Luciana Fuster (left) receives her Miss Grand International crown from last year’s winner, Isabella Menin. (Screengrab from Grand TV live video)
MANILA, Philippines — Luciana Fuster from Peru was crowned 2023 Miss Grand International in ceremonies held at the Phu Tho Indoor Stadium in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, on Oct. 25, making her the second woman from her country to capture the title, after 2017 winner Maria Jose Lora.
She bested 68 other aspirants to inherit the crown from last year’s winner, Isabella Menin from Brazil, at the 11th edition of the Thailand-based international beauty pageant.
Settling for the first runner-up spot was Ni Ni Lin Eain from next year’s host country Myanmar, while heavy favorite Maria Alejandra Lopez from Colombia finished as second runner-up.
The third runner-up was Stephanie Miranda from the United States, while Le Hoang Phuong from this year’s host country Vietnam completed the winners’ circle as the fourth runner-up.
The Philippines’ Nikki De Moura failed to earn a spot in the Top 20, the fifth Filipino woman to miss the first cut. The 19-year-old model is already a pageant veteran who was first crowned Miss Teen Philippines in 2019 at the age of 15. In 2021, she finished second in the Asia-wide reality modeling competition “Supermodel Me” at the age of 17.
The Miss Grand International crown remains to be elusive to Filipino contenders. Nicole Cordoves and Samantha Bernardo almost won the title when they finished second in 2016 and 2020, respectively.
Nikki De Moura in her national costume for Miss Grand International. (Image from Instagram / Miss Grand International via The Miss Philippines)
Binibining Pilipinas runner-up Ali Forbes competed in the inaugural Miss Grand International pageant held in 2013 in Bangkok, Thailand, where she finished fourth. Parul Shah duplicated her feat in the third edition in 2015.
Elizabeth Clenci finished third in 2017, while Roberta Angela Tamondong, the last Bb. Pilipinas winner to represent the Philippines in the Miss Grand International pageant, received one of the five fifth runner-up spots awarded in last year’s competition held in Indonesia.
De Moura earned the right to represent the country in the international pageant after winning in the standalone Miss Grand Philippines pageant mounted by ALV Pageant Circle of talent manager Arnold Vegafria in July.