New Delhi: R’Bonney Gabriel, the current Miss Universe, on Thursday announced that any females above the age of 28 will now be able to participate in the Miss Universe pageant. Earlier the age limit for entering this beauty pageant was 18 to 28 years only.
Gabriel made this announcement at designer Tanner Fletcher’s “Beauty Pageant” show during New York Fashion Week. Beginning in 1952, when the Miss Universe pageant started, the age limit for the participants was 18 to 28 years. R’Bonney who is now 29 years old, made a new record as she won the pageant in 2022 as the oldest contestant to become Miss Universe.
Miss Universe’s Instagram handle put up a post captioned, “Limitless @rbonneynola closed out Tanner Fletcher’s stunning NYFW show as the MISS UNIVERSE Organization announced the elimination of age limits across all MISS UNIVERSE and associated pageants.”
“What I love about Miss Universe is that they are always at the forefront, seeking ways to be more inclusive and fulfill the platform they’ve designed for us. There’s a bold, forward-thinking team leading the way here, and many tend to follow our lead. It’s an honor to set the standard, and I’m proud that we are making this change,” Gabriel said, according to reports.
While the current age limit for Miss Universe is 28, it is 27 for Miss Word and 25 for Femina Miss India, the latter with a height restriction of 5 foot 3 and above. For older contestants, there is a Mrs Universe pageant for which the age limit is much higher at 55 but contestants have to be married to enter to be able to participate.
With this announcement, traditional beauty standards are being challenged. In its 72-year history, Miss Universe crowned 40 young women between the ages of 17 to 20 years. Harnaaz Kaur Sandhu was 21 when she won the crown, one among 3 in the last 5 years who were under 25.
What’s more, until last year Miss Universe contents had to be unmarried to qualify and mothers were restricted from participating too. However, according to reports released last year, the pageant will also be revising those rules this year, opening the pageant up like never before, NDTV reported.