BAYAMON, Puerto Rico — Denise Quinones August of Puerto Rico, who told judges she wouldn't change anything about her life, won the 50th Miss Universe pageant Friday, hosted on this Caribbean island.
In second place was Miss Greece, 22-year-old Evelina Papantoniou and in third place was Miss USA, 24-year-old Kandace Krueger. Miss Venezuela, 18-year-old Eva Ekvall, was third runner-up and Miss India, 22-year-old Celina Jaitley, was named fourth runner-up.
A performance by Puerto Rican crooner Ricky Martin introduced the competition.
The five women were taken from 10 semifinalists chosen from 77 contestants participating in this year's pageant.
The five semifinalists who were earlier eliminated in the pageant were Miss Spain, Eva Siso Casals; Miss Nigeria, Agbani Darego; Miss Israel, Ilanit Levi; Miss Russia, Oxana Kalandyrets; and Miss France, Elodie Gossuin.
Low marks in the swimsuit and evening gown competition eliminated the semifinalists. The judges can give the contestants one to 9.99 points.
For the swimsuit competition, they look for physical fitness and how they carry themselves on stage — a challenge while wearing platform heels.
For the evening gown competition, the judges look at the style of the dress and how it matches the woman's personality.
Women can lose if they fall, or if one detail of their outfit is off, but it's up to the judges to decide if they want to penalize them.
Officials said the show, taking place on this U.S. territory in the Caribbean, was televised in more than 130 countries and territories.
The judges include salsa singer Marc Anthony, 1993 Miss Universe Dayanara Torres Muniz, and Kel Gleason, a contestant on the TV show "Survivor: The Australian Outback," among others.
Miss Universe 2001 wins a prize package worth about $250,000, plus other modeling and promotional contracts that usually follow.
Last year's pageant in Cyprus was won by Miss India Lara Dutta.