Miss USA Olivia Culpo Wins Miss Universe Pageant!
Dec. 19 2012, Published 2:00 p.m. ET
By Breaking Celebrity News Staff
Olivia Culpo, a stunning 20-year-old college student from Rhode Island was crowned the new Miss Universe on Wednesday night during a televised competition at the Planet Hollywood casino on the Las Vegas Strip, besting 88 other contenders from around the world.
"I'm dreaming, it's a dream," Culpo said while surrounded by the other ladies. Miss Philippines, Janine Tugonon, came in second, while Miss Venezuela, Irene Sofia Esser Quintero, placed third.
In the final stages of the competition, Culpo -- after strutting in a purple and blue bikini and a red velvet gown -- was asked whether she had she had ever done something she regretted.
“I’d like to start off by saying that every experience no matter what it is, good or bad, you’ll learn from it. That’s just life,” she said. “But something I’ve done I’ve regretted is probably picking on my siblings growing up, because you appreciate them so much more as you grow older.”
One of those siblings, 17-year-old Gus, was proudly cheering from the front row with his sister’s glittering Miss Rhode Island sash draped around his shoulders.
The Boston University sophomore’s coronation ends a long losing streak for the U.S. in the competition co-owned by Donald Trump and NBC. An American had not won the Miss Universe title since Brook Lee captured the title in 1997.
After the show, Culpo -- wearing her white gold crown -- told reporters she hoped to bring the country some good news in the wake of the tragic school massacre in Ne