Miss Universe 2017: Miss France Iris Mittenaere lifts the crown; Miss India not in top 13

Iris Mittenaere, a 23-year-old dental student from France, won the Miss Universe crown on Monday in Manila, the Philippines, where it was held this year.

However, Miss India, the 22-year-old Bengaluru-based Roshmitha Harimurthy failed it to make it to the top-13.

It’s been over 17 years since an Indian contestant was crowned at this pageant. Sushmita Sen (1994) and Lara Dutta (2000) are the only two winners of the Miss Universe crown from India so far.

Miss France Iris Mittenaere was crowned by the outgoing winner Miss Philippines, Pia Wurtzbach, amid much applause.

In the final round, the three finalists were asked by the judges panel to talk about how they learned from the one big failure in their lives.

“I’ve failed several times in my life,” Mittenaere said. “(But) when you fail, you have to be elevated and you have to try again and keep going … I have failed before but for me this is the great first opportunity.”

Miss Haiti, Raquel Pelissier, a 25-year-old survivor of the devastating 2010 earthquake that destroyed her hometown, was named first runner up while Miss Colombia, 23-year-old, Andrea Tovar, was second runner up.

Meanwhile, the presence of Sushmita Sen on the Miss Universe judges’ panel garnered a lot of attention. Sen said she was happy to be back in Manila, where she had been crowned Miss Universe more than two decades ago.

When she was asked what she would be looking for in the Miss Universe contestants, Sen replied: “Elegance”.

— With inputs from agencies