# Miss Universe 1996

Miss Universe 1996 was the 45th Miss Universe pageant, held at the Aladdin Theatre for the Performing Arts in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States on 17 May 1996. This was the last time that the Miss Universe was run by ITT Corp.
Alicia Machado of Venezuela was crowned by Chelsi Smith from the United States at the end of the event. 79 contestants competed in this edition. This is the second time that Las Vegas to host Miss Universe since 1991. She is the fourth Venezuelan woman to win Miss Universe following Maritza Sayalero in 1979, Irene Sáez in 1981, and Barbara Palacios in 1986.

## Background
### Selection of participants

Contestants from 79 countries and territories competed in this year.

## Results
### Placements

| Placement | Contestant |
| Miss Universe 1996 | Venezuela – Alicia Machado |
| 1st Runner-Up | Aruba – Taryn Mansell |
| 2nd Runner-Up | Finland – Lola Odusoga |
| Top 6 | Mexico – Vanessa Guzmán  Russia – Ilmira Shamsutdinova  United States – Ali Landry |
| Top 10 | El Salvador – Milena Mayorga  India – Sandhya Chib  Peru – Natali Sacco  Sweden – Annika Duckmark |

## Contestants

Seventy-nine contestants competed for the title.
| Country/Territory | Contestant | Age | Hometown |
| Argentina | Verónica Ledezma | 19 | Buenos Aires |
| Aruba | Taryn Mansell | 19 | Oranjestad |
| Australia | Jodie McMullen | 22 | Sydney |
| Bahamas | Michelle Rae Collie | 20 | Nassau |
| Belgium | Véronique De Kock | 19 | Antwerp |
| Belize | Ava Lovell | 20 | Belize City |
| Bolivia | Natalia Cronenbold | 19 | Santa Cruz de la Sierra |
| Bonaire | Jessy Viceisza | 21 | Kralendijk |
| Brazil | Maria Joana Parizotto | 19 | Francisco Beltrão |
| British Virgin Islands | Linette Smith | 19 | Road Town |
| Bulgaria | Maria Sinigerova | 20 | Sofia |
| Canada | Renette Cruz | 25 | Vancouver |
| Cayman Islands | Tasha Ebanks | 22 | George Town |
| Chile | Andrea L'Huillier | 22 | Santiago |
| Colombia | Lina María Gaviria | 21 | Villavicencio |
| Cook Islands | Victoria Keil | 23 | Rarotonga |
| Costa Rica | Dafne Zeledón | 19 | Limón |
| Curaçao | Vanessa Mambi | 23 | Willemstad |
| Cyprus | Froso Spyrou | 20 | Nicosia |
| Czech Republic | Renata Hornofová | 21 | Prague |
| Denmark | Anette Oldenborg | 21 | Copenhagen |
| Dominican Republic | Sandra Natasha Abreu | 24 | La Romana |
| Ecuador | Mónica Chalá | 23 | Quito |
| Egypt | Hadeel Abol-Naga | 19 | Cairo |
| El Salvador | Milena Mayorga | 20 | San Salvador |
| Estonia | Helen Mahmastol | 18 | Tallinn |
| Finland | Lola Odusoga | 18 | Turku |
| France | Laure Belleville | 20 | Lathuile |
| Germany | Miriam Ruppert | 21 | Taunusstein |
| Ghana | Pearl Amoah | 19 | Accra |
| Great Britain | Anita St. Rose | 26 | London |
| Greece | Nina Georgala | 22 | Athens |
| Guatemala | Karla Beteta | 22 | Guatemala City |
| Honduras | Yazmín Fiallos | 19 | Francisco Morazán |
| Hong Kong | Sofie Rahman | 21 | Hong Kong |
| Hungary | Andrea Deak | 18 | Budapest |
| Iceland | Hrafnhildur Hafsteinsdóttir | 20 | Reykjavik |
| India | Sandhya Chib | 19 | Bangalore |
| Indonesia | Alya Rohali | 19 | Jakarta |
| Ireland | Joanne Black | 21 | Cavan |
| Israel | Liraz Mesilaty | 19 | Beersheba |
| Italy | Anna Valle | 20 | Rome |
| Jamaica | Trudi-Ann Ferguson | 21 | Kingston |
| Lebanon | Julia Syriani | 18 | Beirut |
| Malaysia | Adeline Ong | 23 | Johor Bahru |
| Malta | Roseanne Farrugia | 18 | Lija |
| Mexico | Vanessa Guzmán | 20 | Ciudad Juárez |
| Namibia | Faghma Absolom | 21 | Windhoek |
| Netherlands | Marja de Graaf | 19 | Drenthe |
| New Zealand | Sarah Brady | 20 | Auckland |
| Northern Mariana Islands | Belvilyn Ada Tenorio | 18 | Garapan |
| Norway | Inger Lise Ebeltoft | 19 | Troms |
| Panama | Reyna Royo | 25 | Panama City |
| Paraguay | Marta Elizabeth Lovera | 25 | Asunción |
| Peru | Natali Sacco | 21 | Trujillo |
| Philippines | Aileen Damiles | 20 | Las Piñas |
| Poland | Monika Chróścicka-Wnętrzak | 20 | Słupsk |
| Portugal | Rita Carvalho | 19 | Bragança |
| Puerto Rico | Sarybel Velilla | 19 | Toa Alta |
| Romania | Roberta Anastase | 20 | Prahova |
| Russia | Ilmira Shamsutdinova | 20 | Saratov |
| Singapore | Angeline Putt | 22 | Singapore |
| Slovakia | Iveta Jankulárová | 18 | Bratislava |
| South Africa | Carol Becker | 23 | Gauteng |
| South Korea | Kim Yoon-jung | 22 | Seoul |
| Spain | María José Suárez | 20 | Seville |
| Sri Lanka | Shivanthini Dharmasiri | 25 | Colombo |
| Sweden | Annika Duckmark | 24 | Borås |
| Switzerland | Stéphanie Berger | 18 | Zürich |
| Taiwan | Chen Hsiao-Fen | 23 | Taipei |
| Thailand | Nirachala Kumya | 19 | Chiang Mai |
| Trinidad and Tobago | Michelle Kahn | 23 | Princes Town |
| Turkey | Serpil Sevilay Öztürk | 19 | Ankara |
| Turks and Caicos Islands | Shaneika Lightbourne | 23 | Grand Turk |
| Ukraine | Irina Borisova | 18 | Kyiv |
| United States | Ali Landry | 22 | Breaux Bridge |
| Uruguay | Adriana Sandra Maidana | 20 | Maldonado |
| Venezuela | Alicia Machado | 19 | Maracay |
| Zimbabwe | Langa Sibanda | 26 | Harare |