Miss Colombia Is Crowned Miss Universe 2015

At the culmination of last night's pageant extravaganza—at which Marie Claire's own Nina Garcia was a judge—Miss Colombia Paulina Vega was crowned Miss Universe 2015. 

Vega navigated the swimsuit, gown, and ever-terrifying Q&A round with aplomb—OK, maybe not the Q&A round, because in a particularly awkward few minutes of live pageant TV it seemed like none of the top five contestants could even hear (or comprehend) the questions they were being asked. She takes over from Miss Universe 2014, Venezuela's Gabriela Islar; in other words, another major tiara for the South American pageant contingent.

Of the four other finalists falling just short of the title, the order of placement played out as follows:

1st runner up: Nia Sanchez, Miss Universe USA
2nd runner up: Diana Harkusha, Miss Universe Ukraine
3rd runner up: Yasmin Verheijen, Miss Universe Netherlands
4th runner up: Kaci Fennell, Miss Universe Jamaica (and oh boy did this elicit a number of loud boos from the audience)

Bonus Miss Universe fun fact: Miss Colombia sleeps with her eyes open, and I bet it served her well in the competiton.

You should also check out:

Miss World Will No Longer Have a Swimsuit Competition

From Pageants to Politics: The Miss American Pageant