Moms in Miss Universe 2024 (from left) Beatrice Njoya, Ileana Marquez and Logina Salah. Image: Facebook/Miss Universe
After Colombia’s Camila Avella scored a Top 5 finish in last year’s Miss Universe pageant, more mothers like her have heeded the lure of the crown and are now taking part in the 2024 edition of the international competition.
Thirteen mothers are on the roster of 127 delegates in the 2024 Miss Universe pageant, a huge jump from just three last year. Aside from Avella, the other mothers in the 2023 contest were Guatemala’s Michelle Cohn and Switzerland’s Lorena Santen.
Leading the pack in 2024 is Ileana Marquez from the international pageant powerhouse of Venezuela, neighboring Avella’s home country of Colombia, another perennial placer in global tilts.
Since her coronation last year as Venezuela’s 2024 Miss Universe bet, Marquez had already been touted as a strong contender for the international title. And even with the proclamation of other formidable opponents later on, the Latina “glamazon” remains to be a favorite for the crown among pageant observers.
The Miss Universe Organization (MUO) started opening its doors to mothers when it also removed the maximum age limit starting in the 2023 competition, a “legacy” that Paula Shugart has so proudly declared to leave behind when she announced that she was stepping down as the pageant’s president during last year’s coronation show.
The other Latina mothers joining Marquez in the 2024 pageant are Costa Rica’s Elena Hidalgo, Honduras’ Stephanie Cam, Brazil’s Luana Cavalcante, and Jennifer Colon from Puerto Rico, another Miss Universe powerhouse.
Asian mothers have also joined the game, with Aniqa Alam from Bangladesh, Davin Prasath from Cambodia, and Emillia Dobreva from the United Arab Emirates, while Logina Salah from Egypt is raising the flag for Africa.
From Europe, the Miss Universe pageant recruited Faith Landman from the Netherlands, Loredana Salanta from Romania, and Malta’s Beatrice Njoya, also the oldest contestant in Miss Universe history at 40 years old.
Is the universe ready to crown a mother queen? Find out at the 2024 Miss Universe coronation show at the Arena CDMX in Mexico City, Mexico, on Nov. 16 (Nov. 17 in Manila).