# Miss Universe 1998

Miss Universe 1998 was the 47th Miss Universe pageant, was held on 12 May 1998 at the Stan Sheriff Arena in Honolulu, Hawaii. Wendy Fitzwilliam of Trinidad and Tobago was crowned by Brook Lee of the United States at the end of the event. This marked the only second (and most recent) time that Trinidad and Tobago has won Miss Universe. 81 contestants competed in this year.

## Results
### Placements

| Placement | Contestant |
| Miss Universe 1998 | Trinidad and Tobago – Wendy Fitzwilliam |
| 1st runner-up | Venezuela – Veruska Ramírez |
| 2nd runner-up | Puerto Rico – Joyce Giraud |
| Top 5 | Colombia – Silvia Fernanda Ortiz  United States – Shawnae Jebbia |
| Top 10 | Brazil – Michella Marchi  India – Lymaraina D'Souza  Ireland – Andrea Roche  Russia – Anna Malova  South Africa - Kerishnie Naicker |

## Background
### Selection of participants
#### Replacements

Linor Abargil, Miss Israel 1998 couldn't compete due to being underage. Hagit Raz, the first runner-up, went in her place. The winner of Binibining Pilipinas Universe 1998, Tisha Silang had to resign due to her Canadian citizenship. The pageant's first runner-up, Jewel Mae Lobaton, was selected as her replacement.

## Contestants

Eighty-one contestants competed for the title.
| Country/Territory | Contestant | Age | Hometown |
| Angola | Emilia Guardano | 22 | Benguela |
| Argentina | Marcela Brane | 24 | Cordoba |
| Aruba | Wendy Lacle | 21 | San Nicolaas |
| Australia | Renee Henderson | 21 | Melbourne |
| Bahamas | Juliette Sargent | 19 | Nassau |
| Belgium | Sandrine Corman | 18 | Verviers |
| Belize | Elvia Vega | 19 | Corozal |
| Bolivia | Veronica Larrieu | 23 | Santa Cruz de la Sierra |
| Bonaire | Uzmin Everts | 18 | Kralendijk |
| Brazil | Michella Marchi | 20 | Dourados |
| British Virgin Islands | Kaida Donovan | 23 | West-End |
| Bulgaria | Natalia Gourkova | 20 | Sofia |
| Canada | Juliana Thiessen | 18 | Regina |
| Chile | Claudia Arnello | 22 | Santiago |
| Colombia | Silvia Fernanda Ortiz | 21 | Bucaramanga |
| Costa Rica | Kisha Alvarado | – | San José |
| Croatia | Ivana Grzetić | 19 | Dubrovnik |
| Curaçao | Natacha Bloem | – | Willemstad |
| Cyprus | Daniella Iordanova | 20 | Larnaca |
| Czech Republic | Kristina Fridvalská | 20 | Beroun |
| Dominican Republic | Selinés Méndez | 23 | Santo Domingo |
| Ecuador | Soraya Hogonaga | 21 | Guayaquil |
| Egypt | Karine Fahmy | 19 | Cairo |
| El Salvador | María Gabriela Jovel | 24 | San Salvador |
| Estonia | Mari Lawrens | 25 | Tallinn |
| Finland | Jonna Kauppila | 21 | Kokkola |
| France | Sophie Thalmann | 22 | Bar-le-Duc |
| Germany | Katharina Mainka | 22 | Neustadt an der Weinstraße |
| Ghana | Francisca Awuah | 20 | Cape Coast |
| Great Britain | Leilani Dowding | 19 | Bournemouth |
| Greece | Dimitra Eginiti | 19 | Athens |
| Guam | Joylyn Munoz | 21 | Barrigada |
| Guatemala | Astrid Ramírez | 21 | Guatemala City |
| Honduras | Dania Prince | 18 | Choluteca |
| Hong Kong | Virginia Yung | 24 | Hong Kong |
| Hungary | Agnes Nagy | 18 | Budapest |
| India | Lymaraina D'Souza | 19 | Mumbai |
| Ireland | Andrea Roche | 21 | Clonmel |
| Israel | Hagit Raz | 18 | Holon |
| Italy | Claudia Trieste | 18 | Calabria |
| Jamaica | Shani McGraham | 18 | Kingston |
| Japan | Nana Okumura | 24 | Tokyo |
| Lebanon | Nina Kadis | 24 | Hadchit |
| Malaysia | Sherine Wong | 19 | Kuala Lumpur |
| Malta | Carol Cassar | 20 | Valletta |
| Mauritius | Leena Ramphul | – | Port Louis |
| Mexico | Katty Fuentes | 21 | Monterrey |
| Namibia | Retha Reinders | – | Windhoek |
| Netherlands | Jacqueline Rotteveel | 18 | Bilthoven |
| New Zealand | Rosemary Rassell | 22 | Tauranga |
| Nicaragua | Claudia Alaniz | 21 | Managua |
| Nigeria | Chika Chikezie | 21 | Imo |
| Northern Mariana Islands | Helene Yun Lizama | 22 | Dandan |
| Norway | Stine Bergsvand | 22 | Stathelle |
| Panama | Tanisha Drummond | 21 | Colón |
| Paraguay | Luz Marina González | 19 | Pilar |
| Peru | Karim Bernal | 23 | Lima |
| Philippines | Jewel Lobaton | 21 | Bacolod |
| Poland | Sylwia Kupiec | 22 | Tczew |
| Portugal | Icilia Berenguel | 21 | Póvoa de Varzim |
| Puerto Rico | Joyce Giraud | 23 | Aguas Buenas |
| Romania | Juliana Elena Verdes | 19 | Galați |
| Russia | Anna Malova | 23 | Moscow |
| Singapore | Alice Lim | 22 | Singapore |
| Slovakia | Vladimíra Hreňovčíková | 19 | Zvolen |
| South Africa | Kerishnie Naicker | 20 | Durban |
| South Korea | Kim Ji-yeon | 25 | Seoul |
| Spain | María José Besora | 22 | Murcia |
| Sweden | Jessica Olérs | 20 | Borlänge |
| Switzerland | Tanja Gutmann | 21 | Zürich |
| Taiwan | Annie Tsai | 25 | Nantou |
| Thailand | Chalida Thaochalee | 24 | Bangkok |
| Trinidad and Tobago | Wendy Fitzwilliam | 25 | Diego Martin |
| Turkey | Asuman Krause | 22 | Ankara |
| Ukraine | Olena Spirina | 18 | Kharkiv |
| United States | Shawnae Jebbia | 26 | Santa Rosa |
| United States Virgin Islands | Leah Webster | 24 | Saint Thomas |
| Uruguay | Virginia Russo | 24 | Montevideo |
| Venezuela | Veruska Ramírez | 18 | Táriba |
| Yugoslavia | Jelena Trninić | 18 | Belgrade |
| Zimbabwe | Selina Stuart | 20 | Harare |