Vietnamese contestant Vo Hoang Yen was not among the top 15 beauties of Miss Universe 2009, which closed this morning, like her predecessor Nguyen Thuy Lam.

Hoang Yen’s portrait on the official website of the Miss Universe 2009 pageant.

The top 15 comprised Miss Puerto Rico, Miss Iceland, Miss Albania, Miss Czech Republic, Miss Belgium, Miss Dominican Republic, Miss Sweden, Miss Kosovo, Miss Australia, Miss France, Miss Switzerland, Miss USA, Miss Croatia and Miss Venezuela. Notably, the top 15 didn’t have any representative from Asia. However, Miss Thailand won the Miss Photogenic while Miss China was Miss Friendly.

Five beauties were chosen for the interview round, which decided who would be the queen. Finally, Miss Venezuela Stefania Fernandez was the winner. This is the second consecutive year the crown has been presented to Venezuela.

The first runner-up was Miss Dominican Republic, followed by Miss Kosovo, Miss Australia and Miss Puerto Rico.

The final round of Miss Universe 2009 was held in the Bahamas from August 3-23, attracting representatives from over 80 countries. Vo Hoang Yen was considered to have had a chance at this international beauty contest as some international beauty experts had made positive comments about her.

Hoang Yen and billionaire Donald Trump.

PV