# Miss Universe 2001

Miss Universe 2001 was the 50th anniversary of the Miss Universe pageant, held at the Coliseo Rubén Rodríguez in Bayamón, Puerto Rico on May 11, 2001. The contest was won by Denise Quiñones of Puerto Rico who was crowned by Lara Dutta of India. This was Puerto Rico's fourth win in the history of the pageant.
Contestants from seventy-seven countries competed in this pageant. The competition was hosted by Elle Macpherson and Naomi Campbell, Todd Newton acted as backstage correspondent, while Miss Universe 1997 provided commentary for the whole event. Ricky Martin and La Ley performed in this edition.

## Background
### Selection of participants

Seventy-seven countries and territories competed in the pageant. Three candidates were appointed to their position to replace the original winner.

#### Replacements

Poland was to be represented by the first runner-up of Miss Polonia, Malgorzata Rozniecka. Studies prevented her from attending, and the organization replaced her with Monika Gruda. The organization invited Miss Russia 2001, Oxana Fedorova, to attend the pageant, but she was unable to compete due to studies, but competed in 2002. She was replaced by first runner-up, Oxana Kalandyrets, who reached the top 10. Fedorova would go on to win the following year's Miss Universe pageant, only to be replaced with her runner-up four months later. Miss Spain 2001, Lorena van Heerde Ayala, was unable to compete as she was underage (17 at the time). She was replaced by first runner-up, Eva Sisó. Ayala was due to compete in Miss Universe 2002, but after the threat of lawsuit by her family against the Miss España Organization for breach of contract, she cut all ties with the Miss España organization and lost the right to represent Spain at any international pageant.

#### Debuts, returns, and withdrawals

This edition marked the debut of Slovenia; and the returns of Antigua and Barbuda who last competed in 1979; and Curaçao, Nicaragua, the Northern Mariana Islands, Turkey, and the United States Virgin Islands who last competed in 1999.

### Controversies during the pageant

France, Élodie Gossuin was confirmed to be a woman by medical examination, when it was rumoured that she was a transsexual.
Juliana Borges of Brazil admitted to the media that she had undergone plastic surgery nineteen times, stating "It's like studying for a math exam and you get good grades... you study and you work hard to have the perfect body". Despite a public outcry she was allowed to compete.

## Results
### Placements

| Placement | Contestant |
| Miss Universe 2001 | Puerto Rico – Denise Quiñones |
| 1st runner-up | Greece – Evelina Papantoniou |
| 2nd runner-up | United States – Kandace Krueger |
| 3rd runner-up | Venezuela – Eva Ekvall |
| 4th runner-up | India – Celina Jaitly |
| Top 10 | France – Élodie Gossuin  Israel – Ilanit Levy  Nigeria – Agbani Darego  Russia – Oksana Kalandyrets  Spain – Eva Sisó |

### Special awards

| Award | Winner |
| Miss Photogenic | Puerto Rico – Denise Quiñones |
| Clairol Herbal Essences Style Award | Puerto Rico – Denise Quiñones |
| Best in Swimsuit | Puerto Rico – Denise Quiñones |
| Miss Congeniality | Bahamas – Nakera Simms |
| Best National Costume | South Korea – Kim Sa-rang |

