Pia Wurtzbach

It’s fair to say that Pia Wurtzbach changed the image of the beauty queen when she won the coveted Miss Universe title in 2015. Immediately, she was seen everywhere, from charity events to the catwalk of New York’s biggest fashion shows. One of her first interviews on radio even became viral because it came right after she won in a now meme-famous announcement gaffe. Pia, to borrow another royalty’s title, was a Queen of the People.

Funny, open, spontaneous, brilliant, always regal, Pia brought a new approachability to the famed title. Her successor, crowned in Pia’s home country, was equally candid and fresh.

Iris Mittenaere

The 25-year old model and TV personality, ended France’s 63-year Miss Universe drought. She was equally modern as Pia. She was a frontliner in fashion—a field surprisingly not that close to pageantry—even walking down the catwalk in the legendary Jean-Paul Gaultier’s Paris fashion show. Candid and witty, Iris endeared herself to nit just Filipino fans but fans all over the world.

Demi-Leigh Nel Peters

The next one to wear the crown. This Miss South Africa won the top title in 2017, bringing with her not just the requisite beauty but a certain modernity. Demi-Leigh was in fact lauded for her very current take on women’s issues. She championed equal work for equal pay for women all over the world. She escaped a harrowing carjacking by punching one of the criminals in the throat. Clearly, this is one Queen nobody can mess with.