Miss Universe 2011 contestants

For the 60th anniversary of the Miss Universe pageant, dozens of head-turning beauty pageant winners will convene in São Paulo, Brazil for this year’s competition.

The lovely women have worked long and hard to maintain good figures, healthy looking hair, and toned muscles, so take a few moments to honor the sacrifices they’ve made by scrolling through our slideshow of some of the 2011 contestants.

We’ve only included our favorites and top picks, but you can see the full list of Miss Universe 2011 hopefuls here. Before tuning in to the big show on September 12, check out our faves and decide on your own preferences for the crown.

Miss Universe 2011

The Miss Universe pageant is no different with other beauty contests when it comes to surprising outcome.
This is when the heavily favored contestant loses to the dark horse. Actually, every pageants have them.
Remember in 1999 when Miss Botswana Mpule Kwelagobe bested the crowd favorites that year like Miss Philippines Miriam Quiambao who ended up as first runner up and Miss Spain Diana Gonzales who ended up as second runner up?
And the last time that Miss Universe was held in the Philippines, (1994) the heavily-favored contestants were delegates from Venezuela and Colombia but the crown went to Sushmita Sen of India.
And did you really expect that Japan will win Miss Universe in 2007?
They are the dark horses. And this year is no exception.
We kinda have an idea that the “favorites” to win Miss Universe this year are delegates from China, France, Malaysia and the Philippines. Latin beauties are somewhat weak this year.
But there are ladies who are under the radar that could potentially deliver a major upset.

Miss Angola Leila Lopes Wins Miss Universe 2011

Leila Lopes of Angola was crowned Miss Universe on Monday night.

The 25-year-old Lopes is the first Miss Universe from Angola. She beat out contestants from 88 other countries to win the title on the pageant’s 60th anniversary.

And it was a question about beauty that helped her take the crown.

When asked what physical trait she would change, Lopes replied, “Thank God I’m very satisfied with the way God created me, and I wouldn’t change a thing.” She added, “I consider myself a woman endowed with inner beauty. I have acquired many wonderful principles from my family, and I intend to follow these for the rest of my life.”