Miss Universe 2012 Olivia Culpo brought back the Miss Universe crown to her country, the United States of America, 14 years after Brook Lee in 1997. Before Culpo, USA had 7 recorded wins at the Miss Universe pageant and was leading the scoreboard by 1. The second country behind it was the nation obsessed with beauty pageants and pageant queens, Venezuela, with 6 crownings.
However, had Olivia not recorded her win at the Miss Universe 2012 pageant, the USA would have tied with Venezuela the very next year, at 7 wins both. Venezuelan beauty Gabriela Isler won the Miss Universe 2013 competition putting Venezuela close to America again. Oliulpo’s Miss Universe 2012 win, however, made sure that no country would, anytime soon, or with the help of a miracle, be able to surpass the superpower, even in the world of pageants.
But, Olivia is much more than this win of hers. Culpo was born in Cranston, Rhode Island, one of five children of Peter and Susan Culpo. Raised in the Edgewood neighborhood of Cranston, Rhode Island,[5] she is of Italian descent with some Irish ancestry from her mother's side.
She began studying cello in the second grade, and played the instrument in the Rhode Island Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, the Rhode Island Philharmonic Chamber Ensemble, the Bay View Orchestra, and the Rhode Island All-State Orchestra.
(Photo Credits - Olivia Culpo Instagram Official)
In 2010, she was signed by the Boston modelling agency Maggie, Inc, but, as we all know, that was just the start. After winning the the first pageant she entered, 2012 Miss Rhode Island USA competition, she went on to win the Miss USA 2012 pageant on June 3, 2012. We all know how that story ended, with a grand win at the Miss Universe 2012 pageant.
Wait! There’s more.
Just when you thought the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit 2018 rookie class couldn't get any better, enter Olivia Culpo. The stunning lady was shot as a part of a top-secret project coming out in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit 2018 issue.
"I am honoured to be in such great company with such an iconic brand," Olivia said of being chosen as an SI Swimsuit rookie. "This was a major goal of mine because many of the women that have posed for SI have gone on to have such inspirational careers. I feel so blessed that this goal is becoming a reality and it shows me that hard work and positive intentions can lead to something amazing."
But life hadn’t been all hunky dory for this beauty. There was a time when she didn’t think she was pretty. Culpo had said in an interview, “As a little girl, I was really chubby. I don’t think kids know anything about diet, so I’m sure I was eating whatever I wanted to. And on top of that I was not athletic. I was definitely more into the arts, and I was a late bloomer. All of a sudden, I got really tall and lean. After my crazy growth spurt, I looked like a completely different person.”
The struggles have all been the same for her as probably any other pageant queen, but, it’s the way she fought out of them, that made her a significant face in the pageantry world.
Also read: Olivia Culpo is every bit of a Style Icon