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Beauty pageant in US Virgin Islands From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Miss Grand US Virgin Islands is a national beauty pageant title awarded to women chosen to represent the US Virgin Islands at the Miss Grand International contest.[1] The title was first awarded in 2014 when a 24-year-old Stateside Puerto Rican, Wilma Echandy, was appointed to represent the US Virgin Islands in Miss Grand International 2014 in Thailand.[1] Under the directorship of Brian Javier, the first contest of Miss Grand US Virgin Islands was expected to be held in March 2024.[2]
| |
| Formation | March 25, 2024 |
|---|---|
| Type | Beauty pageant |
| Headquarters | Miami |
| Location | |
Membership | Miss Grand International Miss Cosmo |
Official language | English |
National director | Brian Javier |
Parent organization |
|
| Website | grandusvirginislands.store |
From 2014 to 2015, the license to send US Virgin Islands representatives for Miss Grand International belonged to the national pageant named Miss US Paradise,[1] which was headed by Cyndee Frontal, and the main winners were sent to Miss World in that particular year.[3] The license was then transferred to Miss Grand United States founder Chantel Martínez and Miss Universe US Virgin Islands organizer Lulu Orange in 2017 and 2018, respectively.[4]
Since their first competition in 2014, only one placement was achieved, held by Samantha Keaton, who secured the place of Top 20 in 2024.[1][5][6][7] Keaton was dethroned on October 26th, 2024, following the Miss Grand International 2024 finale.[8]
The United States Virgin Islands made its debut at Miss Grand International in 2014 when the director of Miss US Paradise, Cyndee Frontal, acquired the license and subsequently appointed a Puerto Rican American model, Wilma Echandy, to compete internationally in Thailand,[1] but Echandy went unplaced.[1][9] In the following year, former Miss World United States Virgin Islands 2013, Petra Cabrera, was assigned by the same licensee to compete and also was unplaced.[10][5] The partnership between Miss US Paradise and Miss Grand International was later terminated in 2016.
After an absence in 2016, the license was purchased by the Miss Grand United States director, Chantel Martínez, who assigned the first runner-up of Miss Grand United States 2017, Brianna Key, to join the 2017 international stage in Vietnam.[11] The license was then transferred to the Miss Universe US Virgin Islands in the following years and the vice-miss of such a contest was sent internationally.[4]
No United States Virgin Islands representatives competed in Miss Grand International from 2019 to 2022 due to a lack of licensees. However, the USVI returned in the 2023 competition in Vietnam, under the directorship of Brian Javier.[12]
The first edition of the Miss Grand United States Virgin Islands pageant was held on March 25, 2024.[2]
| Edition | Date | Venue | Entrant | Winner | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | March 25, 2024 | CUZ Miami Venue, Doral, Florida, United States | 8 | Samantha Keaton (Dethroned) | [2][13] |
The following is a list of the United States Virgin Islands' representatives at the Miss Grand International contest.
| Year | Representative | Original national title | Competition performance | National director | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Placement | Other awards | |||||
| 2014 | Wilma Echandy | Queen of Puerto Rico 2012 | Unplaced | — | Cyndee Frontal | [1][3] |
| 2015 | Petra Cabrera | Miss U.S. Paradise World 2013 | Unplaced | — | ||
| 2016 | No representative | |||||
| 2017 | Brianna Key | 1st runner-up Miss Grand United States 2017 | Unplaced | — | Chantel Martínez | [6][11] |
| 2018 | Morgan Evans | 1st runner-up Miss Universe U.S. Virgin Islands 2018 | Unplaced | — | Lulu Orange | [4][7][15] |
| 2019–2022 | No representatives | |||||
| 2023 | Heather Thompson | Finalist Miss Grand United States 2019[16] | Unplaced | — | Brian Javier | [12][17] |
| 2024 | Samantha Keaton (Dethroned) | Miss Grand United States Virgin Islands 2024 | Top 20 | — | [13][18] | |
The following list is the national finalists of the Miss Grand US Virgin Islands pageant, as well as the competition results.
Eight contestants competed in the pageant's first edition held in Doral, Florida, the United States.[19]
| ||||||||||||
Year Represented |
2024[13][19] |
|---|---|
| Barrett | Emma Knapp (Withdrew) |
| Christiansted | Shriya Boppana (1st RU) |
| Cinnamon Bay | Sonika Komal (Top 5) |
| Coral Bay | Samantha Keaton (Winner) (Dethroned) |
| Frederiksted | Brianna Lopez |
| Kingshill | Rebecca Arianna |
| Red Hook | Kathyria Burgos |
| Reef Bay | London Tucker (2nd RU) |
| Saint Thomas | Alayzia Christopher (Top 5) |
| Water Island | Layel Hamchou (Withdrew) |
| Total | 8 |
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