Miss Universe 1996 Winner Alicia Machado Venezuela

 Miss Universe 1996 Winner Alicia Machado Venezuela

Miss Universe 1996 took place at the Aladdin Theatre for the Performing Arts in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States on May 17, 1996. This marked the final year that the Miss Universe pageant was managed by ITT Corp.

Alicia Machado of Venezuela was crowned by Chelsi Smith from the United States at the end of the event. A total of 79 contestants competed in this edition. Las Vegas hosted Miss Universe for the second time since 1991. Machado's victory made her the fourth Venezuelan woman to win Miss Universe, following Maritza Sayalero in 1979, Irene Sáez in 1981, and Barbara Palacios in 1986

Contestants from 79 countries and territories participated in the Miss Universe pageant this year.

The selection process for Miss Universe 1996 encountered an unexpected turn when Elmira Tuyusheva, winner of Miss Russia 1995, opted out of the competition just one month before the event. Tuyusheva chose to terminate her contract with the Miss Russia organization to pursue opportunities in modeling and acting. With none of the runners-up from the Miss Russia 1995 pageant eligible to step in, organizers faced a dilemma. Eventually, they designated Ilmira Shamsutdinova as the official delegate of Russia for Miss Universe 1996. Shamsutdinova, crowned Miss USSR in 1991, found herself representing Russia after the dissolution of the Soviet Union into fifteen independent nations.

Results:

• Miss Universe 1996: Venezuela – Alicia Machado
• 1st runner-up: Aruba – Taryn Mansell
• 2nd runner-up: Finland – Lola Odusoga
• Top 6:
  • Mexico – Vanessa Guzmán
  • Russia – Ilmira Shamsutdinova
  • United States – Ali Landry
• Top 10:
  • El Salvador – Milena Mayorga
  • India – Sandhya Chib
  • Peru – Natali Sacco
  • Sweden – Annika Duckmark

Contestants

Seventy-nine contestants vied for the coveted title of Miss Universe 1996:

• Argentina: Verónica Ledezma, 19, Buenos Aires
• Aruba: Taryn Mansell, 19, Oranjestad
• Australia: Jodie McMullen, 22, Sydney
• Bahamas: Michelle Rae Collie, 20, Nassau
• Belgium: Véronique De Kock, 19, Antwerp
• Belize: Ava Lovell, 20, Belize City
• Bolivia: Natalia Cronenbold, 19, Santa Cruz de la Sierra
• Bonaire: Jessy Viceisza, 21, Kralendijk
• Brazil: Maria Joana Parizotto, 19, Francisco Beltrão
• British Virgin Islands: Linette Smith, 19, Road Town
• Bulgaria: Maria Sinigerova, 20, Sofia
• Canada: Renette Cruz, 25, Vancouver
• Cayman Islands: Tasha Ebanks, 22, George Town
• Chile: Andrea L'Huillier, 22, Santiago
• Colombia: Lina María Gaviria, 21, Villavicencio
• Cook Islands: Victoria Keil, 23, Rarotonga
• Costa Rica: Dafne Zeledón, 19, Limón
• Curaçao: Vanessa Mambi, 23, Willemstad
• Cyprus: Froso Spyrou, 20, Nicosia
• Czech Republic: Renata Hornofová, 21, Prague
• Denmark: Anette Oldenborg, 21, Copenhagen
• Dominican Republic: Sandra Natasha Abreu, 24, La Romana
• Ecuador: Mónica Chalá, 23, Quito
• Egypt: Hadeel Abol-Naga, 19, Cairo
• El Salvador: Milena Mayorga, 20, San Salvador
• Estonia: Helen Mahmastol, 18, Tallinn
• Finland: Lola Odusoga, 18, Turku
• France: Laure Belleville, 20, Lathuile
• Germany: Miriam Ruppert, 21, Taunusstein
• Ghana: Pearl Amoah, 19, Accra
• Great Britain: Anita St. Rose, 26, London
• Greece: Nina Georgala, 22, Athens
• Guatemala: Karla Beteta, 22, Guatemala City
• Honduras: Yazmín Fiallos, 19, Francisco Morazán
• Hong Kong: Sofie Rahman, 21, Hong Kong
• Hungary: Andrea Deak, 18, Budapest
• Iceland: Hrafnhildur Hafsteinsdóttir, 20, Reykjavik
• India: Sandhya Chib, 19, Bangalore
• Indonesia: Alya Rohali, 19, Jakarta
• Ireland: Joanne Black, 21, Cavan
• Israel: Liraz Mesilaty, 19, Beersheba
• Italy: Anna Valle, 20, Rome
• Jamaica: Trudi-Ann Ferguson, 21, Kingston
• Lebanon: Julia Syriani, 18, Beirut
• Malaysia: Adeline Ong, 23, Johor Bahru
• Malta: Roseanne Farrugia, 18, Lija
• Mexico: Vanessa Guzmán, 20, Ciudad Juárez
• Namibia: Faghma Absolom, 21, Windhoek
• Netherlands: Marja de Graaf, 19, Drenthe
• New Zealand: Sarah Brady, 20, Auckland
• Northern Mariana Islands: Belvilyn Ada Tenorio, 18, Garapan
• Norway: Inger Lise Ebeltoft, 19, Troms
• Panama: Reyna Royo, 25, Panama City
• Paraguay: Marta Elizabeth Lovera, 25, Asunción
• Peru: Natali Sacco, 21, Trujillo
• Philippines: Aileen Damiles, 20, Las Piñas
• Poland: Monika Chróścicka-Wnętrzak, 20, Słupsk
• Portugal: Rita Carvalho, 19, Bragança
• Puerto Rico: Sarybel Velilla, 19, Toa Alta
• Romania: Roberta Anastase, 20, Prahova
• Russia: Ilmira Shamsutdinova, 20, Saratov
• Singapore: Angeline Putt, 22, Singapore
• Slovakia: Iveta Jankulárová, 18, Bratislava
• South Africa: Carol Becker, 23, Gauteng
• South Korea: Kim Yoon-jung, 22, Seoul
• Spain: María José Suárez, 20, Seville

Sri Lanka: Shivanthini Dharmasiri, 25, Colombo

• Sweden: Annika Duckmark, 24, Borås
• Switzerland: Stéphanie Berger, 18, Zürich
• Taiwan: Chen Hsiao-Fen, 23, Taipei
• Thailand: Nirachala Kumya, 19, Chiang Mai
• Trinidad and Tobago: Michelle Kahn, 23, Princes Town
• Turkey: Serpil Sevilay Öztürk, 19, Ankara
• Turks and Caicos Islands: Shaneika Lightbourne, 23, Grand Turk
• Ukraine: Irina Borisova, 18, Kyiv
• United States: Ali Landry, 22, Breaux Bridge
• Uruguay: Adriana Sandra Maidana, 20, Maldonado
• Venezuela: Alicia Machado, 19, Maracay
• Zimbabwe: Langa Sibanda, 26, Harare

These contestants represented their respective countries with grace and poise in the Miss Universe 1996 pageant