## Contestants

Seventy-seven contestants competed for the title.
| Country/Territory | Contestant | Age | Hometown |
| Angola | Hidianeth Cussema | 19 | Cuíto |
| Antigua and Barbuda | Janil Bird | 22 | St. John's |
| Argentina | Romina Incicco | 18 | Buenos Aires |
| Aruba | Denise Balinge | 21 | – |
| Bahamas | Nakera Simms | 22 | – |
| Belgium | Dina Tersago | 22 | Puurs |
| Bolivia | Claudia Arano | 19 | Santa Cruz de la Sierra |
| Botswana | Mataila Sikwane | 23 | Gaborone |
| Brazil | Juliana Borges | 22 | Santa Maria |
| British Virgin Islands | Kacy Frett | 19 | – |
| Bulgaria | Ivaila Bakalova | 19 | Varna |
| Canada | Cristina Rémond | 20 | Montreal |
| Cayman Islands | Jacqueline Bush | 25 | George Town |
| Chile | Carolina Gámez | 19 | Santiago |
| Colombia | Andrea Nocetti | 23 | Cartagena |
| Costa Rica | Paola Calderón | 20 | Guanacaste |
| Croatia | Maja Cecić-Vidoš | 20 | Rijeka |
| Curaçao | Fatima St. Jago | 22 | Willemstad |
| Cyprus | Stella Demetriou | 21 | – |
| Czech Republic | Petra Kocarova | 22 | South Moravia |
| Dominican Republic | Claudia Cruz de los Santos | 18 | San Juan |
| Ecuador | Jessica Bermudez | 23 | Guayaquil |
| Egypt | Sarah Shaheen | 19 | Cairo |
| El Salvador | Grace Marie Zabaneh | 22 | – |
| Estonia | Inna Roos | 19 | Tallinn |
| Finland | Heidi Willman | 19 | Jyväskylä |
| France | Élodie Gossuin | 20 | Reims |
| Germany | Claudia Bechstein | 22 | Thuringia |
| Ghana | Precious Agyare | 18 | Accra |
| Greece | Evelina Papantoniou | 22 | Athens |
| Guatemala | Rosa María Castañeda | 20 | Chiquimula |
| Honduras | Olenka Fuschich | 21 | Yoro |
| Hungary | Agnes Helbert | 21 | – |
| India | Celina Jaitly | 21 | Shimla |
| Ireland | Lesley Turner | 19 | Newport |
| Israel | Ilanit Levy | 18 | Rehovot |
| Italy | Stefania Maria | 20 | Lombardy |
| Jamaica | Zahra Burton | 21 | Kingston |
| Japan | Misao Arauchi | 19 | Aomori |
| Lebanon | Sandra Rizk | 19 | Koura District |
| Malaysia | Tung Mei Chin | 20 | Kuantan |
| Malta | Rosalie Thewma | 19 | Birżebbuġa |
| Mexico | Jacqueline Bracamontes | 21 | Guadalajara |
| Netherlands | Reshma Roopram | 22 | South Holland |
| New Zealand | Kateao Nehua | 19 | Ngātiwai |
| Nicaragua | Ligia Cristina Argüello | 21 | Managua |
| Nigeria | Agbani Darego | 18 | Lagos |
| Northern Mariana Islands | Janet King | 24 | Tinian |
| Norway | Linda Marshall | 22 | Buskerud |
| Panama | Ivette Cordovez | 21 | Panama City |
| Paraguay | Rosmary Brítez | 21 | Caazapá |
| Peru | Viviana Rivasplata | 23 | Lambayeque |
| Philippines | Zorayda Ruth Andam | 24 | Baguio |
| Poland | Monika Gruda | 19 | Masovia |
| Portugal | Telma Santos | 19 | Lisbon |
| Puerto Rico | Denise Quiñones | 20 | Ponce |
| Russia | Oksana Kalandyrets | 20 | Khanty-Mansi |
| Singapore | Jaime Teo | 24 | Singapore |
| Slovakia | Zuzana Baštúrová | 19 | Revúca |
| Slovenia | Minka Alagič | 21 | Maribor |
| South Africa | Jo-Ann Strauss | 20 | Cape Town |
| South Korea | Kim Sa-rang | 23 | Seoul |
| Spain | Eva Sisó | 21 | Soses |
| Sweden | Malin Olsson | 19 | Skattungbyn |
| Switzerland | Mahara McKay | 19 | Zurich |
| Taiwan | Hsin Ting Chiang | 21 | Taipei |
| Thailand | Varinthorn Phadoongvithee | 24 | Nonthaburi |
| Trinidad and Tobago | Alexia Charlerie | 24 | Tunapuna–Piarco |
| Turkey | Sedef Avcı | 19 | Adana |
| Turks and Caicos | Shereen Novie Gardiner | 19 | – |
| Ukraine | Yuliya Linova | 23 | Zaporizhzhia |
| United States | Kandace Krueger | 24 | Austin |
| Uruguay | Carla Piaggio | 25 | Montevideo |
| United States Virgin Islands | Lisa Hasseba Wynne | 26 | – |
| Venezuela | Eva Ekvall | 18 | Caracas |
| Yugoslavia | Ana Janković | 19 | – |
| Zimbabwe | Tsungai Muswerakuenda | 23 | Harare |