian Sign Language.

British Virgin Islands: Ashellica Fahie

Ashellica Fahie, 28, is a qualified lawyer in the British Virgin Islands, England, and Wales, according to her Miss Universe bio. She also works as an international civil and commercial mediator.

Fahie won Miss Teen British Islands in 2011. In a December 2022 interview with I Am A Girl NGO, Fahie said competing in pageants has given her the ability to "go beyond my comfort zone and push my limits as to what I'm capable of."

Bulgaria: Yuliia Pavlikova

Yuliia Pavlikova, 30, has a master's degree in economics. She has been running a model school for children since she was 16 and also organizes international festivals and competitions for young people, according to her Miss Universe bio.

Pavlikova was named Miss Bulgaria just six days before she needed to fly to El Salvador to begin Miss Universe. But she is a decorated pageant queen and has also competed in Miss Earth 2021 and Miss Grand International 2022.

"There are 6 days before the flight to El Salvador, do you think it's possible to get ready? I think after today in my life, nothing is impossible," she wrote on Instagram after winning Miss Bulgaria 2023.

Cambodia: John Sotima

John Sotima, 23, graduated from the Mapa Fashion Design Academy with a degree in fashion design.

According to her Miss Universe bio, Sotima wants to advocate for children and women in need of help and provide them with "the love of family, a home of hope, the joy of the future, and education for everyone." Sotima counts Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray as one of her inspirations.

Cameroon: Issie Princesse

Issie Princesse, 23, is currently pursuing her degree in professional management. Her platform is raising awareness for breast cancer and sickle cell disease, according to her Miss Universe bio.

In her Voice for Change video, Princesse discussed how breast cancer has become a serious public health issue in Cameroon. She currently travels throughout the country to raise awareness among women and young girls and help increase access to quality care. She said winning Miss Universe will help her "fight this disease with more resources, and together we can save the lives of thousands of women."

Canada: Madison Kvaltin

Madison Kvaltin, 28, has a bachelor's degree in sociology and business from Queen's University and currently operates a marketing and web-design company, according to her Miss Canada bio. She also runs Skilla Athletics, which promotes body confidence, and launched The Body Love Club, which uses workshops, retreats, and classes to "empower others through movement."

According to her Miss Canada bio, Kvaltin was inspired to begin competing in pageants after overcoming an eating disorder. She wants to use her platform to promote body confidence and empower others to "love their bodies through all stages of life."

Cayman Islands: Ileann Powery

Ileann Powery, 26, has been a member of the Cayman Islands' national volleyball team for more than a decade. She's traveled to 11 different countries and competed in more than 19 international tournaments, according to her Miss Universe bio.

Powery is a self-taught photographer and videographer and currently runs her own photography business "iPow Creations." She is also a member of the Cayman Island Folk Singers.

Chile: Celeste Viel

Celeste Viel, 23, has a degree in public relations and is a licensed health coach, according to her Miss Universe bio. She is also an advocate for foster children, which was inspired by her own experience growing up with three children that her family adopted from the foster care system.

Viel has a unique connection to Miss Chile. Her mother, Paula Caballero, won the same title 30 years ago.

"I have her with me in all of this process," Viel recently told HOLA. "I'm living the same emotions that she lived, and that's priceless to me. She's accompanied me throughout this whole process and has shared some of what she's experienced."

Colombia: Camila Avella

Camila Avella, 28, works as a journalist and model. She also helps provide young mothers with training in mental health, finance management, and entrepreneurship, according to her Miss Universe bio.

Avella, who is married and has a daughter, became eligible to compete after the Miss Universe Organization changed the rule to allow mothers and married women in the pageant starting in 2023. Avella told HOLA that she previously competed for the Miss Colombia title in 2018 and was motivated to try again after the rule change.

"One role is not going to define us, and we're finally breaking down those stereotypes that have held us back for so long," she told the site. "I want women to teach their children that they're not a limitation, that a child is the most beautiful thing that exists."

Costa Rica: Lisbeth Valverde Brenes

Lisbeth Valverde Brenes, 28, graduated from the National University of Costa Rica with a degree in special education. She also works as a model, entrepreneur, and advocate for wildlife protection, social initiatives, and tourism promotion within Costa Rica, according to her Miss Universe bio.

In her Voice for Change video, the pageant queen discussed her work as a special-education teacher and her social project Manos Unidas Costa Rica, which is dedicated to empowering people with disabilities and sending a message to society that disability is not a disease.

Croatia: Andrea Erjavec

Andrea Erjavec, 23, is currently studying primary education at the Faculty of Education in Zagreb. She is planning to pursue her MBA at the Zagreb School of Economics.

In her Voice for Change video, Erjavec said she wants to use her platform to advocate for education. She also wants to give children a place to practice sports and make athletics a part of their everyday lives.

Curaçao: Kim Rossen

Kim Rossen, 26, is an occupational therapist who is passionate about helping elderly people become more independent, according to her Miss Universe bio.

Rossen is also an accomplished track-and-field athlete and an advocate for equality in sports. She aspires to become a successful model and also hopes to open a healthcare practice on her island in the future.

Czech Republic: Vanesa Švédová

Vanesa Švédová, 20, currently works as a model. She is also a student at the University of Logistics and teaches children's swimming lessons in her spare time, according to her Miss Universe bio.

Švédová has participated in a Dolce & Gabbana fashion show, which she said is one of the biggest accomplishments of her career.

Denmark: Nikoline Uhrenholt Hansen

Nikoline Uhrenholt Hansen, 21, studied marketing and economics in Copenhagen and aspires to work in beauty and fashion.

In her Voice for Change video, the beauty queen said her platform was inspired by her close relationship with her grandfather. Hansen wants to help combat loneliness among the elderly in Denmark and inspire others to socialize with them. She hopes to be a "voice for good and the person who stands up and talks about this problem."

Dominican Republic: Mariana Downing

Mariana Downing, 28, is currently a professional model in New York City. She graduated from the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute and also participated in a leadership and business program at Harvard University, according to her Miss Universe bio.

Downing is an aspiring author and plans to release an autobiographical collection of poems called "Evol Love." She previously dated Marc Anthony when she was 21, telling HOLA that the relationship was a "beautiful moment in my life."

Ecuador: Delary Stoffers

Delary Stoffers, 23, currently works as a model, according to her Instagram page.

Stoffers' Miss Universe platform is Type 1 Diabetes education. In her Voice for Change video, Stoffers said that she works with the Fuvida Foundation to help provide tools to children and young people so they can "face the daily challenges related to adjusting their insulin doses, their diet, and self-monitoring."

Egypt: Mohra Tantawy