September 27, 2025 | 11:00am
MANILA, Philippines — History will be made at this year’s Miss Universe contest as Vietnam fields Nguyen Huong Giang at the prestigious pageant.
The Vietnamese singer-actress will be the first transwoman from Asia to compete at Miss Universe.
In selecting Huong Giang, the Miss Universe Vietnam organization described her as “a living testament to the power of resilience and talent.”
The organization also noted that on top of being an artist, Huong Giang is also a model, emcee, judge and served as a producer on last year’s local competition.
“In every role, she shines with strong inner strength, creativity, and pride, fitting the image of a modern and powerful Vietnamese woman,” Miss Universe Vietnam said.
Upon her selection, Huong Giang said on her own social media account that Miss Universe’s decision to allow transgender women, women with children, and married women to compete was “never about the world lacking beautiful single women” but “about opening the door to equality and hope.”
“Miss Universe has become a stage where, no matter your circumstances, all women are women, lifting each other up and shining together in front of billions,” she continued. “Someone like me can one day stand on the Miss Universe stage, shining before billions around the globe, and so can you.”
Huong Giang ended by saying her participation in Miss Universe isn’t a story of gender but of people and faith, “Believe that with enough effort, one day, you can all change your own lives. Your starting point does not define your limits.”
Outside of pageantry, Huong Giang is the first trans singer to compete on “Vietnam Idol” and joined “The Amazing Race Vietnam” with her ex-boyfriend.
The 33-year-old singer-actress previously won Miss International Queen in 2018, Vietnam’s first in the biggest beauty pageant for transwomen.
That very same year, Vietnam saw its highest placement ever in Miss Universe when H’Hen Nie finished in the Top 5 while fellow Southast Asian queen and the Philippines’ own Catriona Gray took the crown in Thailand.
Miss Universe 2018 also had the competition’s first trans contestant in Spain’s Angela Ponce to the pageant was open to transwomen since 2012.
Ponce was soon followed by the Netherlands’ Rikkie Kollé and Portugal’s Marina Machete in 2023, the latter qualifying for the semifinal round. Nicaragua’s Sheynnis Palacios won the pageant that year.
The 74th Miss Universe pageant takes places this November in Thailand where the Philippines’ Ahtisa Manalo (a Binibining Pilipinas batchmate of Gray’s) is vying to succeed Denmark’s Victoria Kjaer Theilvig — the Scandinavian country’s first winner — and win the nation’s fifth Miss Universe title.
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