Beauty And Brains: Dental Student From France Crowned Miss Universe In The Philippines

January 30, 2017 – Beauty And Brains: Dental Student From France Iris Mittenaere Crowned Miss Universe In The Philippines

• Iris Mittenaere, a 23-year-old dental student from France won the Miss Universe crown Monday in the annual pageant held this year in the Philippines.
• Mittenaere from the small town of Lille in northern France said in reply to a final question from pageant host Steve Harvey that she would be honoured if she just landed among the three finalists, but was visibly stunned when she was announced the winner among the field of 86 contestants.

She was speechless and put her hands on her face as the outgoing winner from the Philippines, Pia Wurtzbach, crowned her as the crowd erupted in cheers and applause at the packed Mall of Asia Arena by Manila Bay.

In her profile, she said she would “advocate for dental and oral hygiene” if she takes home the crown.

In the final question to the top three finalists, the candidate were asked to cite a failure in their life and explain what they learned from the debacle.

“I’ve failed several times in my life,” Mittenaere said without elaborating but added that “when you fail, you have to be elevated and you have to try again and keep going … I have failed before but for me this is the great first opportunity.”

Miss Haiti, Raquel Pelissier, a 25-year-old survivor of the devastating 2010 earthquake that destroyed her hometown, was named first runner up while Miss Colombia, 23-year-old, Andrea Tovar, was second runner up, reports time.