Miss Colombia Paulina Vega won the title of Miss Universe Sunday night, with Miss USA Nia Sanchez as first runner-up.

Miss Colombia Paulina Vega Crowned Miss Universe

Vega was crowned after a long night of evening gowns and a nerve-racking Q&A that allowed both judges and viewers on social media to ask questions of the top five. Miss Ukraine Diana Harkusha was named 2nd runner-up, with Miss Netherlands Yasmin Verheijen as 3rd runner-up and Miss Jamaica Kaci Fennel rounding out the top five.

Vega Asked What Women Can Learn From Men

Vega stunned in the evening gown portion of the competition, though she stumbled a bit during the Q&A portion of the competition when MTV’s Rob Dyrdek asked, “What could women learn from men?” The question earned Dyrdek a heap of backlash on Twitter, but Vega answered calmly, saying, “A lot of men still believe in equality. I think that’s the thing that women we should learn from men.”

Who Is Miss Universe Paulina Vega?

Vega, 22, previously stated her pride at representing her country and modern women in the Miss Universe pageant. “It will be a dream come true to represent the woman of today. A woman that not only cares about being beautiful and being glamorous, but also cares about being a professional, intelligent, hard-working person,” she said before the final competition.

Vega grew up in Barranquilla, Colombia, with her four sisters and three brothers. Though she has been modeling since she was eight years old, Vega hasn’t abandoned her studies. After graduating from a German school where she studied English, Vega enrolled at the Universidad Javeriana in Bogota. She is currently studying business administration.

Article by Olivia Truffaut-Wong

Olivia Truffaut-Wong was born and raised in Berkeley, California, where she developed her love of all things entertainment. After moving to New York City to earn her degree in Film Studies, she stayed on the East Coast to follow her passion and become an entertainment writer. She lives on a diet of television, movies and food.