Culpo wins Miss USA crown

DHAKA: A 20-year-old Cranston, Rhode Island native, who talked about her love of the cello and spending her summers at band camp, was the winner of 61st Annual Miss USA Pageant.

Olivia Culpo, a student at Boston College where she’s a regular on the Dean’s List, beat out 50 other hopefuls in the beauty contest, during which she worked the stage at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas wearing a pink bikini and purple Grecian style evening gown.

The brunette talked about the influence music has had in her life – she played the cello for 13 years, noting, ‘Band camp was my summer every summer’.

She was ‘short and chubby’ growing until she hit a growth spurt. She is also passionate about ‘quoting celebrities’ and shared her favourite saying by Audrey Hepburn, reports Yahoo! TV.

When it came time to answering the final question of the evening, she had the most serious in the bunch.

Would it be fair if a transgender woman won the Miss Universe title? She agreed with the organisation`s recent decision to include transgender contestants.

‘I do think that would be fair, but I could understand how people could be apprehensive to take that road’, she said.

However, ‘there are so many people who have a need to change for a happier life. I do accept that because I believe it’s a free country’.

The crowd liked her response, cheering wildly.

BDST: 1754 HRS, JUN 4, 2012

Edited by Robab Rosan, Cultural Affairs Editor