Miss Nicaragua, Sheynnis Palacios, was just crowned the New Miss Universe at the 72nd version of the pageant. Her winning moment, which took place on the night of November 18 in El Salvador, left people around the world asking not just who the New Miss Universe was but how exactly she got to that moment of glory. The answer, as always with someone who gets to that point, is with a lot of hard work.
Palacios is the first woman from Nicaragua to win Miss Universe and reportedly the first to win one of the Big Four international beauty pageants.
She was born in Managua, Nicaragua, and is 23 years old. Her interest in pageantry started from a young age. She won the Miss Teen Nicaragua 2016 pageant and represented her country in Teen Universe 2017, where she placed in the Top 10. She also won the Miss World Nicaragua 2020 crown and competed in the Miss World 2021 competition, where she placed in the Top 40.
Palacios holds a bachelor’s degree in mass communication and is a television host on a local channel, with a passion for audiovisual production. She speaks fluent Spanish, English and Portuguese.
During the “Voice for Change” portion of the Miss Universe pageant, Palacios opened up about suffering from anxiety attacks when she was younger, which inspired her to adopt a platform of mental health awareness. Her “Entiende tu Mente,” or “Understand Your Mind,” project comes from when she didn’t have the necessary tools to seek a specialist.
“I want to provide everyone, regardless of gender or age, these tools, so they don’t have to suffer like I had to suffer,” she said in a video.
When asked during one of the question portions of the evening which woman she’d switch shoes with for a year, she responded, “I would choose Mary Wollstonecraft because she was the first woman to open gaps for women’s rights. I would do everything possible to close the gaps in income. It would be the perfect opportunity for many women to work in any area they choose to work in because, for women, there are no limitations. That was 1750, and now, in 2023, we’re making history.”