Miss Universe 2023 winner crowned: All about Nicaragua's Sheynnis Palacios

As a pageant, Miss Universe began in the year 1952. Now, in its 72nd year, it is still watched religiously by global audiences. November 18, 2023, marked the crowning of a new champion in El Salvador, among the three finalists, who hailed from Australia, Thailand, and Nicaragua.

Although they all got close to the ultimate title, Nicaragua's Sheynnis Palacios took home the win. The moment will go down in the nation’s history as she was their first-ever participant to emerge victorious on the global platform.

A professional model, the 23-year-old earned a degree in Mass Communication and participated in Varsity Volleyball, representing Universidad Centroamericana. She's been a pageant queen since the age of 16 and has finally achieved the grandest prize that one could aim for in the industry. The model has also established "Understand Your Mind," an initiative for mental health, after having suffered issues of her own when she was studying.

---

Sheynnis Palacios goes down in Nicaraguan history as Miss Universe 2023

For the very first time in the long-standing legacy of her country and the Miss Universe pageant, a Nicaraguan national was crowned the winner. The contest aired on November 18 and had over 80 countries represented on the global stage in El Salvador for its 72nd year.

23-year-old, 5' 11" tall Sheynnis Alondra Palacios Cornejo, the Nicaraguan native, was announced as Miss Universe 2023. Competing with her in the final three were Thailand's Anntonia Porsild, who was the runner-up, and Australia's Moraya Wilson, who secured the third place.

In the climax, the finalists were asked to pick "another woman's shoes" to walk in, for a "year" and provide their reasoning for the choices. Sheynnis' answer was closely intertwined with her beliefs even prior to this big pageant, especially with regard to empowerment, advocacy, and activism.

"I would choose Mary Wollstonecraft, because she opened the gap and gave an opportunity to many women."

Sheynnis Palacios acquired a degree in Mass Communication from the Universidad Centroamericana in May 2022. She funded this program herself by being employed to work in her mother's "snack shop." Palacios has been committed to her modeling career since the early age of 16.

Palacios won her first pageant in 2016, when she was crowned Miss Teen Nicaragua, before moving on to secure a spot in the Top 10 of Teen Universe.

Following that, she also participated in Miss World Nicaragua in 2020 and Miss World in 2021, where she made it to the final 40. Grabbing the title of Miss Nicaragua in 2023 catapulted her onto the Miss Universe stage.

Prior to her time in this pageant, only four other Nicaraguan nationals had made it to the semi-finals. On November 18, she became the first ever to win the ultimate title of Miss Universe 2023.

Sheynnis has been an advocate for mental health since her college days, stating that she herself had faced "intense anxiety attacks" when she was a student. Wanting to spread awareness and reduce stigma, she kicked off an initiative called Entiende tu mente, which translates to "Understand Your Mind."

Flaunting 703K followers on Instagram, @sheynnispalacios_of, Sheynnis also established her place as an audience favorite early on in Miss Universe and sealed it with the swimsuit round.

---

Forever etching her name into the history of Nicaragua, Sheynnis plans to bring real-world change with her win. This year's top five included Nicaragua, Thailand, Australia, Puerto Rico, and Colombia. Miss Universe will return for yet another run in 2024.